Let’s put this disclaimer right up front- Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is an American patriot who has undergone a harrowing ordeal and trial, and she is now in the process of making an inspirational recovery. We wish her nothing short of a full recovery and hope that she is one day able to lead a fully productive life and continue on with her career, wherever it takes her.
It’s well chronicled that Giffords is friends with Congresswoman/DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, but there’s something questionable about the manner in which Debbie has time and again inserted herself into what should otherwise be a touching media narrative that is devoid of naked political considerations- a circumstance that few are willing to admit due to the understandable sensitivity surrounding Giffords’s suffering and recovery.
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In the wake of the Giffords shooting in January, Debbie almost acted as a spokesperson for the family, making countless television appearances to discuss Giffords’ shooting. Shortly thereafter, Wasserman-Schultz took to the air and made a direct fundraising pitch on behalf of the Democratic Party to the National Jewish Democratic Council PAC that spoke of Giffords “as a leading advocate for renewable energy” who “has always supported the values of the Jewish community” – couched in the context of an update on Giffords’ highly uncertain recovery. Completely tasteless and devoid of sensitivity? You be the judge-
What makes these media hits remarkable is the sheer number of news stories and TV interviews that reference Debbie as “Ms. Gifford’s closest friend in the House of Representatives” or as “close friends.” On a recent episode of Wolf Blitzer’s Situation Room, Blitzer lobbed up a softball question for Debbie, making reference to Debbie as Giffords’ “good friend”- immediately after she had shamelessly ripped into Herman Cain, accusing him of sexist remarks and strongly implying that he is in fact a sexual harasser. All’s fair in love and war, right Debbie?
It’s not just Wasserman-Schultz who’s guilty of this c0mpletely tasteless politicking either. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand penned a Newsweek op-ed entitled- “The Gabby I Know- We Went on Double Dates and Fought For Families- Then Gabrielle Giffords Was Shot.” Notice the bowdlerized agenda (“we fought for families”) tucked neatly in front of the unassailable victim?
There’s a pattern here, not surprisingly.
To assert that all of Debbie’s media appearances and statements where she speaks to Giffords’ recovery are somehow devoid of political calculation is to strain credulity. Debbie is attempting to position herself behind the sympathy and goodwill extended to Giffords as she convalesces and resumes a semblance of the life she had led. But by doing so, she is able to shield her hyper-partisan persona as well as the toxic agenda that she supports behind the unassailable. Who is going to question your support of “X” in the context of discussing Giffords’ remarkable recovery?
No, we’re not claiming that Debbie isn’t really a friend to Giffords- it’s that she is engaging in political calculation that exploits Giffords’ personal suffering, and she has played her hand too aggressively. Is Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Giffords’ only friend in Congress? Does Giffords have any friends on the other side of the aisle? You wouldn’t know if you were simply following the media’s accounting of Gifford’s relationships. Debbie has gone out of her way to position herself in as many media stories as possible relating to Giffords, and the number of stories tell a story themselves.
For Debbie, there is no distinction between the personal and the political when it suits her political ends, and this a perfect example of why so many people sour on politics. It wouldn’t occur to most ordinary people who endure the suffering of a friend to exploit it for their own ends, but the sheer volume of media hits involving Debbie referencing Giffords fleshes out a pattern that is hard to deny.
Diane Sawyer’s 20/20 special did a wonderful job chronicling Giffords’ recovery– until the moment they made the editorial decision to take a complete cheap shot at Sarah Palin and the Tea Party, implying that Sarah Palin’s congressional “target map” somehow inspired the mentally deranged shooter to commit cold blooded murder. 20/20 just couldn’t resist the low hanging fruit in order to advance the narrative that crazy Tea Partiers are just a trigger-pull away from inexplicable acts of violence.
Debbie has cleverly exploited the Giffords tragedy- first to demand that we all (read, Republicans) return to “civility” in political discourse, a standard that she never intended to hold her own Party to; and then to position her firebrand personality and the unpopular agenda she imposed on the country in 2010 behind Giffords’ inspirational story of perseverance and recovery. It’s self-serving behavior that actually trivializes Giffords’ plight- Debbie and the Democratic Party should be ashamed.
Wasserman-Schultz Positions Herself Behind Giffords’ Inspirational Recovery
By Lone Shark
Let’s put this disclaimer right up front- Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is an American patriot who has undergone a harrowing ordeal and trial, and she is now in the process of making an inspirational recovery. We wish her nothing short of a full recovery and hope that she is one day able to lead a fully productive life and continue on with her career, wherever it takes her.
It’s well chronicled that Giffords is friends with Congresswoman/DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, but there’s something questionable about the manner in which Debbie has time and again inserted herself into what should otherwise be a touching media narrative that is devoid of naked political considerations- a circumstance that few are willing to admit due to the understandable sensitivity surrounding Giffords’s suffering and recovery.
Do you think the 2nd Amendment will be destroyed by the Biden Administration?(2)
In the wake of the Giffords shooting in January, Debbie almost acted as a spokesperson for the family, making countless television appearances to discuss Giffords’ shooting. Shortly thereafter, Wasserman-Schultz took to the air and made a direct fundraising pitch on behalf of the Democratic Party to the National Jewish Democratic Council PAC that spoke of Giffords “as a leading advocate for renewable energy” who “has always supported the values of the Jewish community” – couched in the context of an update on Giffords’ highly uncertain recovery. Completely tasteless and devoid of sensitivity? You be the judge-
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What makes these media hits remarkable is the sheer number of news stories and TV interviews that reference Debbie as “Ms. Gifford’s closest friend in the House of Representatives” or as “close friends.” On a recent episode of Wolf Blitzer’s Situation Room, Blitzer lobbed up a softball question for Debbie, making reference to Debbie as Giffords’ “good friend”- immediately after she had shamelessly ripped into Herman Cain, accusing him of sexist remarks and strongly implying that he is in fact a sexual harasser. All’s fair in love and war, right Debbie?It’s not just Wasserman-Schultz who’s guilty of this c0mpletely tasteless politicking either. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand penned a Newsweek op-ed entitled- “The Gabby I Know- We Went on Double Dates and Fought For Families- Then Gabrielle Giffords Was Shot.” Notice the bowdlerized agenda (“we fought for families”) tucked neatly in front of the unassailable victim?
There’s a pattern here, not surprisingly.
To assert that all of Debbie’s media appearances and statements where she speaks to Giffords’ recovery are somehow devoid of political calculation is to strain credulity. Debbie is attempting to position herself behind the sympathy and goodwill extended to Giffords as she convalesces and resumes a semblance of the life she had led. But by doing so, she is able to shield her hyper-partisan persona as well as the toxic agenda that she supports behind the unassailable. Who is going to question your support of “X” in the context of discussing Giffords’ remarkable recovery?
No, we’re not claiming that Debbie isn’t really a friend to Giffords- it’s that she is engaging in political calculation that exploits Giffords’ personal suffering, and she has played her hand too aggressively. Is Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Giffords’ only friend in Congress? Does Giffords have any friends on the other side of the aisle? You wouldn’t know if you were simply following the media’s accounting of Gifford’s relationships. Debbie has gone out of her way to position herself in as many media stories as possible relating to Giffords, and the number of stories tell a story themselves.
For Debbie, there is no distinction between the personal and the political when it suits her political ends, and this a perfect example of why so many people sour on politics. It wouldn’t occur to most ordinary people who endure the suffering of a friend to exploit it for their own ends, but the sheer volume of media hits involving Debbie referencing Giffords fleshes out a pattern that is hard to deny.Diane Sawyer’s 20/20 special did a wonderful job chronicling Giffords’ recovery– until the moment they made the editorial decision to take a complete cheap shot at Sarah Palin and the Tea Party, implying that Sarah Palin’s congressional “target map” somehow inspired the mentally deranged shooter to commit cold blooded murder. 20/20 just couldn’t resist the low hanging fruit in order to advance the narrative that crazy Tea Partiers are just a trigger-pull away from inexplicable acts of violence.
Debbie has cleverly exploited the Giffords tragedy- first to demand that we all (read, Republicans) return to “civility” in political discourse, a standard that she never intended to hold her own Party to; and then to position her firebrand personality and the unpopular agenda she imposed on the country in 2010 behind Giffords’ inspirational story of perseverance and recovery. It’s self-serving behavior that actually trivializes Giffords’ plight- Debbie and the Democratic Party should be ashamed.