Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- Moments after
returning from visiting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at
the hospital, the congresswoman's six-time
campaign chairman said Sunday that he is
confident that she will survive, though the extent
of her recovery remained unclear.
"The doctors are pretty clear that we just have to
wait and see," Mike McNulty told CNN in an
exclusive interview.
The impact on Giffords' family has been huge, he
said. Asked how her husband, astronuat Mark
Kelly, was faring, McNulty said, "He is a Navy
combat fighter and he can take about anything,
but this is a terrible experience."
Asked about Giffords' ability to survive a 9mm
slug to the head, McNulty said, "I can only think
that God has more important things planned for
her in the future."
Even as he acknowledged that the motive for the
shooting remains unknown, McNulty faulted
Giffords' opponents in last year's elections for
stirring up emotions in the campaign to an
unacceptable level.
"There were rallies around her office that seemed
designed to intimidate her staff, which simply
doesn't seem very American to me," he said,
though he added that he never felt threatened.
The rallies were organized by
members of the Tea Party around
Giffords' support for President
Barack Obama's health care bill, he
said. "There was a level of
vituperation that no one has ever
seen, and there was, you know,
the famous incident of people
showing up with handguns and
losing control of handguns that just
fall in the street and brandishing
handguns."
He added, "That's where the Tea
Party, I think, went over the edge.
They thought it was fun to talk
about using your firearms to solve
political problems, and I don't think
that's fun."
Tea Party advocates have
condemned Saturday's shootings.
"These heinous crimes have no
place in America, and they are
especially grievous when
committed against our elected
officials," said Amy Kremer,
chairman of the Tea Party Express.
"Spirited debate is desirable in our
country, but it only should be the
clash of ideas," Kremer said. "An
attack on anyone for political
purposes, if that was a factor in this
shooting, is an attack on the
democratic process. We join with
everyone in vociferously
condemning it."
McNulty credited Giffords with
having a special ability to work from the center
with all sides in politics, a strength that served the
Democrat well in an overwhelmingly Republican
state. "If you look at the demographics, you
would not think that she could get elected," he
said.
"The way she inspires people reminds me a little
bit of when I worked for Mo Udall (the former
Democratic Arizona congressman) and the
people that worked for Ted Kennedy (the late
Democratic senator from Massachusetts) --
people who would walk through a wall for the
people they believed in," McNulty said. "But,
unlike them, she doesn't inspire by leading from
one of the fringes.
"She is a genuine centrist and being inspirational
from the center is not that easy, but she can do it
and she causes people to just simply love her."
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/01/09/arizona.giffords.chairman/
returning from visiting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at
the hospital, the congresswoman's six-time
campaign chairman said Sunday that he is
confident that she will survive, though the extent
of her recovery remained unclear.
"The doctors are pretty clear that we just have to
wait and see," Mike McNulty told CNN in an
exclusive interview.
The impact on Giffords' family has been huge, he
said. Asked how her husband, astronuat Mark
Kelly, was faring, McNulty said, "He is a Navy
combat fighter and he can take about anything,
but this is a terrible experience."
Asked about Giffords' ability to survive a 9mm
slug to the head, McNulty said, "I can only think
that God has more important things planned for
her in the future."
Even as he acknowledged that the motive for the
shooting remains unknown, McNulty faulted
Giffords' opponents in last year's elections for
stirring up emotions in the campaign to an
unacceptable level.
"There were rallies around her office that seemed
designed to intimidate her staff, which simply
doesn't seem very American to me," he said,
though he added that he never felt threatened.
The rallies were organized by
members of the Tea Party around
Giffords' support for President
Barack Obama's health care bill, he
said. "There was a level of
vituperation that no one has ever
seen, and there was, you know,
the famous incident of people
showing up with handguns and
losing control of handguns that just
fall in the street and brandishing
handguns."
He added, "That's where the Tea
Party, I think, went over the edge.
They thought it was fun to talk
about using your firearms to solve
political problems, and I don't think
that's fun."
Tea Party advocates have
condemned Saturday's shootings.
"These heinous crimes have no
place in America, and they are
especially grievous when
committed against our elected
officials," said Amy Kremer,
chairman of the Tea Party Express.
"Spirited debate is desirable in our
country, but it only should be the
clash of ideas," Kremer said. "An
attack on anyone for political
purposes, if that was a factor in this
shooting, is an attack on the
democratic process. We join with
everyone in vociferously
condemning it."
McNulty credited Giffords with
having a special ability to work from the center
with all sides in politics, a strength that served the
Democrat well in an overwhelmingly Republican
state. "If you look at the demographics, you
would not think that she could get elected," he
said.
"The way she inspires people reminds me a little
bit of when I worked for Mo Udall (the former
Democratic Arizona congressman) and the
people that worked for Ted Kennedy (the late
Democratic senator from Massachusetts) --
people who would walk through a wall for the
people they believed in," McNulty said. "But,
unlike them, she doesn't inspire by leading from
one of the fringes.
"She is a genuine centrist and being inspirational
from the center is not that easy, but she can do it
and she causes people to just simply love her."
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/01/09/arizona.giffords.chairman/
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