Roskam, Giffords radio partners

By Burt Constable

bconstable@dailyherald.com

Congressman Peter Roskam, a Wheaton Republican, and Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, are paired in a National Public Radio series and chatted cordially on air last Wednesday about their mutual desire to work together for the good of the nation.

Saturday’s stunning shooting of Giffords and more than a dozen others during a “Congress on Your Corner” event in Tuscon sent shock waves through a national government where leaders talk often about returning civility to an often-volatile political landscape.

Roskam declined requests Saturday to talk about Giffords, but his office later issued a formal written statement condemning the shootings as “horrifying and devastating.”

Four years ago, Giffords and Roskam were brought together on NPR to discuss their roles as newly elected members of Congress, with Giffords’ Democrats as the party in control. They appeared together on NPR again last Wednesday, the day the new 112th Congress was sworn in and the GOP gains led to Roskam’s ascension to chief deputy ship for the majority party Republicans.

In Wednesday’s radio appearance, Roskam, 49, and Giffords, 40, talked amiably about their political parties’ agendas and the meaning of the election results.

Giffords said one of her tasks as a minority Democrat in the House was to “first and foremost, work with Republicans.”

In calling for “a really thoughtful debate,” Roskam told NPR host Robert Siegel that he thought Giffords could help make that happen.

“Hearing Gabrielle’s tone, I accept at face value that she really does want to work with everybody in Congress to try and come up with remedies that are moving forward,” Roskam said of the congresswoman often characterized as a centrist “Blue Dog Democrat.”

“Will you ever talk again during the next Congress, or just when we bring you together?” the radio host asked.

“We’ll talk frequently, believe me,” Roskam promised with a chuckle.

“The issues that I face in southern Arizona are the exact same issues Peter faces in Illinois,” Giffords concluded.

The statement Roskam issued Saturday after the shooting said: “Attacks of this kind, in our democratic society, simply cannot stand. My thoughts and prayers are with all those injured and their families in this senseless attack.”