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Rep. Giffords Voted Against Pelosi for House Speaker -- but That Was So Last Week

2 years ago
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On Saturday, as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was taking down the family Christmas tree in San Francisco, she heard a news flash that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) had been shot in the head at an outdoor constituent meeting in Tuscon, Ariz.

Seeking to distract herself as the horrific tale unfolded -- including early, erroneous reports that her colleague had died in the hail of bullets that claimed six lives and injured 14 -- Pelosi returned to dismantling the tree. Within minutes, she came across the ornament Gabby Giffords and her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, had given her as a gift, a source told Politics Daily.

It was an ironic and bittersweet moment for Pelosi. Never mind that on Jan. 5, just three days before the shooting, Giffords had voted for Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights pioneer from Georgia, instead of Pelosi, for House speaker. A total of 19 dissident Democrats supported other members for the post. Because Republicans so greatly outnumber Democrats, GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio was elected speaker, and Pelosi, by default, became minority leader. At the time, Pelosi shrugged off the insurgency by moderates and conservatives as "politics," just as she seemingly forgave Democrats who distanced themselves from her during their House campaigns by saying, "I just want them to win their elections. I don't care."

It is unclear what she thought of those who opposed her last week, and certainly in the case of Giffords, who faces a difficult recovery, Pelosi's real feelings will probably never be known.

But on Wednesday night, a short week after that vote -- which nevertheless overwhelmingly made her minority leader -- a clearly exultant Pelosi declared, "It was like a miracle," when Giffords opened her eyes at University Medical Center in Tucson, where she remains in critical condition.

Pelosi was with two of Giffords' best friends -- Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York -- in the hospital room where President Obama and his wife, Michelle, had also spent time before leaving for the emotional memorial service at the University of Arizona. After Pelosi left the hospital room, she partially attributed Giffords' latest sign of progress to "girl power."

The minority leader, who is 70, may not be as close to Giffords, 40, as her other two colleagues in the room, but she clearly has been a mentor to all the younger Democratic women elected in recent years. As House speaker until last week, it was Pelosi who named freshman Giffords to the Armed Services Committee in 2007 and gave her a coveted spot on the bipartisan delegation to the Copenhagen climate control conference in 2009.

On Tuesday afternoon, just three days after the shooting, Pelosi spent nearly 20 minutes consoling the Giffords' staff. She met with aides individually and then as a group, the source said. Like other Democratic and Republican leaders have done since the shooting, Pelosi also arranged to have food delivered to the traumatized aides on Tuesday. "She is close to all of her members. It's part of her leadership style. She knows the children, the parents, the spouses. She sends notes," the source continued.

As Pelosi left Giffords' office in the Longworth building on Tuesday, she made no public statement. She just dabbed at her eyes and walked down the marble corridor. A day later, Giffords opened her eyes.

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7 Comments

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Ruth

I would imagine that accuracy in stories should be of utmost important to your story. I live in Arizona and truth be told, Ms Giffords first opened her eyes on Jan 9, days before the President's proclamation during his speech.

Posted Jan 9, 2011, 12:40 pm B. Poole TucsonSentinel.com "Giffords is in a drug-induced coma in intensive care. Doctors frequently awaken her to check her responsiveness, and she could open her eyes and respond to simple commands Sunday - an encouraging sign, said Rhee said."

January 14 2011 at 12:40 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
reybasura

Pelosi had to be there to make her political statement. She has to be where the attention is.

January 14 2011 at 12:25 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to reybasura's comment
Sheba

How cynical we have become....the President has asked us to give folks the benefit of the doubt...how do you know what is in her heart....

January 19 2011 at 10:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mikey

...I knew there was something about Rep. Giffords that I liked ~ she is an independent thinker, not a party line pol.

January 14 2011 at 11:51 AM Report abuse +6 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Mikey's comment
avbysandy

We need MORE like her. 'party line' voting is garbage!!!

January 16 2011 at 1:01 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
Kenneth

Why does the press continue to try and make people believe politics is personal. It is strictly business. While working these people will argue and vote differently on issues but it is not personal. I would be willing to bet once they leave chamber and on their own time they are best of friends, Going shopping together, dinner, and whatever. Look at professional football players .On the field they are almost killing each other but after the game they shake hands then go out to have dinner or whatever. Do you bring your personal life to work? Do you bring your job home? Looka t during campaigning and even on the televised debates they put each other down but after the show they go out for dinner and drinks and laugh about what went on and probably say "How do you think we did?"
People it is nothing more then a show for your benefit to gain votes. Do you actually thing electing one person over the other is going to change your life? Do you actually think one party is different from the other?

January 14 2011 at 9:25 AM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
wmills89

Gimme a break.....another pathetic attempt to pump up the Leftists. Nancy Pelosi as a human being?? Stop, please. She is nothing but an angry selfish bitch. Girl power?? Bullshit. We are all so sick of this gender crap. Imagine if a man said anything about "man power"? Clowns like this writer would be yelling and screaming. Screw you and your double standards.

January 14 2011 at 7:13 AM Report abuse +8 rate up rate down Reply
Robert Wayne

Pigosi and the rest of the left wing extremists have made it well known that they consider those of us on the right as their enemy. And the nerve of these libturds is outrageous. Have any of you noticed that hardly anything has been said about the killer being a reader and fan not only of Hitler's Mein Kampf, but also of the left wing Communist Manifesto. And also that one of those killed was a conservative judge who had been appointed by Bush. The mainstream media has said hardly anything about about the judge who was murdered by this commie whacko. Instead, they're twisting everything and making a big deal accusing Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin of being behind this. What it really is, is a ploy for more govt. control meaning less freedom for the ordinary American taxpayer. It doesn't take a genius to see what the Obama liberals are up to here.

January 14 2011 at 12:09 AM Report abuse +10 rate up rate down Reply
Rebecca

I'll bet Pelosi is the type to chaulk up the vote as nothing more politics, not a slam against her personally. Nancy Pelosi seems to me to be the type of person who wouldn't take such things personally. If others felt somebody else could do the job better than she, Pelosi can live it ... and it'll probably have doing an even better job to prove them wrong, but she wouldn't hold it against them.

January 13 2011 at 9:12 PM Report abuse -10 rate up rate down Reply

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