A Look At Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' Career

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GUY RAZ, host:

Gabrielle Giffords was elected to Congress in 2006 at age 36, one of the youngest members of her freshman class. Back then, she told my colleague Melissa Block about her fondest memory of the freshman orientation.

(Soundbite of archived broadcast)

Representative GABRIELLE GIFFORDS (Democrat, Arizona): Probably when we first had a candlelight tour of the Capitol our first evening. To think that only 109 groups of men and women have come before this class. And when you think about the fact that we have a representative democracy, you see that in this freshman class. We have a farmer, ranchers. They have an attorney, a doctor, I think a mortician, myself a tire dealer. So you really see a cross section of America.

RAZ: ALL THINGS CONSIDERED has followed Giffords regularly since she was elected, including on the day she arrived to Washington to start her congressional career in 2007.

Rep. GIFFORDS: You know, I got dropped off this morning at the airport in a '63 Chevy pick-up truck, got my cowboy boots, met up with my fianc?. Just life's good. And I'm very, very excited and so optimistic about taking our country in a new direction.

RAZ: And once she arrived to her Capitol office, she took to settling in.

Rep. GIFFORDS: Hey, how are you?

(Soundbite of laughter)

Unidentified Woman: All right.

Rep. GIFFORDS: So maybe you can help us move the furniture around a little bit.

Unidentified Man: Yeah, where would you want it?

Rep. GIFFORDS: I don't know. We need good feng shui.

RAZ: Giffords grew up in Tucson, Arizona. And just last year, she told NPR her favorite summer job as a kid had been cleaning horse stalls.

(Soundbite of archived broadcast)

Rep. GIFFORDS: I loved cleaning out the stalls, and I did that in exchange for riding lessons. And I continue to ride most of my life. And I learned a lot from horses and the stable people. There was a unique culture out there, and I think it provided good training, all of that manure-shoveling, for my days in politics ahead.

RAZ: Giffords is considered part of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative Democrats. And as recently as this past week as Congress prepare for a new Republican majority, she spoke with my colleague Robert Siegel who asked what she would do as Republicans proceed with their agenda.

(Soundbite of archived broadcast)

Rep. GIFFORDS: First and foremost, work with the Republicans. I come from the state of Arizona, which is a pretty bipartisan state. I formerly served in the minority, know what it's like to work with my Republicans in the majority and in the minority. And that's truly what the American people want.

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