Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz sheds some light on the timing of Giffords' resignation:

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the Democratic National Committee chair, told CNN that Giffords — a close friend — came to the conclusion that going back to her job this year would reduce the time and work she could put into her recovery.

Giffords' return to Tucson for the one-year anniversary of the shooting showed her "how challenging it would be. It came into focus then," Wasserman Schultz said.

"Gabby doesn't do anything halfway," she said, using the shortened version of Giffords' first name familiar to all. She said the most important thing for Giffords was to continue her recovery, which is "more likely to be years, not months."

[CNN]

The nation reacts to the resignation of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords:

President Barack Obama:

Gabby Giffords embodies the very best of what public service should be. She’s universally admired for qualities that transcend party or ideology — a dedication to fairness, a willingness to listen to different ideas, and a tireless commitment to the work of perfecting our union. That’s why the people of Arizona chose Gabby — to speak and fight and stand up for them. That’s what brought her to a supermarket in Tucson last year — so she could carry their hopes and concerns to Washington. And we know it is with the best interests of her constituents in mind that Gabby has made the tough decision to step down from Congress.

Over the last year, Gabby and her husband Mark have taught us the true meaning of hope in the face of despair, determination in the face of incredible odds, and now — even after she’s come so far — Gabby shows us what it means to be selfless as well.

Gabby’s cheerful presence will be missed in Washington. But she will remain an inspiration to all whose lives she touched — myself included. And I’m confident that we haven’t seen the last of this extraordinary American.

Richard Carmona, former U.S. surgeon general, current Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and friend of Gabby:

Gabby's courage is inspirational and her enthusiasm for public service is infectious. I've never seen a public official work harder to serve their constituents than Gabby. She and I participated in a number of health care town halls together and her strength has always been palpable. In addition to being a great and caring friend to all that know her, she is the model for the kind of leadership that we need in this country. I know in the months and years to come she will continue to fight hard to help others and for the values she believes in.

Speaker of the House John Boehner:

“She really was one of those unique congresspersons who had a lot of crossover appeal and could work across the aisle with a lot of different Republicans and there really aren’t that many in Congress like that,” Rogers tells The Range. “We’re just so partisan and so divided that there are very few, rare individual who can do that.”

Rogers hopes that Giffords will return to public service.

“All of us hope and pray that after an extended recovery period, she’ll be back,” Rogers says. “Before the shooting, my only question was: Is she running for Senate or is she running for governor?”

As The Range reported earlier, Giffords’ resignation sets off a political dash to replace her in Congress. A special partisan primary election will be in April and a special general election will be in June.

At the same time, candidates will be preparing to run in an August partisan primary for the new Congressional District 2 (which covers much of the same ground), with the winners advancing to a November general.

Rogers anticipates that there will be “a good half-dozen people who will probably consider” a run in the upcoming special election.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will attend the State of the Union speech this week and will complete her Congress on Your Corner event that was interrupted by gunfire, according to a press release from her office:

Before she leaves office, Giffords will finish her Congress On Your Corner event that was interrupted by a gunman on Jan. 8, 2011. In a private gathering in Tucson, Giffords will meet with some of the people who were at that event.

She will also meet and thank representatives of her advisory councils and others who have worked with her on issues of importance to her constituents.

She will visit the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. The center, which opened in September, was established after people donated more than $215,000 in Giffords’ honor after the shooting.

As one of her last acts as a member of Congress, Giffords will attend the State of the Union speech Tuesday evening at the Capitol.

The complete press release after the jump:

With Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords announcing her plans to resign this week, the next political question is: What’s next?

Southern Arizona will have a special primary and a special general election.

Here’s how it works:

Once a vacancy is officially declared, Gov. Jan Brewer will have three days to set a date for a special partisan primary election within roughly 90 days and a special general election roughly 60 days after the primary.

That means there will be a primary election in April for the current CD8 seat; the winners of those contests will then run for in a general election will happen sometime in June.

While that is taking place, Giffords’ current CD8 staff will remain at work, under the command of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.

While candidates are campaigning for the old CD8 seat, they’ll also be gathering signatures and running for the new Congressional District 2 seat that covers much of the same territory, although it does not include areas in Marana, Oro Valley and Saddlebrooke.

ETA: Another wrinkle for would-be candidates: They will have 30 days from the day that Brewer calls the special election to gather 800-plus signatures to get their names on the ballot.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has announced via YouTube that she is resigning from Congress this week.

Giffords narrates the video herself.

"I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice," Giffords says. "Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery. So to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week."

"I'm getting better," she continues. "Every day, my spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country."

David and Charles Koch love Arizona congressional representatives the best. In 2011, they gave our our representatives more money than those of any other state, and they gave money to more Arizona congressional representatives than those from any other state. Ben Quayle ($6,000), Trent Franks ($7,500), Dave Schweikert ($10,000) and Jeff Flake ($12,300) racked up a total of, to save you the math, $35,800 for their campaign coffers from the Kochs, and wouldn't you know, their constituents apparently wanted them to vote in ways that seemed to favor the brothers. Americans For Prosperity gave them all a 100 percent rating for the first half of the 112th Congress.

What would it take to make our representatives even more prosperous? After all, Tim Walberg of Michigan was able to tap them for $27,000 all by himself. Are Arizona voters just making it too easy for them? Meanwhile, wouldn't you love to see an analysis of the brothers' contributions, or trickle-down contributions to state offices? Or even local ones?

Here are details from Think Progress. Feel free to sweep the inflammatory rhetoric aside and focus on the numbers.

Arizona Illustrated's Political Roundtable gathers for a discussion of TUSD's Mexican-American Studies program, a look ahead at the ongoing legislative session, and a bit of arguing about Democrat Richard Carmona's Senate campaign and President Barack Obama's chances in Arizona in 2012.

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If you like big bubbling pots of curry, sticky rice and other homemade Thai dishes, you'll want to head over to Wat Buddhametta at 1133 S. Swan Road tomorrow. The Buddhist temple and meditation center is holding another amazing all-you-can-eat Thai dinner, which will set you back a paltry $10 per person.

I went to one of these dinners a couple months ago and haven't stopped thinking about it since. I swear I can still smell the coconut-pineapple-curry soup. I'm not sure what they're cooking up for this one, but if it's even close to the caliber of grub at the last one, you will not want to miss it.

The feast starts at 5 p.m. There's more on Wat Buddhametta over here.