Following what might be the most selfless act in the history of American politics, there is a space on the Democratic Party ticket in the upcoming election. I have a suggestion for filling it.
Saturday we were having lunch with my son, Alex, in Peoria. He asked whether I thought president Joe Biden would leave the race and I said, “yes, absolutely.” When he asked who should be on the ticket with vice president Harris, my husband, Dave, without hesitation, said, “senator Mark Kelly.”
We could tell Alex was struggling to remember who that is, so Dave added, “of Arizona.” When Alex still looked perplexed, I said “Gabby Giffords’ husband” and his face lit up.
“He reminds me of Captain America a little,” said our son the Millennial, and I smiled, hoping other voters of his generation would see the similarities.
Senator Kelly is the son of police officers. He was inspired by his mother becoming one of the first female police officers in their town. His parents taught him to serve and protect. So he became a Navy fighter pilot and flew 39 combat missions in Desert Storm.
Kelly received two Defense Superior Service Medals; one Legion of Merit; two Distinguished Flying Crosses; four Air Medals; two Navy Commendation Medals; one Navy Achievement Medal; two Southwest Asia Service Medals; one Navy Expeditionary Medal; and others I won’t take the time to list. He also earned a Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering.
Kelly is probably best known, though, for spending more than 50 days in space as an astronaut on four different missions. He is grateful that he was able to live his dreams and wants to help give the same opportunities to others.
Three years after he married congresswoman Gabby Giffords, she was shot by a constituent in an Arizona parking lot, in an assassination attempt. Six were killed and a dozen wounded that day. Giffords nearly died of her head wound and it’s been a long road to recovery since 2011. Kelly has stood by her through what must have been some very dark days. Giffords and Kelly founded a not-for-profit that advocates for universal background checks and red flag laws.
In 2020 Kelly won the Senate seat of another Navy man, the late American hero, John McCain. You might recall former president Donald Trump’s statement about McCain in an interview June 16, 2015, when he said, “He’s not a war hero, he’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured, okay?” This statement from a man who never served.
I have trouble understanding Americans who don’t see the differences between men such as Trump, who would happily oppose the United States Constitution by refusing to certify legitimate election results or prompting his followers to attack our own Capitol just to stay in power, and men such as president Joe Biden, who concludes a lifetime of true public service by putting his country above his own ambition, or Mark Kelly, who fought for his country and now serves it the tradition of McCain. Let’s hope in November we can tell the difference between heroes and grifters.