[Updated at 6:05 p.m. ET] An Illinois congressman has stuck to his guns – including during a testy interview with CNN’s Ashleigh Banfield this week – in a flap over his assertions that his double-amputee election opponent talks too much about her military service and war injuries.
Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Illinois, has said that the story has been blown out of proportion, arguing that it has been manufactured by liberal opponents who recorded his comments at a campaign event Sunday and then posted them on the Internet, with liberal website ThinkProgress.org starting the coverage.
But he’s defended his stance, arguing that Democrat Tammy Duckworth – a Black Hawk helicopter pilot who lost both legs when her crew was shot down in Iraq in 2004 – rarely makes campaign appearances in her bid to defeat him in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District. When she does, he said, she talks mostly about her background fighting overseas.
We’d like to hear what you think about the issue. First, here’s how it played out this week.
In a Sunday campaign event in a Chicago suburb, Walsh was recalling the 2008 presidential campaign of Republican Sen. John McCain, saying McCain was modest about his background as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. Walsh said McCain was reluctant to make that story a focus of his campaign, despite pressure from advisers to do otherwise.
“That's what's so noble about our heroes. Now I'm running against a woman who, my God, that's all she talks about," Walsh said. "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 comments spread online, and several groups, including VoteVets.org and Emily’s List, condemned Walsh’s remarks.
Walsh, elected in 2010 with support from the tea party, told CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blizter” on Wednesday that he believes Duckworth is a hero, but she gives voters a narrow window into her positions on political issues.
“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.
On Thursday, Walsh got into a heated back-and-forth with Banfield during an interview on CNN. After Banfield attempted to contradict Walsh’s allegation that Duckworth doesn’t talk about issues – she read a list of moments when Duckworth commented on things other than military service – Walsh responded:
“She spends a lot of time talking about her war service. I’ve asked her to debate me monthly. She won’t. I’ve asked her to get directly in front of voters with me. She won’t. She will not get in front of voters and take questions directly from voters. Because she’s a war hero, Ashleigh, that demands our respect. But that doesn’t demand our vote.”
While Walsh and Duckworth might not have debated frequently, they did debate on May 11. According to a Chicago Sun-Times account, Duckworth criticized the GOP’s federal budget proposal, accused Walsh of wanting to end Medicare and backed President Obama’s support of gay marriage, but she declined to answer a question about whether she would have supported the bank bailout of a few years ago.
Duckworth’s stances on issues, according to her campaign website
Duckworth hasn't hidden her war service or injuries. She highlights them on her campaign website. After last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the health care reform act, she referenced her injuries when discussing the act, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Walsh’s criticism of Duckworth isn’t new. Politico, on March 28, reported that he said this during a 30-minute interview: “I have so much respect for what she did in the fact that she sacrificed her body for this country. Ehhh. Now let’s move on.”
“What else has she done?” Walsh said, according to the March 28 Politico article. “Female, wounded veteran … ehhh. She is nothing more than a handpicked Washington bureaucrat. David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel just picked her up and dropped her into this district.”
He later backtracked on the “dropped her into this district” comment in an interview with Chicago Magazine.
Hitting back on Friday, Duckworth told CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" that she discusses the issues "a majority of the time" and argued that Walsh was trying to "distract" voters away from his record in Congress.
"It's very irresponsible for Mr. Walsh, as a sitting congressman, to try to muzzle war veterans and keep them from talking about their service," Duckworth said.
Duckworth said during a Tuesday interview with MSNBC that Walsh had disrespected veterans and called him an "extremist loudmouth for the tea party." On Wednesday, she told CNN affiliate WLS that Walsh’s comments were “not even worth mentioning.”
This election year marks Duckworth's second run for Congress. The Iraq War veteran made an unsuccessful House bid in 2006, before being tapped by President Barack Obama in 2009 to become an assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She is a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard.
The two candidates are fighting for a seat representing the new 8th Congressional District outside Chicago and created by the state's recent redistricting process.
– CNN's Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
What do you think of Walsh's stance? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Mr. Walsh, Obviously has never had a family member in the service ,and also I think that he might be a misogynist. What ever happened in his first marital relationship? My guess that he might be a control person who has a latent need to dominate. The reason we are on a financial cliff is due to fighting in two wars begun by the Bush administration and his cronies, Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Rummy.His is anti-women plain and simple.
amen carol. shame on this man. pay your child support you creep.
I am in the service and fly blackhawks – but that doesnt make me more qualified for politics.
she is a war hero and deserve to be elected to crogress, i think mitt should send atleast one of his sons to
the military.
He looks like an a$$-hole. Kick his pompous @ss. Vote for the war hero. Republican or not. This guy is a d!ck !!
This is another example of the limp Republican right. This weasel has no military record, no accomplishments to speak of, and can only criticize as a distraction. Anyone associated with this whimp should be ashamed of themselves.
OK–when things are political, they are almost ALWAYS murky.
1. Duckworth is allowed to use whatever means necessary to win her election–she is lauded for being positive about her own attributes instead of just trying to win by trashing others.
'
2. Walsh actually has a point. We act like heros make great administrators and most of the time–they don't. The problem is the way Walsh responds is crass, hateful, appears uncaring and flies in the face of what the GOP demands when they find a token hero to put up for office.
Practice what you preach. Duckworth MUST know the issues and have concrete plans to help her state as well as understand the various points of view and be PREPARED to discuss and defend any position she supports
Walsh must stop being so defensive, it makes him look like a weak, evil, uncaring you know what who only has true respect when he is confronted with other Republicans. THAT is the main problem with Republicans–the vitriol and ugliness they seem to always bring to the table makes them a turn off for voters and frankly, as an Independent, it makes me hesitant of EVER rewarding them with power again–because when they don't have it they are uncooperative monsters and when they do have it, they are lying bungling, bullies.
Politics have turned into high school popularity contest anyway. Unqualified (president) individuals get elected everyday by people allowed to vote that don't have a clue baout what is good or bad, but want to be like everyone else. Sad really. I am talking about both republicans and democrats.
Joe is obviously a disciple of Karl "Adolph Eichmann" Rove.
So what else is a chickenhawk going to whine about? When he last abused and abandoned his children? This piece of work is not going to be responding to anything with a list of accomplishments.
This rightwing loser will not get anybody's vote except the votes of the rightwing trailer trash! Here you have a brave and courageous hero soldier who lost both her legs in an illegitimate Iraqi war but all this rightwing loser can do is disrespect and disgrace this woman for serving her country so gracefully? God has done many marvelous things in creating the universe and blessing manking with the knowledge and know how to build wonderful things. But the one mistake God made was putting republicans on the face of this earth. My biggest wish is for all republicans and their offsprings to die out soon!
Walsh is a jerk.
In all fairness, talking about military service absolutely should be fair game. Need I remind you guys she is an officer in the US Army, overseeing anywhere from 300-6000 (Depending on if she's a Colonel or a Lt. Colonel). Running a group of that size is pretty good experience, not to mention also being an Assistant Secretary in the VA (also a large organization).
Judge her by her positions and experience, not only on "all vets are heroes but don't ever talk about it."
He can complain all he wants about Duckworth, but the truth is he is a failure as a human being on more than one level.
Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Illinois – is an angry man and made a terrible insult to the country as a whole – How dare he criticize a veteran? Did he go to war, did he loose his legs, no, what he doesn't do either is pay child support...what a sad example of a Republican congressman he is. Shame on you Joe, Joe, Joe...
This country and the world for that matter would be better off if all republicans and their offsprings were extinct from the face of the earth! Republicans and teabags are like a cancerous plague that need to be cevered before it spreads!
What is a teapublican? A teapublican is a confederate or a former member of the KKK or offspring of the confederacy! They are a bunch of un-American communists conspiring to undermine our democracy just like their forfathers did during the civil war. The best teapublican is a dead one!
Joe Walsh is just a loud mouth republkican robot for the tea party . Joe Walsh has never served in the
Armed Forces and needs to be thrown out of Office ! He´s the only one saying Tammy Duckworth is
only talking about her service and so what ? Her service record is something to be proud of . Joe
Walsh has done nothing before or after being elected except kiss the buns of the Tea Partiers .
Lets get that dirty rat Walsh out of office . He´s a disgrace to the senate , to Illinois and to the
U.S. He´s an Example of everything wrong with the republicans !