"Strong women get things done."
"We lead, we collaborate, we deliver results. In city halls, in state houses, in governors’ mansions, in Congress. And maybe, soon, in the White House." Gabby Giffords' remarks at EMILY's List dinner.
I barely knew Gabby's name when she was shot in Tucson in 2011. Since then she and her husband Mark Kelly have been high on my list of admired people. Her strength and courage in the face of horrific brain injury has been simply awesome.
My point in posting her remarks is to remind us of her dedication to her party and to the system of governance that we have. She could have ceased any public appearances and we would have all understood her need for privacy. Yet she returned to congress just seven months after the shooting to vote on raising the debt limit ceiling, and since then she and Mark have worked to be a counterweight to the NRA, raising money to support her former colleagues who are willing to support stronger background checks.
As we sit in the comfort of our homes typing away on a keyboard, often bickering with and name-calling our fellow DU members, remember Gabby who speaks publicly despite the great difficulties to communicate, and she does so without anger or bitterness. Whether Gabby is too conservative for your taste, whether Hillary is too much a corporatist to earn your support, whether Elizabeth's past support of republicans turns you off, they are all strong women who have shown the ability to get things done, and they are all democrats, posts of the big tent we celebrate.