Let’s Avoid Political Games Over Arizona Shooting

Ernest Istook / January 10, 2011

The horrid shootings and killings in Tucson demonstrate the always-unpredictable nature of mayhem. It’s worsened by the sadly predictable efforts of Washington interests to twist every tragedy into an excuse to restrict our freedoms or to bash their political adversaries. As a former Member of Congress whose life was threatened, I know the issues first-hand. A man went to prison for threatening to kill and dismember me. Local police beefed-up their patrols around my home during that time. And from representing Oklahoma City, I’m aghast that spin doctors are already encouraging President Obama to use this tragedy as his “Oklahoma City moment.”

The attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and others is not a failure of civil discourse. What it demonstrates instead is the risk of being accessible to the public—but that is a necessary aspect of serving in Congress in a free society. Greater attention to security is proper, but it should not restrict citizens from frequent face time with Members of Congress, nor suppress robust debates. (more…)