...even I'm not that cynical.
Yes, it's awful that she has to step down rather than run for reelection.
But, until I see evidence to the contrary, I'm not ready to refer to whoever's running for her seat as a "vulture" (Republican or Democrat -- keep in mind that whoever wins won because she wasn't running, regardless of party). It's an election year and people are running for a House seat. That's their right, and it's the voters' right to choose somebody to represent them.
And while I've certainly got opinions on gun control, mental health care, and toxic political discourse, and the role they all played in convincing the voices in Loughner's head that he should shoot his congresswoman, I don't really think it's anywhere near as simple as saying he wanted to put a Republican in her seat. Dude had some crazy fucking ideas about currency and language; there are people out on the fringe who might have similar (if less schizophrenic) views, but I really don't think that's who's liable to get elected.
Bal (and Paco and Nor, even though they've been out of there for years) can tell you more about Tucson politics than I can, but it's a college town; Giffords herself is pretty middle-of-the-road, though Grijalva's a vocal liberal.
There's also the matter of the new district lines, but my understanding is that's going to have more of an impact in Phoenix Metro than Tucson.
