Gabby Giffords let loose on the Senate in a New York Times op-ed after their cowardly vote on background checks Wednesday (including four shameless Democrats), and she didn't hold back.
You should read the entire op-ed, but I want to highlight this, because we could say this about so many Senate votes, couldn't we?
I watch TV and read the papers like everyone else. We know what we’re going to hear: vague platitudes like “tough vote” and “complicated issue.” I was elected six times to represent southern Arizona, in the State Legislature and then in Congress. I know what a complicated issue is; I know what it feels like to take a tough vote. This was neither. These senators made their decision based on political fear and on cold calculations about the money of special interests like the National Rifle Association, which in the last election cycle spent around $25 million on contributions, lobbying and outside spending.
Amen. This was not a tough vote. It was a slam-dunk. It was easy. How hard can it be to do something an overwhelming majority of people in this country want?
She goes on to describe her own outrage:
Speaking is physically difficult for me. But my feelings are clear: I’m furious. I will not rest until we have righted the wrong these senators have done, and until we have changed our laws so we can look parents in the face and say: We are trying to keep your children safe. We cannot allow the status quo — desperately protected by the gun lobby so that they can make more money by spreading fear and misinformation — to go on.
Most importantly, she calls for action from each and every one of us:
I am asking every reasonable American to help me tell the truth about the cowardice these senators demonstrated. I am asking for mothers to stop these lawmakers at the grocery store and tell them: You’ve lost my vote. I am asking activists to unsubscribe from these senators’ e-mail lists and to stop giving them money. I’m asking citizens to go to their offices and say: You’ve disappointed me, and there will be consequences.
In the end, the only thing that will change the grip of the NRA is us, right? Forcing these guys to do the right thing or booting them out. Their options are to do what's right or get the hell out. It's up to all of us to convey that message to them. I suggest starting here.
