... he's got both feet in his mouth.
Rep. Joe Walsh on Wednesday called his Democratic opponent, double-amputee combat veteran Tammy Duckworth, a “hero” but added that he believes she talks too much about her military service.
“Our true heroes, it’s the last thing in the world they talk about. That’s why we’re so indebted and in awe of what they’ve done,” the Illinois Republican said on CNN’s “The Situation Room.” “I continue to salute her service, but if that’s all she runs on, voters are going to find that offensive.”
Though he conceded that Duckworth was a “hero,” he said that she talked too much about her time in Iraq — which led to the loss of both her legs and the use of one arm when the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting was shot down in 2004.
“She is a hero, and that demands our respect, but it doesn’t demand our vote. All she does, guys, is talk about her service,” Walsh said.
I've never believed that military service was some kind of special qualifier for elected office. One type of public service isn't necessarily a qualification for another type of public service. Then again, I'm also not representative of a movement that flogged President Obama for not engaging in symbol worship by wearing a flag pin.
What intensifies the hypocrisy is that Walsh later salutes John McCain as one of these heroes who doesn't talk about his service. Is that parallel universe John McCain to whom he's referring? Because the one I know has made an entire political career out of exploiting his time as a POW. If I had a dollar for every pseudo self-deprecating joke McCain made about the Hanoi Hilton, I'd be a millionaire.
I guess a real national hero is a tea party loudmouth who's a deadbeat dad in his personal life - a guy like Joe Walsh. Because nothing's more American stiffing your kids on $117,000 in child support and forcing your ex-wife to go to court to get the money.
2 comments:
Clearly you are an expert on the Illinois 8th, oh wait, you are not. The thing about Walsh's comments as misguided as they were- they were spot on. Duckworth does not talk about actual political issues. She does the minimal amount of debates/forums because Tammy does not do policy. Heck, in her 2006 race she didnt even live in the district in which she was running.
She has a great personal story, she bravely served our country in the military, but she has yet to prove that she has any business serving the country in the congress.
I never defended Duckworth or her approach. In fact, I'm pretty sure I indicted it by way of my very first sentence.
The irony, as I note, is that John McCain's not much different than Tammy Duckworth in that regard, which means Walsh is employing a giant double standard.
Either way, Joe Walsh is like Ohio's Jean Schmidt - someone who needs to lose because he's just a terrible person.
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