“It is unconscionable that anyone could criticize someone for bringing up their sacrifice as a qualifier for public office. Our veterans should not be disparaged for their service, especially when that service was served honorably and cost them limbs. Supporting the troops cannot be mere lip service: respect what our soldiers have endured and give them their due whether or not one disagrees with them politically.”
— Rob Kane, veteran and Communications Associate for Swords to Plowshares
Though he never joined the military himself, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) disparaged his Democratic opponent’s military service at a town hall on Sunday, saying that she’s not a “true hero.”
Walsh is running against Tammy Duckworth, a double amputee who lost both her legs in Iraq when insurgents hit her helicopter with an RPG in 2004.
The Tea Party freshman opened the Elk Grove town hall by arguing that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was reluctant to discuss his own military service in 2008, which made him a “noble hero.” By contrast, “Now I’m running against a woman who, my God, that’s all she talks about,” Walsh said.
WALSH: Understand something about John McCain. His political advisers, day after day, had to take him and almost throw him against a wall and hit him against the head and say, “Senator, you have to let people know you served! You have to talk about what you did!” He didn’t want to do it, wouldn’t do it. Day after day they had to convince him. Finally, he talked a little bit about it, but it was very uncomfortable for him. 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. 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.
Duckworth chose to become a helicopter pilot because few other combat roles are open to women. She has served for more than 20 years, earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and receiving multiple military awards, including a Purple Heart, an Air Medal, and an Army Commendation Medal.
Yet, because she has the audacity to mention her military service, in Walsh’s eyes she’s not a “true hero.”
Source: Think Progress, July 3, 2012, by Scott Keyes
Follow-up (by the original author):
A leading veterans group has denounced Rep. Joe Walsh’s (R-IL) attack on his opponent’s military service, first highlighted by ThinkProgress this morning, and called on the Illinois Republican to resign.
At a town hall on Sunday, Walsh blasted his Democratic opponent, Tammy Duckworth, for having the temerity to note that she’s spent two decades serving in the military. Walsh dismissed Duckworth, an Iraq War vet who lost both her legs in an RPG attack, as not a “true hero.”
Vote Vets, a non-partisan PAC that supports veterans issues, condemned Walsh’s comments in an exclusive statement to ThinkProgress. The veterans group wrote that “Telling a veteran to shut up on the 4th of July is beyond the pale.” They called on Walsh to “step aside and and stop embarrassing his district and America.”
Their full statement: