Attack on Giffords is Attack on Democracy
Giffords has received numerous threats throughout the recent past. While there were not apparently threats specific enough to warrant extreme caution, the fact is that at any time, particularly during difficult economic times, the safety and security of elected officials and their staffs has to be of the highest concern.
While it is not realistic, logistically nor financially, to provide the kind of extreme security that the president of the United States is provided, the sad part of Saturday's shooting is that it may inhibit other members of Congress from moving about as freely in public and among their constituents as they may have otherwise.
Calif. Rep. Dennis Cardoza said on Saturday that he, along with other members of Congress, had received multiple email messages from Capitol Hill police. Cardoza said, "They told us to increase our vigilance, and to have more security at our public events."
Naturally, elected officials want to have as much assurance as possible that they are safe from the small but dangerous element in the world that would do them harm. But, a key part of governing effectively, and, candidly, being elected to office, is the ability to meet with large numbers of people to impart something of a personal connection and relationship. In many ways, the personal contact between lawmakers and elected officials is a cornerstone of a democracy.
While the motive behind Saturday's shooting of Giffords is not yet fully known, in some ways it is irrelevant. Whether it was a politically motivated attack or crazed gunman (and it is believed to be a gunman at press time), an attack on the safety and security of any elected official is an attack at the underpinnings of the American system.
Hopefully Giffords will fully recover and through the lens of history it turns out to be simply an aberration. But in the near term, the country faces a delicate balancing act between providing primary contact for the public and politicians and security for all involved.
Ron Hart is a political observer living in New York City. Having volunteered on several political campaigns, for both Democrat and Republican candidates, he brings a moderate's perspective. He is following the 2012 presidential campaign in its nascent stages
Published by Ron Hart
Ron Hart lives in New York. His interests are varied and include sports, politics and great Big Apple restaurants. He is a big baseball fan and enjoys discussing, debating and watching sports. He also enj... View profile
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6 Comments
Post a CommentThis was terrible. God bless all the people involved. Excellent article!
To: Robert Fassbach, editor SeniorArk
Amen.
my my thoughts and prayers are with her and the family. As well as those of the injured and dead. I might think she is a traitor politically for her dream act vote, but this is not how things are done in this country. This does not appear to be politically motivated in the republican and democrat sense. This guy was a liberal pot head
If this atmosphere is not strongly condemned by all factions, and a political healing does not begin to take place, then we might witness the beginnings of the unraveling of our great open and free society. Robert Fassbach, editor SeniorArk
...to stir hatred toward the other guy.
Politically we have began referring to each other as sub-human. The goal of politicians has not been to serve the people with meaningful laws, but to defeat the opponent in the next election. People with positions we do not hold, are demonized day after day. Rush Limbaugh refers to welfare recipients as "human debris". And that is just one of hundreds of examples of the demonization of a portion of our population. Votes are held to repeal laws, not because a repeal would better serve the people, but because the vote might embarrass our President, and satisfy an extreme wing of an otherwise respectable political party. Lies, lies, and more lies are passed off a "oh that's just politics". Don't make me sick!!
It is in this poisonous atmosphere that a crazy individual feels justified to exercise his "second amendment right" and shoot an elected Congresswoman through her brain. If this atmosphere is not str
Today a respected and loved Congresswoman was shot down, along with numerous others, while exercising free speech on a Tucson sidewalk. Shock and grief have swept the country. All of today's TV news has covered the shootings, as though they are a total surprise. And yet only two months ago this Congresswoman was listed on a prominent "conservative" woman's "hit list", and her district was shown behind the crosshairs of a gun. Another candidate spoke of the people "taking up second amendment remedies" (as in - load your gun) if their way was not the official way. T-shirts promoting violence are worn outside locations of Presidential speeches by gun-toting radicals. Hate radio spews its venom daily. Gold is pushed on one network by whipping up fear that our Republic is about to be burned on an ash heap, unless something isn't done immediately to the opposition. Unease is born and bred daily. Fear rather than hope is spread, mainly in an attempt