ONTD Political

After attack on war hero Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Joe Wash sinks to an even douchier low

3:15 pm - 07/04/2012
Veterans Group Condemns Rep. Joe Walsh For Attacking Double Amputee’s Military Service, Calls For Resignation

By Scott Keyes on Jul 3, 2012 at 1:56 pm

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:

Joe Walsh’s disgust for our veterans’ sacrifices knows no bounds. First, he falsely and maliciously claims that Tammy Duckworth, a veteran who lost her legs in Iraq didn’t have much of a record of service. Now, he denigrates that same American hero for talking about how her experience shaped her worldview and strengthened her resolve to serve even more – a conversation that isn’t just legitimate to have, but crucial as America charts its course domestically and internationally. This is a new low for this deadbeat dad. Telling a veteran to shut up on the 4th of July is beyond the pale. We are past the point of calling on Joe Walsh to apologize. He should step aside and and stop embarrassing his district and America.

Walsh responded to the controversy this afternoon, but refused to apologize and continued to attack Duckworth for mentioning her longtime military service. Here's his full statement:

“Of course Tammy Duckworth is a hero. I have called her a hero 100’s of times in the past four months. Just like every man and woman who has worn the uniform, her service demands — demands — our utmost respect. That’s why I recognize our veterans at the beginning of every one of my public town halls. However, unlike most veterans I have had the honor to meet since my election to Congress, who rarely if ever talk about their service or the combat they’ve seen, that is darn near all of what Tammy Duckworth talks about. Her service demands our thanks and our respect but not our vote. She is running for Congress — and there are real problems in this country like our massive debt, high unemployment and the Obamacare tax. We are about four months from Election Day and the people of Illinois have no idea where Tammy Duckworth stands on these issues because she dodges debate requests, ignores our invitations to speak at town halls, refuses to talk about solutions and constantly reminds voters of her war service. Our thoughts and prayers will always be with her for her service and her loss but these are serious times and the people of Illinois deserve to know what she thinks about real issues and what she will do as a Congresswoman.”

Source

Grrrr...I seriously can't even with this jerk.
moonshaz 4th-Jul-2012 08:22 pm (UTC)
Wow, that was fast! Thanks, mods! :DDDD
layweed 4th-Jul-2012 08:24 pm (UTC)
Backpedal all you want, you aren't Superman and you can't turn the Earth backwards and go back in tie and take back your hideous comments.
farchivist 4th-Jul-2012 11:15 pm (UTC)
This.
kyra_neko_rei 5th-Jul-2012 02:59 am (UTC)
and go back in tie

I'm picturing him crawling up into his necktie and disappearing now.
moonshaz 7th-Jul-2012 09:57 pm (UTC)
LMFAO!
moonbladem 4th-Jul-2012 08:41 pm (UTC)
Been reading the comments, and the readers at ThinkProgress.org are just as outraged. A lot of them are calling on him to resign. Someone there called him a draft dodger. If that's true, then even more so, he has even less of a right to tell Tammy Duckworth to shut up about her service. Several of them did mention he's a deadbeat dad too. Gee, what a winner.

By the way, if anyone wants to donate to Tammy Duckworth's campaign, they can do it here.
caerfrli 4th-Jul-2012 11:29 pm (UTC)
He can't have been a draft dodger since he was only 15 when the draft ended. He never volunteered for the military either, as Duckworth had done.
moonbladem 5th-Jul-2012 09:32 am (UTC)
Ah thanks for clearing that up! He still has no right to tell her to shut up about her service. He's not even remotely sorry for his asshole-ish remarks either.
furrygreen 4th-Jul-2012 08:52 pm (UTC)
I don't see this as backpedaling on his part. I see this as his (naive) way of (trying to) sound witty/smart with a comment that has double meaning. It's not witty. It's not even passive-aggressive. It's just too stupid. I'll feel forever ashamed if I liken it to the "I'm sorry, but I'm not really sorry" brand of apologies -- it feels like I'm smearing the practice by even putting the two in the same paragraph.

How long did you think up that response? Did you chuckle while thinking yourself the pinnacle of wittiness?

Mr. Wash, how do you dress yourself in the morning? This 'response' brings me to the belief that even the most mundane activities of life are beyond you. I realize that's the reason you jumped into the Republican party but I feel like more help must be needed.
ladypolitik 4th-Jul-2012 09:22 pm (UTC)
This is a new low for this deadbeat dad.

#G

#U

#R

#L



Enjoying the coolness of that shade from all the way from a broiling hot Toronto, along with that delicious and sudden breeze created by that wig-snatch.

Edited at 2012-07-04 09:24 pm (UTC)
heartbreakangel 5th-Jul-2012 03:48 am (UTC)
Totally OT, here...A+ Cena gif. I was at that Hall of Fame.
erunamiryene 4th-Jul-2012 09:44 pm (UTC)
I'm so used to dudes saying bullshit about female servicemembers that at this point, I'm just like "... whatever, bro."

These fuckers are saying whatever the fuck they think will squeeze more money from the hypocrites who call themselves right wingers. They don't mean anything they say; they're craven bastards who will say or do anything to keep their pathetic, do-nothing jobs. And frankly, they're not worth my time or me raising my blood pressure, because this pathetic clump of useless-ass cells has nothing better to do with his time than spew bile. He doesn't deserve the attention.
beoweasel 4th-Jul-2012 10:25 pm (UTC)
I made a post earlier about how Joe Walsh is sinking even lower, doubling down on his remarks about Duckworth, while at the same time painting himself as the victim of the whole thing. But for some reason, while the Mods allowed it, it disappeared almost immediately afterward.

Maybe I should try posting it again.
corinn 4th-Jul-2012 11:50 pm (UTC)
A comment I made this morning completely disappeared for an hour or so (I mean on submission the post comment count stayed the same and everything) before reappearing, but I only saw it when someone replied to it. Hmm. What is up, LJ?

Edited at 2012-07-04 11:51 pm (UTC)
greenwick 5th-Jul-2012 06:40 am (UTC)
I also had a problem posting, where my comment disappeared. The original comment showed up after I made a second one.
astridmyrna 4th-Jul-2012 10:31 pm (UTC)
*throws rock into hole Walsh is digging*












*sets timer*
girl_fusion 5th-Jul-2012 12:36 am (UTC)
I'm glad that a Veterans group is challenging this a-hole. I hope they continue to give him hell too. As a female OIF/OEF veteran, this story really hit a nerve.

Edited at 2012-07-05 12:37 am (UTC)
alryssa 5th-Jul-2012 12:57 am (UTC)
I admit I LOL'd at her reply (via Politico): "He's just trying to shift the focus away from the fact he's done nothing in his two years in Congress other than be an extremist loudmouth for the tea party, and really he's not served his district at all," Duckworth said. "I'm proud of my service. I'm proud that I have lived up to my responsibilities to this nation in uniform, that I lived up to my responsibilities as a public servant."




Keep being fierce, lady.

lenympheas 5th-Jul-2012 02:10 am (UTC)
Sadly, this jackass is my rep. I'm not surprised by any of this. In fact, I thought I remember reading that he had said something similarly disparaging about Duckworth just after the primaries....

He's just another tea party jerkoff who will hopefully be voted out very soon.
heartbreakangel 5th-Jul-2012 03:51 am (UTC)
Pretty sure there's not a trench box on this earth that'd be rated for the hole he's digging for himself. Good gravy, man, just shut up.
iamduvet 5th-Jul-2012 09:22 am (UTC)
Somebody seriously needs to slap this asshole silly.
moonbladem 5th-Jul-2012 09:30 am (UTC)
Totally agree!
moonshaz 7th-Jul-2012 10:00 pm (UTC)
Perfect icon! I could stare at that thing for, like, forever!
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