[Re-post] Gabrielle Giffords Should Resign For The Sake Of Her District

Originally posted November 17, 2011.

Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head on January 8, 2011. A sentence like that would normally serve as the end of a person's story. For Congresswoman Giffords, it serves as the beginning. Before that day, she was a rather unnoticed representative who had just won a third term. That most recent election did elicit some press coverage, as she had narrowly defeated a tea party backed Republican opponent. But that pales in comparison to the massive outpouring of attention following the shooting. The initial coverage was largely focused on Sarah Palin, of all people, for her group's use of a gun sight over Gifford's district. That attention was of no use in the end to liberals, since Palin's monumentally off-key response ("blood libel") resulted in the half-term governor's nascent presidential campaign committing suicide. Once the media attention was drawn back to Giffords there was to be no end to their fawning over her life, which continues to this day.

Gifford's life since being shot is indeed amazing. Not only did she live (no small feat unto itself) but she has over the past ten months or so regained the ability to walk and talk. It is a wonderful story of the perseverance of the human body, and of the mortal soul. And as if created by Hollywood screenwriters, she is married to an astronaut, always by her side save for the brief period that he was rocketed into space in the cause of scientific research. (Actually you can scratch that screenwriter reference - such a character would be deemed too cute and perfect, even by the current standards of Hollywood schlock) Gifford's physical journey has made for a wonderful story. When I had first heard that she had been shot I thought that if she didn't end up dying, she would most likely end up in some form of a vegetative state. But she has, I am happy to say, proven me very wrong. As the publicity from her husband's recent book tour can atest, she can not only walk on her own, she can also speak in a rudimentary way.

It is this recovery that brings me around to the main point. Since Giffords was shot on January 8th, the citizens of Arizona's eigth district have been without a voting member of Congress. Her personal story is both tragic and heroic, and mesmerizes us - but those citizens have been without a voice in our federal government's lower chamber. It is true that the rest of her congressional office has been humming with activity. People calling seeking information or help have been aided and directed in the appropriate direction. But the most basic duty, indeed the essential job, of a Representative is to vote, something that Giffords has been unable to do since January 7th (she did show up in the middle of the vote on the debt ceiling vote on August, but that was only to cast a simple 'aye' vote).

Gifford's recent media tour has shown that she is unable to speak in sentences longer than one or two words. Though she can process basic emotions - love of her husband, sadness for those who died on January 8th - it remains to be seen whether she can process the complicated details necessary to understand legislation. And if she cannot understand it, and more practically if her medical needs means she cannot be in Washington, DC, then she cannot vote. Therefore, she should resign. If she has recovered to the point where she could function as a Representative by the 2012 or 2014 elections, then she is free to present her case to the voters. I would strongly suspect that she still holds the seat because she has her doubts as to whether she could win reelection in 2012 were it not for the sympathy of the voters. Her margin of victory was thin in 2010 (138,280 to 134,124), and the nature of her district indicates that it would be just as thin if not thinner in 2012. However, if Congresswoman Giffords wants what is best for her constituents, she should resign and allow the Arizona governor to appoint a representative who is capable of being a voice for the eighth district in Washington.