Democrat Proposes Kicking Rep. Giffords Off Of House Armed Services Committee
As Rep. Gabrielle Giffords recovers in Tucson, at least one Democrat is trying to get her removed from a committee assignment in Washington DC:
Behind closed doors, California Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez has proposed removing Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords from the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) until she recovers from injuries sustained after being shot in the head on Jan. 8 in Tucson, The Daily Caller has learned.
The proposal sparked an outrage, according to those in the room — including from those in Sanchez’s own party.
“It’s not appropriate,” Texas Democratic Rep. Silvestre Reyes told The Daily Caller, adding that there was outrage among some members in the room when Sanchez made the suggestion. “It’s bad for morale during her recovery period.”
Ed Morrissey points out that there are 26 Democrats on this committee, and that Republicans have an eight-vote advantage. Thus, Rep. Sanchez’s argument about Giffords’ missing vote seems….a little thin.
That being said, I don’t find it all that outrageous that some would question whether or not Giffords should be replaced in the House. I’ve long held that Senator Tim Johnson from South Dakota, who won re-election despite claiming to be too incapacitated to debate his opponent.
As tragic and heart-breaking as Giffords’ shooting was, she was still elected to represent the people and right now she’s not doing her job even if it is because of circumstances beyond her control.
As we’ve seen in some of the votes over the last couple of years (see: Obamacare), every single member of Congress matters. Ultimately I think it should be up to the voters’ in Giffords’ district as to whether or not she continues to serve as their Congresswoman despite her injury, which is why I support recall for members of Congress.
Some have argued that recall of federal officials is unconstitutional – it isn’t – and having the power lays to rest questions about debilitated members of Congress. If their constituencies feel like they can no longer serve then they’ll be recalled. If not, they can carry on.
Tags: gabrielle giffords, loretta sanchez
