by Karl Kurtz
The tragedy of the assassination attempt on Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, resulting in the killing of six bystanders, hits the NCSL community of state legislators, legislative staff and advocates of representative democracy particularly hard. We believe passsionately that the connection between the people and their elected representatives is at the heart of the success of the American Republic. We regularly promote this linkage through our printed materials, videos and professional development programs for legislators and legislative staff. Anything that threatens that vital relationship is perilous to our system of democracy.
As NPR commentator Cokie Roberts put it,
[I]f [this shooter's] alienation from government is...what this is all about, nothing could alienate the public more than cutting off members of Congress from their constituents. ...[U]sually this alienation has nothing to do with individual members; it has to do with institutions. And the more members interact with their voters and their constituents, ...the better the view of government is. So if the effect is to cut members of Congress off, then this guy will have succeeded in heightening anti-government feeling.
It takes guts to be an elected official. Fortunately the kind of violence that erupted in Tucson is a rare occurence, but our elected representatives face verbal abuse and threats with regularity. Poignantly, John Green, the father of the nine-year old girl who was murdered, said in reference to the shooter, “In a free society, we are going to be subjected to people like this. I prefer this to the alternative.”
The alternative, presumably, is some kind of police state where government is isolated and insulated from contact with the people. Hopefully, all of our elected representatives will maintain their remarkable courage as they serve the public and strengthen, rather than pull back from, their ties with their community and the public in order to nurture our representative democracy.
Not only is it a tough job for elected officials, their staff are also at risk. Paradoxically, Gabriel Zimmerman, the casework manager for Rep. Giffords who was killed in the shooting, was noted for his skill in dealing with the public:
“In the office, he was a tireless champion for people who really needed help. He would always make time to sit down and talk to anyone, old people or those in need,” Mr. Graver said. “He was great with really difficult people, with people who were angry and upset; he was a peacemaker.”
When Mr. Zimmerman was shot, he was asking constituents how Ms. Giffords’s office could help them.
Two other members of Rep. Giffords' staff were wounded in the shooting. A third, 20-year old intern Daniel Hernandez, was heroic in providing first aid to the congresswoman and may have saved her life.
NCSL President Richard Moore issued a statement expressing NCSL's sympathy for the victims of the tragedy and his "hope that this tragedy will spur a renewed zeal among all parties and all citizens for a restoration of civility in public discourse throughout America."
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