Congresswoman Giffords' return remains "uncertain"

From just about day one, the "progress reports" sounded way too happy-happy joy-joy to me.

In the long run, I don't think they were helpful, because they set up unrealistic expectations about her rehabilitation.

 

It's not really as black and white as people are making it out to be.

For starters, there's really no reason for her to resign at this point, and no great clamor in Arizona for her to step down. (There was immediately after the shooting -- strictly from Republicans, who stopped when they discovered the governor couldn't just name a Republican to take her place).

Gifffords' staff is handling things for constituents just as they would normally, and other members of congress are looking after her interests there. For now the Democrats are down one vote, but honestly, they're not in a position where that's likely to mean much.

Brain issues are tricky. No, it doesn't sound like she's likely to recover to the point where a return to Washington makes sense, but brain injuries take time to heal and there's no point in giving up 5 months in. We'll have a much, much better idea of her long-term situation by the time she needs to make the decision on re-election.

And while the doctors' comments have been upbeat all along, if you've listened closely to what people have actually said, it's been clear that she's in rough shape. A reporter asked Mark Kelly what she said about his plans to go up in the shuttle and his response was something like "We're confident it's something she would fully support."

And as for the progress reports -- remember, these are doctors who deal with people who deal with people with massive head trauma, and a huge percentage of those patients will never feed themselves again. They think Giffords' comprehension level is close to normal, if not normal -- she's just struggling to communicate her thoughts. If you saw the video of her getting on the plane in Houston, she's moving very well. She climbed the steps to the plane largely unaided. So, while she's in rough shape compared to the Gabby Giffords before the shooting, it's a freakin' miracle that she's doing what she's doing, and the doctors have been celebrating that.

(As for Mark Kelly's trip -- she's in rehab at this point, not in ICU or anything like that. While it would be nice to be by her side through all of that, he's an astronaut, and this was probably his last opportunity to go into space. Given the improvements she had made by that point, I can't imagine the decision to go was particularly difficult.)

 

This makes no sense at all.

 

Why?

We don't know that she won't be able to return. If it becomes clear that she can't, she should resign. Until then, no.

Senator Tim Johnson suffered a stroke in 2006. At this stage of his recovery he was just leaving the hospital and was months away from returning to work. He's still in office, having been re-elected by a wide margin in 2008. Should he have resigned?

 

If she wants to come back, she can stand for election again. As it stands, she hasn't been serving her constituents for virtually the entire length of her term.

And Johnson should have resigned as well. If I recall correctly, his absence actually did cause issues as far as vote totals were concerned. Again, if he was re-elected by a wide margin, there's no reason he couldn't have stood again. You could even appoint a declared short-timer to the position.

 

Agree with Deskslave.

Giffords should resign. Johnson should have.

It's not about the individuals. These people are replaceable.

If it's "public service," you step aside when you can no longer serve.

 

No, you can't appoint a short-timer. You have to have an election.

 

Right. Didn't mean to agree with that part.

Congressional seats can only be filled by an election.

A Senate seat (in most states) can be filled by a Governor until the next scheduled election. (Not necessarily the term would be up, an election would be held on the next election day to fill the remainder of the term.)

Now, I suppose in a case like Johnson's, if everyone was willing to go along, the Governor could appoint someone who pledges to only serve until Johnson was healthy.

Then, he could resign and Johnson could be re-appointed or he could run in the next election.

But a lot would have to line up for that to happen. And, in Johnson's case, I'm pretty sure they had a Republican Governor.

But, the bottom line is that these are not these guys' (or gals') seats. And, while a stroke or a shooting is terrible, if they can't serve, they should resign.

The people deserve representation more than the elected official deserves the seat.

 

The doctor in charge of her case here in Houston is the same doctor that did my dad's second brain surgery a short time ago and he just did the third brain surgery this past Monday. We felt like if he was good enough to have such a high profile patient, then my dad was getting the best of the best.

Sorry to veer off topic.

 

Hope your dad's ok.

 

He is doing wonderful. It really is amazing how well and fast he is recovering. This was his third one since February, but it was also his last one.

Thank you for asking.

 

Boy, the nerve of this Giffords broad. Stealing the taxpayers' money, keeping an able-bodied would-be congressperson from fulfilling his or her political destiny. She should be ashamed, if the horrible injury she suffered on duty representing the people of her district doesn't preclude that.

Yeah, the government is about to grind to a halt because Congresswoman Giffords hasn't resigned.

That decision will come in due time, I'm sure. I hope it is dealt with more gracefully than the vultures circling this thread are handling it.