Giffords launches media offensive

After Senate President Tim Bee (R-Tucson) announced the pickup of Sen. John McCain's endorsement last night, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-8), who is fighting Bee to hold onto her seat, has initiated a blitz of her own news to draw the spotlight away from her opponent.

First came the op-ed in today's Tucson Citizen, penned by Giffords in support of her position in the heated and much-publicized debate over terrorism surveillance that has raged in Washington, D.C. and her district for the last few weeks.

Among Giffords' assertions are "our nation's ability to conduct intelligence surveillance of potential enemies has not been diminished," in contrast to the line Republicans have taken that the expiration of the Protect America Act has weakened the U.S. intelligence aparatus.

She also provides background on the controversy, going all the way back to the introduction of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 1978 and extending to the most recent round of changes. She also plays up the fact that she opposed the adjournment of Congress before the debate was settled:

"I opposed adjourning the House for the Presidents Day District Work Period. It was irresponsible for Congress to go home when this issue had not been resolved. I sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging that she keep members in Washington until compromise FISA legislation could be voted on and sent to the president. I called for cancellation of the district work period so this important work could be completed...

"Although the expiration of the Protect America Act does not prevent our intelligence community from gathering the information it needs, I remain committed to meaningful and permanent FISA reform...

"Securing our nation and protecting it from terrorist attacks are our greatest responsibilities in Congress. We can and must do this while maintaining the individual freedoms of all Americans."

Giffords is hoping that her explanation will counter the excoriation she received at the hands of Arizona Republicans, and the attack ads that have been run against her and fellow Democrat Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-5). The ads by the Republican-linked group Defense of Democracies has been running their ad, "Midnight," in the districts of 17 Democratic members of Congress who may be vulnerable in November.

Additionally, the Giffords campaign sent around an article from this week's National Journal, "The New Center," that highlights her as one of the new breed of centrist Democratic freshman legislators, in which she is quoted as saying:

"I’m sure [the Democratic leaders] understand that we need to keep this district to retain the majority—and that I won’t return unless I vote my constituency. My opponents call me a ‘Nancy Pelosi liberal,’ but the electorate understands the facts … and they want us to get the job done, and on a bipartisan basis.”

And, to underscore recent criticisms by the Republican Party that Giffords has been too busy campaigning for Sen. Hillary Clinton to do much in Congress, Giffords also announced that a rare field hearing for the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment - which she vice-chairs - will be held in Tucson on March 17.

Then, of course, there was the Tucson Citizen article from a while back that someone sent to PolitickerAZ, as a reminder that endorsements aren't everything. The headline: "McCain supports Graf for House seat."