Iraqi Vets Return Home - To Run As Dems For Congress

[im10ashus]

Red District, Blue Candidate, Purple Heart
By JODI WILGOREN
Published: December 17, 2005

CHICAGO, Dec. 16 - During 13 months of rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Maj. L. Tammy Duckworth says, she did a lot of reading about American schoolchildren "losing our competitive advantage" with China. Encountering questions about her top-of-the-line prostheses while walking around a shopping mall, she says, made her ponder inequities in America's health care system.

And there was plenty of time to critique the Bush administration's prosecution of the war in Iraq, where she lost both legs and partial use of her right arm when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the Black Hawk helicopter she was flying over the Tigris River.

So Ms. Duckworth, who was discharged from Walter Reed on Wednesday and from active duty the day before, decided to run for Congress, joining a growing group of a dozen Iraq veterans running next year - most, like her, as Democrats.

"I had my legs blown off in Iraq, and because I had my legs blown off in Iraq people are listening to me," said Ms. Duckworth, 37, who plans to announce her candidacy officially on Sunday, at a rally and in an appearance on the ABC News program "This Week." "I'm not going to get my legs back, and that's fine, but if that gives me a platform to talk about the things that are important to me, like education and jobs, that's great."


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/17/politics/17vet.html?hp

[babylonsister]

1. Ms. Duckworth will demonstrate the

hideousness of war like no one else can. Kudos to her and I wish her much success.

[acmejack]

2. Yeah the grassroots candidate deserves to be pushed aside,

Christine Cegelis was already in a position to win, she had 44% with no help last time, but apparently she didn't meet with the DCCC's approval. Rahm knows what those people need, even if they don't.

[im10ashus]

3. Rahm Emmanuel?

What's going on with him? I left Chicago over a year ago.

[acmejack]

4. He recruited Duckworth, who admittedly appears to be a great candidate.

But Christine Cegelis had pulled 44% last time against Hyde & her team had basically built a grassroots organization. There wasn't any hue & cry for some other candidate locally that I am aware of. It just seems wrong...

[Toots]

5. She sounds so naive and susceptible to GOP destruction

They will eat her like a little lamb gets eaten by wolves...

[hedda_foil]

6. She could have run in several other districts.

She doesn't even live in the district. I believe she lives in the 10th CD (Kirk) which is by no means a red district. A good Dem candidate could win that one but the conventional wisdom is that it's a Repub seat, so Cegelis gets the boot!