# Gabby Giffords resigning from Congress **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 22, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334 "2012-01-22T21:59:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/1 "2012-01-22T21:59:14Z")
Wow this shakes things up. A special election to fill her seat just 9 months before the regular election? WTF is that about? That’s a lot of wasted money for a special election. A 9 month appointment makes more sense to me. > [@](#): > > Giffords, a Democrat, will submit a letter of resignation during the week to House Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. Brewer said Sunday in a statement that she will call a “special primary and general election” to fill the state’s 8th congressional district seat for the rest of Giffords’ term, which expires at the end of the year. > **[Gabrielle Giffords will resign to focus on her recovery | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2012/01/22/politics/giffords-resigning/index.html?hpt=hp_t1)** > > Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announced that she will resign from Congress this week. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/2 "2012-01-22T22:08:19Z")
The house has smaller districts so a special election is not that costly. For the senate a replacement can serve until the next election so that’s a max of just under 2 years. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/3 "2012-01-22T22:18:02Z")
Gabby has worked her butt off in rehab but she still has a long way to go. They say she’ll continue improving for the next few years. It took Bob Woodruff over two years to get back on the air reporting. Hopefully Gabby will get that same level of recovery eventually. I suspect Gifford’s chef of staff will run for her seat. Pia Carusone has done an exemplary job filling in for Giffords and running her office. I hope she does run. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-12-04/giffords-aide-pia-carusone/51640368/1](http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-12-04/giffords-aide-pia-carusone/51640368/1) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/4 "2012-01-22T22:34:36Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > A special election to fill her seat just 9 months before the regular election? WTF is that about? Ohio once had a special election two weeks _after_ the general election. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/5 "2012-01-22T22:50:21Z")
Here’s Giffords’ statement about stepping down. They did a really nice job with the video. Its only 2 minutes and definitely worth watching. She’s one incredible lady. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Nguu0TkCTd4/hqdefault.jpg "Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Steps Down from Congress") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nguu0TkCTd4) ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/6 "2012-01-22T23:24:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Here’s Giffords’ statement about stepping down. They did a really nice job with the video. What’s with the horrible Lifetime Movie of the Week background music? Does that follow her everywhere now, as an aftereffect of the brain injury? ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/7 "2012-01-22T23:30:03Z")
She refused to just hang on in name only and let others do the work. She stepped down “for the good of Arizona.” But at the end she said, “I will be back.” That leaves room for speculation that if her recovery continues, at some point she could run again. I suspect there would be some bonus votes out there for her courage and devotion to the state. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/8 "2012-01-23T00:05:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Wow this shakes things up. A special election to fill her seat just 9 months before the regular election? WTF is that about? That’s a lot of wasted money for a special election. A 9 month appointment makes more sense to me. Unlike the Senate, where the method for filling a seat until the next election is left up to each state, the Constitution says in case of House vacancies the state must issue “writs of election” for a replacement. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/9 "2012-01-23T00:18:01Z")
I live in her district and I voted for her. I respect that she’s stepping down for the sake of her recovery. I watched her video and it brought tears to my eyes. She looked and sounded damn good, almost like she was before her injury. She has come very far in just a year from a brain injury that caused initial reports to write her off as dead. I condemn Jared Loughner for causing this to happen. I hope she continues to progress in her recovery and is able to run for her seat again, whether it’s in 2014 or 2016 or no matter how long it takes her. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/10 "2012-01-23T00:25:42Z")
Thank you. I didn’t realize House Seats required a special election. I knew Governors often appoint someone to fill vacant seats, but apparently that’s only for the Senate. I think Giffords will be back. Maybe as a Senator someday. John McCain’s seat will be up for reelection in a few years. > [@JRDelirious](#): > > Unlike the Senate, where the method for filling a seat until the next election is left up to each state, the Constitution says in case of House vacancies the state must issue “writs of election” for a replacement. ---
**Author:** ![Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bag_of_mostly_water/32/1029_2.png) [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bag_of_Mostly_Water)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/11 "2012-01-23T00:38:29Z")
Not to belittle her efforts – but that video was very heavily edited. I suspect she can say phrases of a few words with some effort and practice. She probably recited the statement phrase by phrase multiple times and an editor spliced together the best attempts. She’s clearly come a long way and has tremendous strength. But I don’t think speaking with her in person would be like that video at all. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/12 "2012-01-23T00:41:35Z")
Living in her home town, I know people that know her. I’ve known for a long time that this was coming. The media hasn’t really reported on how limited her abilities still are. It’s good to focus on the positive and all that, but recovering from a traumatic brain injury such as hers is much slower and more arduous than her recovery has been portrayed as. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/13 "2012-01-23T00:50:42Z")
> [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](#): > > Not to belittle her efforts – but that video was very heavily edited. I suspect she can say phrases of a few words with some effort and practice. She probably recited the statement phrase by phrase multiple times and an editor spliced together the best attempts. > > She’s clearly come a long way and has tremendous strength. But I don’t think speaking with her in person would be like that video at all. Yeah, that seemed apparent to me too. But I have to give her credit for making her statement herself on camera rather than have her chief of staff or communications director make the statement for her. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/14 "2012-01-23T12:57:18Z")
> [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](#): > > Not to belittle her efforts – but that video was very heavily edited. I suspect she can say phrases of a few words with some effort and practice. She probably recited the statement phrase by phrase multiple times and an editor spliced together the best attempts. > > She’s clearly come a long way and has tremendous strength. But I don’t think speaking with her in person would be like that video at all. Exactly. With all due respect to Ms Giffords, she only appears functional when things are very carefully staged to hide her disability. She’s doing the right thing by resigning. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/15 "2012-01-23T13:33:56Z")
I think she should have resigned much sooner than this. If she becomes capable of doing the job at some point in the future, I think it would be wonderful for her to run again. But she has been incapable of doing her job for over a year now, and I think she may have timed this in order to be fully vested in the congressional pension plan. As I understand it, she is eligible for a congressional pension when she reaches age 62 now that she has served five years in congress. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/16 "2012-01-23T15:58:45Z")
> [@Al\_Bundy](#): > > She refused to just hang on in name only and let others do the work. She stepped down “for the good of Arizona.” But at the end she said, “I will be back.” That leaves room for speculation that if her recovery continues, at some point she could run again. I suspect there would be some bonus votes out there for her courage and devotion to the state. +1 I know you are right…but still, a small part of me feels this is “letting the bastards win”. I predict that money will now pour into the district to try to elect someone with views much closer to [del]Loughner’s[/del] some crosshair website’s candidate than Gifford’s. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/17 "2012-01-23T16:34:48Z")
I’m not surprised, but I hope her recovery continues to surpass people’s expectations. > [@Crotalus](#): > > But she has been incapable of doing her job for over a year now, and I think she may have timed this in order to be fully vested in the congressional pension plan. As I understand it, she is eligible for a congressional pension when she reaches age 62 now that she has served five years in congress. Or she may have wanted to make the decision on her own terms (or even been waiting for the anniversary to pass). But waiting for her pension to vest would also make sense since it’s going to be difficult for her to work again. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/18 "2012-01-23T18:22:52Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I think she should have resigned much sooner than this. If she becomes capable of doing the job at some point in the future, I think it would be wonderful for her to run again. But she has been incapable of doing her job for over a year now, and I think she may have timed this in order to be fully vested in the congressional pension plan. As I understand it, she is eligible for a congressional pension when she reaches age 62 now that she has served five years in congress. Even if so, what’s wrong with that? She was arguably shot in the course of her duties and may never be able to work again. Why shouldn’t she be eligible for a pension? ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/19 "2012-01-23T18:33:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Even if so, what’s wrong with that? She was arguably shot in the course of her duties and may never be able to work again. Why shouldn’t she be eligible for a pension? This. If there was ever a member of congress who deserves a pension, it’s her. (And before someone says it, I would say the same for a Republican in her position.) ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334/20 "2012-01-23T19:44:54Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Even if so, what’s wrong with that? She was arguably shot in the course of her duties and may never be able to work again. Why shouldn’t she be eligible for a pension? Because she was rendered incapable of doing her job after four years in office. Most people who experience disability after a short time on the job get sick leave, short-term disability, then long-term disability, not a pension. I don’t think drawing full pay from taxpayers, preventing her district from having earlier access to a functional representative and waiting out the amazingly short five year qualification time for a congressional pension was a particularly honorable thing to do. What happens when a cop or a firefighter gets disabled after a few years on the job? What do they get? Disability insurance or a pension? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabby-giffords-resigning-from-congress/610334.md?page=2)