Why do people have such a low opinion of politicians? Let’s consider this:
Arizona Senator Jeff Flake rewrote his word to the mother of a man killed in the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting. The senator told her that he supported the expansion of background checks for gun purchases–then, days later, voted against the bill that would have tightened background checks.
Caren Teves, the mother who lost her son in the massacre, first wrote to the Republican senator and invited him to her house to sit in her son Alex’s “empty chair” and to “feel the emptiness and have dinner with us and discuss this.” The senator’s office replied with a form letter. But the senator hand-wrote a second letter to the grieving mother apologizing for her having received a form letter in response to her “heartfelt note.”
Senator Flake wrote:
Dear Ms. Teves,
I wanted to apologize for the fact that you received a form letter from my office in response to your heartfelt note. I regret that you received an impersonal response to such personal words.
I am truly sorry for your deep loss. Your son’s actions were truly heroic.
I read your letter. While we may not agree on every solution, strengthening background checks is something we agree on.
Your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Thank you for your note.
Kind regards,
Jeff Flake
One of the 46 senators to vote against the gun legislation, Flake had ignored his former Arizona colleague, Gabby Giffords’ plea to vote for the compromise bill that would have strengthened background checks. “I said I was sorry,” Flake told The New York Times‘ Jennifer Steinahuer. “I didn’t know what else to say. It’s very hard.”








