GUY RAZ, host:
Joining us now is Congressman Raul Grijalva. He's from Arizona's 7th congressional district.
Congressman, thank you for being with us in this obviously...
Representative RAUL GRIJALVA (Democrat, Arizona): Thank you.
RAZ: ...difficult time. First of all...
Rep. GRIJALVA: It's a horrible time.
RAZ: First of all, your reaction to the news from today.
Rep. GRIJALVA: It's horrific. It is saddening. It is frightening at so many levels. And we're happy to hear that Gabby is - Congresswoman Giffords' - the medical staff at the hospital are optimistic about her recovery after surgery. And so, that is good news. The horrible news is that people have died and some of her staff were killed.
And, you know, it - for all of us that enter this public life, it's a commentary on the fact that we entered it to try to do public service. But if we didn't enter it, it's a life and death situation. So it's a striking reminder of the times that we're in and the tenor of our times.
RAZ: Congressman Grijalva, Gabrielle Giffords was threatened in the past. Her office was vandalized before. Did she ever express any concern to you about that?
Rep. GRIJALVA: We both talked about it. You know, we both, you know, I had - we suffered those threats. We had - my office had one of the windows shot out and she had the same thing. And we talked about it, but never with the sense of, you know, that she shouldn't be out there and she shouldn't be accessible. I mean, she never spoke about that. And, you know, that's part of this democracy, that people should know who their representative is and have an opportunity to talk to them.
But, yeah, we talked about it. And, no, I think we also talked about the tone, it was ugly and hateful every time we went to any public setting. And unfortunately, I don't think Arizona is unique. It might be more intense, but it's not unique to what's happening across this country.
RAZ: Clearly, Congressman Grijalva, she's a fighter. She narrowly won her last race in a tough swing district and clearly fighting for her life right now.
Rep. GRIJALVA: Yes. And her future is in front of her and we all hope she have that opportunity to realize that future because it's in front of her. And she is not only a fighter, but she's tough. And I think both those are going to serve her well right now.
RAZ: And we're obviously all praying for her.
Congressman Grijalva, thank you so much.
Rep. GRIJALVA: Thank you.
RAZ: That's Congressman Raul Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona's 7th congressional district.
Joining us now as well is former Congressman John Shadegg, a Republican from Arizona's 4th district.
Congressman, thank you for joining us.
Mr. JOHN SHADEGG (Former Republican Representative, Arizona): My pleasure.
RAZ: First of all, your reaction to this tragedy today.
Mr. SHADEGG: Well, I am stunned and shocked and deeply, deeply saddened that yet another incident of this type has occurred with a shooting or an attack on public officials. Gabby Giffords is an energetic, bright, capable representative, and she and her staff worked hard to represent the people of her congressional district. And I always enjoyed working with her. She was someone that could - you could work with easily across the aisle. And I just pray for her speedy recovery, and pray that as few other people as possible have been either injured or lost their lives.
RAZ: John Shadegg, can you tell me a little bit about the atmosphere in Arizona, in her district at the moment? I mean, was it - has it been a charged environment?
Mr. SHADEGG: Well, I would say that the issue of immigration and the failure of the federal government to, quote, unquote, "secure the border" has been an intense issue in Arizona. And as the economy has turned downward, that intensity has increased. I don't know if it's anymore so in her district than any other district here in Arizona, but it clearly is a hot issue.
In addition to that, this kind of incident unfortunately is, quite frankly, almost routine in the sense of a threat. I don't know many members of Congress who in their tenure have not received at least some kind of a threat. I had two or three different death threats over my tenure in Congress. I had my home vandalized at one point in time, and I think my staff was threatened far more often than that because they would be threatened on occasion when they were in Washington - they were in Phoenix in my office and I was out in Washington. It is much more common than you think.
Fortunately, in the vast majority of incidences, it goes nowhere. And that's what distinguishes this incident is that like other tragic events, the Columbine shooting or the Oklahoma City bombing, this one went one step further. And it's tragic.
RAZ: That's John Shadegg, a Republican, former congressman from Arizona's 4th district, speaking to us from his home in Phoenix.
John Shadegg, thank you.
Mr. SHADEGG: You bet.
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