Geez, she was shot in the head 3 months ago! Answer me this...how many politicians running for re-election, or PRESIDENT, miss more than that because they are campaigning???
261 out of 272 Votes is a TON of Votes and Missed Representation Regardless of the Situation. Giffords was Elected into Public Office to Represent Congressional District 8 in Tucson, AZ. That is Simply NOT happening and Nobody Knows when or IF Giffords is Ever going to be able to Represent This District or any District ever again for that matter. How Long Should Tucson go without Representation is the Main Point of My Question. Everyone Knows and Agrees what happened to Giffords is Tragic and Unfortunate but Our Democratic Process MUST Move on with or Without Giffords. You Disagree? Why Would You Disagree with that? Giffords is a Nice Lady but there's Tons of Nice People waiting for the opportunity to Represent Tucson IF and WHEN Tucson Will allow someone else to Represent CD8 until Giffords can return.
Here the link to some of what I pasted below: http://www.slate.com/id/2280826/
What happens in Congress when a member becomes incapacitated? They keep their seat until they decide—or their family decides—that it's time to step down. There are no rules in the House or the Senate that say a member of Congress must ever resign due to health reasons. In theory, a total vegetable could sit in Congress as long as their family refused to pull the political plug. Likewise, party leaders rarely pressure a member to step down—at least not publicly. That said, incapacitated members of Congress aren't very effective. Their staffers may continue to write legislation and advocate for their constituents' interests, but the members have little sway if they're not physically able to show up for votes.
Only once has Congress ever vacated a member's seat for medical reasons, and that was with her family's permission after she was unable to take the oath of office. Gladys Spellman, a congresswoman representing Maryland, went into a coma after suffering a heart attack just before Election Day in 1980.* She won re-election anyway, but after a few months, doctors said she remained in a sleeplike state and was unlikely to recover. Her family initially resisted vacating her seat, but finally, with their permission, the House voted on a resolution in February 1981 directing the state of Maryland to fill her seat. Spellman's husband ran for her seat and lost; Spellman never came out of the coma.
If Spellman had been able to take her oath of office—and thus get her staff to work in the Capitol—her seat might not have been vacated. Other members of Congress have continued to serve long after being incapacitated. In the 1940s, Carter Glass, a senator from Virginia, was absent for four years due to ailing health. He refused to step down despite numerous pleas from the editorial boards of Virginia newspapers, and his staff continued to work during that time. (Glass was chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.) He kept his seat until his death in 1946. When Sen. Karl Mundt, a Republican from South Dakota suffered a stroke in 1969, his wife took over running his office. Mundt would resign, she said, only if the governor of South Dakota agreed to appoint her as his successor. The governor refused. Mundt didn't seek re-election in 1972 and was replaced by a Democrat. Sen. James Murray of Montana was so senile in the 1950s that his son ran his office and told him how to vote. Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia was hospitalized for long stretches in his final years, but he remained in office until his death at 92 in 2010. Despite suffering a stroke in 2006, Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota won re-election in 2008 and continues to serve.
Ellen - You're avoiding the point of this post which is how long SHOULD a district go unrepresented? That is the point. I Don't care about all of the other cases where politicians have had strokes or whatever. I think it's Only Just to have Representation. That's what Elections are all about. A Representative Republic is built on the Representatives Voting for their districts. We're lacking that right now.
4 comments:
Geez, she was shot in the head 3 months ago! Answer me this...how many politicians running for re-election, or PRESIDENT, miss more than that because they are campaigning???
261 out of 272 Votes is a TON of Votes and Missed Representation Regardless of the Situation. Giffords was Elected into Public Office to Represent Congressional District 8 in Tucson, AZ. That is Simply NOT happening and Nobody Knows when or IF Giffords is Ever going to be able to Represent This District or any District ever again for that matter. How Long Should Tucson go without Representation is the Main Point of My Question. Everyone Knows and Agrees what happened to Giffords is Tragic and Unfortunate but Our Democratic Process MUST Move on with or Without Giffords.
You Disagree? Why Would You Disagree with that? Giffords is a Nice Lady but there's Tons of Nice People waiting for the opportunity to Represent Tucson IF and WHEN Tucson Will allow someone else to Represent CD8 until Giffords can return.
Here the link to some of what I pasted below: http://www.slate.com/id/2280826/
What happens in Congress when a member becomes incapacitated?
They keep their seat until they decide—or their family decides—that it's time to step down. There are no rules in the House or the Senate that say a member of Congress must ever resign due to health reasons. In theory, a total vegetable could sit in Congress as long as their family refused to pull the political plug. Likewise, party leaders rarely pressure a member to step down—at least not publicly. That said, incapacitated members of Congress aren't very effective. Their staffers may continue to write legislation and advocate for their constituents' interests, but the members have little sway if they're not physically able to show up for votes.
Only once has Congress ever vacated a member's seat for medical reasons, and that was with her family's permission after she was unable to take the oath of office. Gladys Spellman, a congresswoman representing Maryland, went into a coma after suffering a heart attack just before Election Day in 1980.* She won re-election anyway, but after a few months, doctors said she remained in a sleeplike state and was unlikely to recover. Her family initially resisted vacating her seat, but finally, with their permission, the House voted on a resolution in February 1981 directing the state of Maryland to fill her seat. Spellman's husband ran for her seat and lost; Spellman never came out of the coma.
If Spellman had been able to take her oath of office—and thus get her staff to work in the Capitol—her seat might not have been vacated. Other members of Congress have continued to serve long after being incapacitated. In the 1940s, Carter Glass, a senator from Virginia, was absent for four years due to ailing health. He refused to step down despite numerous pleas from the editorial boards of Virginia newspapers, and his staff continued to work during that time. (Glass was chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.) He kept his seat until his death in 1946. When Sen. Karl Mundt, a Republican from South Dakota suffered a stroke in 1969, his wife took over running his office. Mundt would resign, she said, only if the governor of South Dakota agreed to appoint her as his successor. The governor refused. Mundt didn't seek re-election in 1972 and was replaced by a Democrat. Sen. James Murray of Montana was so senile in the 1950s that his son ran his office and told him how to vote. Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia was hospitalized for long stretches in his final years, but he remained in office until his death at 92 in 2010. Despite suffering a stroke in 2006, Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota won re-election in 2008 and continues to serve.
Ellen - You're avoiding the point of this post which is how long SHOULD a district go unrepresented? That is the point. I Don't care about all of the other cases where politicians have had strokes or whatever. I think it's Only Just to have Representation. That's what Elections are all about. A Representative Republic is built on the Representatives Voting for their districts. We're lacking that right now.
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