Patterico's Pontifications

1/22/2012

Video: Gabby Giffords Resigns

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 12:30 pm



The story comes from the Arizona Daily Star via Aaron Worthing:

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will step down from Congress this week to focus on her recovery, her staff announced Sunday.

“I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week,” Giffords said in a video message.

Giffords, a third-generation Arizonan who served five years in the state Legislature before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2006, will not seek re-election this fall.

Giffords vowed to return public service.

So out of touch was I, that I had not even seen Rep. Giffords speak since she was shot. Here is the video in which she announces she is stepping down:

The transcript from the YouTube page:

Arizona is my home, always will be. A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for we can change things for the better. Jobs, border security, veterans. We can do so much more by working together. I don’t remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week. I’m getting better. Every day, my spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country. Thank you very much.

I still remember watching the video when Giffords read the First Amendment on the House floor:

That happened shortly before she was shot. Ever since then, people have tried to exploit the actions of her crazed would-be assassin to smear Sarah Palin and others, and portray conservatives as people who incite mentally disturbed people to commit acts of violence. Many of these critics are, in classic Alinsky fashion, making these accusations because they themselves have embarked on a campaign of inciting people based on phony accusations and dishonest rhetoric. These people know who they are and they know exactly what they are doing. They are trying to silence conservatives and make us ashamed to express our views in a forceful fashion.

So on this sad day, when Rep. Giffords announces her intent to resign, it is well to remember that she is a symbol, not of the dangers of free speech, but of the dangers of trying to stamp it out. Those who seek to exploit Giffords’s tragedy are guilty of an assault on the very Constitutional protection Rep. Giffords was so proud to read on the House floor.

I know that we all wish Rep. Giffords well, and are pleased to see her speaking and smiling. I hope she is correct that she will return to fight for Arizona and for our Constitution.

40 Responses to “Video: Gabby Giffords Resigns”

  1. She won’t fight for the Constitution she lurvs her some Obamacare

    freedom be damned

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  2. Well said, sir. I live in Giffords’ district; and while I am significantly to the right of her, politically, I readily acknowledge her commitment and dedication to congressional service.

    Icy (83a940)

  3. God bless her. Cong. Giffords has had a terrible injury and an amazing recovery. I hope she keeps improving and that her burdens get easier with each day.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  4. And if it was a choice between Gabby and the Rep of the next district over — Raul Grijalva . . .

    Icy (83a940)

  5. My guess is her husband runs for the seat.

    norcal (dac205)

  6. Have Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly moved to Arizona? I thought he still lived in Houston but he retired recently, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they moved.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  7. I like that Patterico sees her as a symbol of those who would crush speech they don’t like.

    I am pretty confident she will be back. Just thinking about what she’s overcome so far… she’s capable of a lot.

    Norcal, that’s a good guess. They could do a lot worse.

    I don’t agree with these folks on a lot of things, but ideology is not the most important thing to me.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  8. I was just reading that Mark Kelly has not ruled out running for office,

    Kelly’s retirement has raised speculation that he might run for office in 2012 either for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Senator Jon Kyl who is retiring, or for his wife’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives if her health condition prevents her from running for re-election. Kelly says he is not running for office but he also has not ruled out the possibility.[47]

    This was before Congresswoman Giffords announced her retirement plan.

    I’m happy she will be stepping down and that she will be able to fully focus on her ongoing recovery.

    Dana (4eca6e)

  9. 5. My guess is her husband runs for the seat.
    Comment by norcal — 1/22/2012 @ 12:52 pm

    — Hopefully Dustin does not view this as just me disagreeing with him, but I don’t think your guess is going to pan out, norcal.

    Icy (83a940)

  10. Icy,

    I hope you’re right, because he would probably win due to the sympathy vote.

    norcal (dac205)

  11. It just doesn’t make much sense. In addition to the residency question (as far as I know, he is a resident of Houston, TX), Why would she step down to recover while he takes her place and, consequently, is no longer there to help with her recovery?

    Icy (83a940)

  12. “I hope she is correct that she will return to fight for Arizona and for our Constitution”

    Hard to imagine how one could vote with the Democrats 83% of the time AND be a defender of the Constitution.

    As a matter of fact, I find that impossible to believe (especially since I’ve looked at her voting record).

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  13. “I still remember watching the video when Giffords read the First Amendment on the House floor:”

    I remember that stunt as well. The Congress critters left out certain parts of the Constitution they didn’t care to read, they skipped over part of the Constitution by accident (when two pages of their special edition of the Constitution got stuck together)…and nobody noticed it until hours later. When a spectator rose to shout out a comment about Obama being qualified to serve as president, the spectator was forcibly removed…and charged with a crime! This was shortly before the reading of the 1st Amendment.

    Too funny.

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  14. Hard to imagine how one could vote with the Democrats 83% of the time AND be a defender of the Constitution.

    As a matter of fact, I find that impossible to believe (especially since I’ve looked at her voting record).

    Comment by Dave Surls

    Yeah, she’s wrong on a lot of stuff. But her folks wanted her to be their congressperson, and she was interacting directly with those voters when someone ruined her. She’s been amazing in her recovery, but if you watch that video (And please, do watch it), it’s impossible not to be moved by how much it’s cost her.

    Vote for her… no, I probably wouldn’t, but I’ll be happy when she gets back into power, at which point I’ll cheerfully explain why she’s wrong about the issues she’s wrong about. Her districts right to elect someone who is wrong is a sacred right.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  15. I won’t label her a protector of the constitution or anything like that. I have always had a profound lack of concern for what she stood for. The only thing that mattered to me was 1) she was the chosen representative of her district, and 2) that lunatic has vetoed the votes of everyone who chose her to be the representative of her district.

    I trust that patrick knows what he was talking about when he said that about her protecting the constitution, but in a profound sense, I don’t care about her politics. the people were vetoed by violence and that is all i care about.

    Aaron Worthing (73a7ea)

  16. In a few more years, she has a lock on Governor.

    Scott Jacobs (d027b8)

  17. Grijalva does represent my district, but he doesn’t represent my beliefs. Gabby Giffords would have been a far better choice, even though I don’t agree with her that much either.

    PatAZ (8aabf0)

  18. Good luck to her and her family. Houston’s been glad to be her temporary home during her rehabilitation.

    Beldar (88eab4)

  19. I hope she continues her recovery. Brain damage from a crazed assassin’s bullet is not something I would wish on my worst enemy.

    tyree (84087f)

  20. She helped perpetuate the lie that tax cuts cost money which it doesn’t.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  21. “I trust that patrick knows what he was talking about when he said that about her protecting the constitution…”

    Like Pat, I also hopes that she returns to fight for the Constitution, but since she’s never particularly done so in the past, I’m a little skeptical about the future.

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  22. Reaction to the Giffords incident is what made my belief that liberalism is a mental illness change from theory to fact. It also marks the point in my life where I stopped talking to liberals. How can you reason with a class of people whose beliefs are based on their hatred rather than hard facts or logic?

    [note: fished from spam filter. –Stashiu]

    CrustyB (d4da92)

  23. Not only this her husband had the nerve to get all outraged over Palin not coming to apologize for something she did not do.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  24. And did anyone blame Bush for this and that Maobama was trying to clean up the incivility.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  25. Why doesn’t she ever ask Sheriff Dupnik to apologize for letting Loughner go free,

    narciso (87e966)

  26. Did she finally become self aware enough to realize she couldn’t fulfill the duties of a representative?

    That’s a milestone in her healing process.

    papertiger (e55ba0)

  27. A milestone that Senator’s Byrd and Kennedy never reached.

    papertiger (e55ba0)

  28. The civility cries from the Left still plss mee off.

    JD (318f81)

  29. It also marks the point in my life where I stopped talking to liberals.

    The aftermath there, with the civility BS… that was appalling. It’s not the case that all liberals think that way.

    I could find plenty of examples of conservatives who are also hateful. Just a couple of days ago, a Romney fanatic in the sockpuppet thread explained that because I’m middle eastern, my place is beneath a boot. I’d be insane if I thought all Romney fans were like that.

    You can’t let the extremists define their entire movement. I think Obama is a particularly radical president and the media has polarized badly, which has made it much harder for the democrats to escape being defined by some of these things. But hopefully that doesn’t last.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  30. Hint; On the net nobody can tell you’re middle eastern (Does that mean you’re from Jersey?)

    papertiger (e55ba0)

  31. Who cares if someone is middle eastern!?!?

    JD (318f81)

  32. The day her husband goes after Dupnik is the day Obama resigns willingly.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  33. Greetings:

    Certainly a stand-up thing to do, especially after the way her Democratic brethren and sistren trotted her out for that too well publicized vote in Congress.

    I had a motorcycle buddy who dropped his bike in a gravelly turn one evening and ended up in serious brain injury comasville on and off for about a year. It took about three years before he was anywhere close to his previous normal. Serious head traumas should not be taken any way biut very seriously.

    11B40 (680bdf)

  34. Gabby will, unfortunately, never say anything against Dupnik. Overall, his department does a good job, but the man is left-wing scum. To have the temerity to suggest — on national television (thank you, Olbermaggot!) — that ‘right-wing radio’ drove Loughner to do what he did . . .

    Icy (e68f57)

  35. a Romney fanatic in the sockpuppet thread explained that because I’m middle eastern, my place is beneath a boot.
    Comment by Dustin — 1/23/2012 @ 8:45 am

    Sicily?

    Pinandpuller (1f514c)

  36. Sicily?

    Comment by Pinandpuller

    hahaha

    Jesus, I didn’t think I would find anything related to that funny. It really pissed me off, and it’s been a couple of weeks of absolute creeps online.

    Good one.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  37. Who cares if someone is middle eastern!?!?
    Comment by JD — 1/23/2012 @ 9:09 am

    — Not me.

    Icy (e68f57)

  38. – Not me.

    Comment by Icy

    Of course not.

    Crap, that sounds sarcastic.

    I mean it non-sarcastically.

    But anyway, people say stupid things they regret when their emotions get the better of them. Whoever said that, I honestly forgive it, but it’s serious and I hope you work on that.

    Dustin (7362cd)

  39. Gabby Giffords may be a lot of things.

    But that smile is real.

    The Democrats lie to me early and often. This isn’t one of those times.

    Steve (1f4b7c)

  40. But that smile is real.

    True. She’s really in there, and unable to communicate… just like they said.

    It’s horrible, but also amazing when you consider that in our society, someone can recover from what happened to her. We have a lot to be thankful for in this health care system that gets lost in the focus on politics.

    Dustin (7362cd)


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