I'm more than a bit upset by the DCCC's pushing Tammy Duckworth into the IL-06 race. My distress has little to do with Ms. Duckworth herself. No, my issue is the the idiotic idea that the DCCC thinks a 'war hero' narrative trumps issues.
From Jonathan Kaplan at The Hill :
Emanuel wants Ladda "Tammy" Duckworth, an Army National Guard pilot who lost her legs and suffered a broken arm when Iraqi insurgents hit her helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade, to jump into the race. According to Bill Burton, the Democratic Campaign Congressional Committee's (DCCC) spokesman, Emanuel believes her military credentials and wounds give her an edge in a district that no Democrat has ever won.
When I think of a political edge, I think ground support, name recognition, poltiical ability, etc. Not the DCCC. It's Duckworth's military creds and wounds that give her an edge?!? How crass can these guys get? How base can they go?
Ms. Duckworth, are you willing to be a suckpuppet like this? It's not your views or your talents. It's that you are a wounded Iraq vet they can pre-package into a 'war hero' narrative. This isn't going to work, and I'm not the only one thinking this:
While Duckworth could tap into Emanuel's political operation to raise money, some political operatives doubt a strategy of "nationalizing," i.e. having national party officials involved in the midterm elections, would work.
"Congressional races are far more sheriff's races than they are D.C. races, if they are going to be competitive," said Mike McKeon, an independent, Chicago-based pollster. "It's a mistake trying to run national in a congressional campaign."
Rahm Emanuel, and his of so clever spokesman Bill Burton, should be ashamed of themselves. Not only are they trying to undermine Cegelis when there are 90+ other House races out there without Democratic challengers, but they are not even trying to hide that all they care about Duckworth is that she has a good bio and makes for good photo ops.
This is pathetic. This is reprehensible. This might as well be Republican.