Gifford was a target of half-term Governor Palin. Perhaps Palin's insistence that America "Reload" to fight the Dems was taken too literally by a fanatic. I don't think she really knows what she is doing to this country. Maybe this will open her eyes.
Howard Fineman
The Huffington Post
WASHINGTON -- The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is a watershed event in many ways, some of which we cannot yet know, but one of the clearest and simplest is this: Congress and its members are about to be permanently quarantined, physically isolated, from the people it and they represent.
Thirty years ago, there was no such thing as security on Capitol Hill or for members. Members of the public were free to roam the halls, and police presence was practically invisible. There were no barricades around the grounds, and even the leadership rarely had any form of protection.
The Hill was the very model of the People's Place -- and in that respect it was an inspirational symbol of our democracy.
Congress began to close in on itself in 1983. A bomb explosion outside the Senate chamber engendered the installation of magnatometers; in 1998 a gunman shot two Capitol Police in an attack in the House. The result was a system of careful monitoring of all visitors and the extension of police protection to all members of the leadership. The 9/11 attacks led to the erection of barricades and new defense perimeters around the grounds; new inspection procedures were initiated after an anthrax attack in 2003 on the offices of then-Democratic leader Tom Dachle's office.
The construction of a new Visitor Center now means that the public can only enter through a secure facility and can only walk the halls in tour groups.
New even more restrictive rules are now inevitable. It's even possible that the general public will be banned from the hallways of the Capitol Complex, at least at certain times and under certain circumstances.
As for personal protection, that is likely to be increased substantially. For the last year or two, some House members and senators have had unpublicized but substantial security details dispatched to their side when deemed warranted.
The Huffington Post has learned that one Democratic senator had a special security detail detailed to him for two weeks after concerns were raised about personal threats.
But rather than have extensive details for each member, the members are likely to change their behavior -- which means they will stay behind closed doors here in DC and in their home districts and states.
Following the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday the U.S. Capitol Police issued the following statement and guidance to lawmakers:
"Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities in Arizona are investigating a shooting in Tucson, Arizona in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot. Multiple others were shot as well. Congresswoman Giffords has been transported to a local medical facility with serious injuries. The suspect is in custody. No further details on the motive or other victims are available at this time."
"The U.S. Capitol Police are directly involved in this investigation. As more information is developed, it will be provided. In the interim, all Members and staff are advised to take reasonable and prudent precautions regarding their personal security."
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was a target of Sarah Palin, but is a moderate, gun-owning Democrat
BY James Fanelli
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Gabrielle Giffords, the motorcycle-riding, gun-owning Democrat known as Gabby, struck a decisively moderate tone in her first two terms as a congresswoman representing a Republican-heavy district.
The third-generation Arizonan took a hard stance on illegal immigration and pushed for a larger National Guard presence to protect the border with Mexico.
On her campaign website, she touts strong support of the Second Amendment and cites a court filing she made to the Supreme Court, urging the justices to uphold a lower court's ruling that overturned a hand-gun ban in Washington, D.C.
But her backing of President Obama's health care reform made her a popular target of conservative talking head Sarah Palin and Tea Party members during the 2010 election. On her Facebook page last spring, Palin posted a U.S. map with crosshairs of a rifle scope over the districts repped by Giffords and 19 other Democrats.
In March, after the Health Care reform bill passed, vandals broke the door of her district office - one of several attacks against Democrats following the vote.
The 40-year-old first became a member of the House in 2006, taking a district where Republican voters outnumber Democrats.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I want to hear from you but any comment that advocates violence, illegal activity or that contains advertisements that do not promote activism or awareness, will be deleted.