Rep. Joe Walsh. Booo.
There are certain members of Congress that you can reliably count on as being miserable excuses for human beings, people who seem to have no lower bounds when it comes to saying rotten things or supporting legislative "ideas" ranging anywhere from asinine to outright cruel. Congressman Joe Walsh (R-
Deadbeat Dad) is one of those.
The latest example comes from Politico, where things Joe Walsh willingly and apparently not-at-all-drunkenly said to interviewer David Catanese are coming back to bite him, as they very well should:
Sitting inside a coffee shop during a recent 30-minute interview, Walsh had several of his trademark characteristics on display: a feverish intensity, an embrace of rhetorical combat and unfettered criticism of his opponent, who lost both of her legs and part of her right arm in 2004 after her helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.
“I have so much respect for what she did in the fact that she sacrificed her body for this country,” said Walsh, simultaneously lowering his voice as he leaned forward before pausing for dramatic effect. “Ehhh. Now let’s move on.”
“What else has she done? Female, wounded veteran … ehhh,” he continued. “She is nothing more than a handpicked Washington bureaucrat. David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel just picked her up and dropped her into this district.”
Really? That's his attack against Democrat Tammy Duckworth? Sure, you lost two legs and part of your arm while serving in Iraq, but
what have you done for me lately? Wow. Screw you, guy.
Walsh is already walking it back, clearly recognizing that he stepped in it on this one. After Chicago blogger Carol Felsenthal bashed him roundly for his statements, Walsh called her to, er, clarify his remarks:
Asked if he regretted saying that Axelrod and Emanuel “just picked [Tammy Duckworth] up and dropped her into this district,” Walsh admitted he would phrase it differently if he had a do-over. “I often catch myself when I’m talking. I meant something other than how it came out.”
“Because I never served,” Walsh explained, “I have an unbelievable amount of awe and respect for everybody who wore the uniform.”
Well, that's not the part that I personally found most offensive, but what the hell, at least he's trying. Sort of. Maybe. When he's called out on it.
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