Washington, D.C. – Dean of the United States House of Representatives, John D. Dingell (D-MI15) spoke on the House floor today to honor Congresswoman Giffords, offer condolences to the victims and their families and mourn those murdered during the Arizona shooting on January 8, 2011.  He called on Congress to be more careful and deliberate in public rhetoric rather than merely sharpening defenses.  Dingell’s prepared remarks are below:

“Mr. Speaker – I rise today to offer my sincere condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the horrific events of Saturday. 

“Among the victims was a young student, recently elected to her student council, who was eager to take part in our democratic process and excited to meet her Congress member for the first time, a well-respected federal judge and a young congressional staffer who was recently engaged to be married.  In addition, three others who just wanted to take part in a time honored tradition in this country – a meeting with their Member of Congress – tragically lost their lives. 

“Representative Giffords is one of the kindest and most dedicated members of this body.  She is a superb legislator who is loved and respected by her colleagues and her constituents.  She fights for her district fervently, with grace and elegance.  She is determined and she will now need that determination for her recovery.  My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.

“Mr. Speaker, I have served in this distinguished body for many years now.  My heart breaks at the current political discord in our great country. 

“Over the years, I have witnessed horrendous events – the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy.  I have seen firsthand the anger brought on by landmark, life changing legislation.  The rage during the civil rights debates was unlike anything I had seen, until now.  Like many Members, the current state of affairs is also somewhat new to me.  In fact, Mr. Speaker, within the last year I have witnessed anger at my community events that rival the behavior I witnessed during the civil rights debates. 

“What is different today is not the anger and apprehension felt by some in this country, but the inciting speech, dare I say encouragement, given by well-established folks in the seemingly mainstream political parties. 

“Our Founding Fathers designed a strong system of government that flourishes with passionate debate, but that debate should be civil, dignified and focus on policy not on people.  There is nobody in this body – I repeat, nobody, who does not love this country and uphold our American values as they see them.  None of us should call the patriotism of our colleagues into question. 

“However, over the past two years we have heard statements like the following:

• “…people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around?  I’ll tell you the first thing we need to do is take (blank)out.”
• “I want the people in (blank) armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back.”
• “I want to kill (blank) with a shovel.”
• “Every night I get down on my knees and pray (blank) will burst into flames.”
• “Our nation was founded on violence.  The option is on the table.  I don’t think that we should ever remove anything from the table as it relates to out liberties and our freedoms.”
• “Don’t retreat, reload!”
• “We have the chance to fight this battle at the ballot box before we resort to the bullet box.”
• (Blank) is “a domestic enemy of the Constitution.”
• “If ballots don’t work, bullets will.”

“We have very visible politicians out there doing things like putting targets in crosshairs over maps of Congressional districts.

“These actions and these statements are irresponsible and a complete degradation to our political system.  As Members of Congress we are elected to be leaders in our community, advocates for our constituents, and defenders of our Constitution. An essential part of our job is to lead and participate in responsible debate and meet with constituents to learn their wishes so we can better serve them.   I believe strongly we can serve our constituents without the violent rhetoric we are witnessing.

“There is no question this institution deserves and requires strong, passionate debate, but this institution also commands we act with respect and responsibility as we engage in debate. 

“Our Founding Fathers fought to construct a political system free from the violence they themselves witnessed, creating a political system that relies on the peaceful transfer of power and a respect for others rights and views.  I hope my colleagues will take a moment today to remember this, allowing this nation to come together and to conduct our nation in a way befitting the hopes of the Founding Fathers and the character of the greatest nation in the world and move forward from the violent speech used in recent years.”

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