Former Scalise Staffer & RI Native Discusses the Shooting and the Impact on Congress
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Following the shooting on Wednesday targeting House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, as well as Capitol police, and staff, Rhode Island native and former Scalise staffer Spencer Sulllivan spoke with GoLocal News Editor Kate Nagle on LIVE, about the reaction inside the Beltway.
"This baseball practice has happened year after year...it was a normal morning, 6 a.m. on a baseball field," said Sullivan, who is currently the President of Lean Campaign Strategies in Virginia. "What I keep going back to, because [Scalise] is in leadership, he has security detail."
"If [security] wasn't there -- we could be talking about something far worse that could have happened today," said Sullivan who grew up in Cumberland and attended Hendricken for high school.
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Recalling World Post-Giffords
"Part of these discussions happened after former Congresswoman (Gabrielle) Giffords, about security detail," said Sullivan, of the former Congresswoman who was shot in 2011.
"Coming from Rhode Island down to DC, I was shocked -- a lot of members don't have security detail, they take walks around, take Uber and go to fundraisers - events for the most part [that are] safe, but it could become a question of how many members need security."
Sullivan spoke to working for Scalise
"[He's] a great guy, competitive guy -- if I know him, he'd want this game to happen [Thursday]," said Sullivan, of the charity Congressional baseball game planned, which has already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"He's a father, husband, he's got two kids, he's a public servant," said Sullivan of Scalise. "He cares about what he does. We need to stop talk about about Republicans and Democrats - everyone there believes they want to do better for the county. Period."
Softening Party Lines?
"At time we tend to forget with politics and the campaign world that we're Americans first," said Sullivan. "Either you agree with Rs or Ds, [but] they want to do better for country."
"After Giffords, member of Congress during that State of the Union would sit with each other's party," said Sullivan. "Nancy Pelosi said on floor, you might not hear this from me, but I agree with Speaker Ryan's comments."
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