When Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL-5th), head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), rallied Democratic heavy weights such as Senators John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to support Tammy Duckworth in her congressional primary race, the obvious was so disturbing no one inside or outside the beltway was willing to talk about it.
Emanuel, with help from Democratic Whip, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), recruited Duckworth to run for the congressional seat being vacated by 16-term congressman, Republican Henry Hyde (R-IL-6th). Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran who was severely injured when the helicopter she was co-piloting was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents. The attack resulted in Duckworth losing both her legs. The subject that is taboo amongst the media and politicians is the harsh reality that DuckworthÂ’s service to her country and resulting paraplegia are now being used by Emanuel and Democratic leaders for political gain.
In 2004, Hyde was surprised by Democratic challenger, Christine Cegelis, when she got over 44% of the vote. With HydeÂ’s seat open and the congressional approval numbers at near historic lows, Cegelis would undoubtedly be competitive with her previous support combined with disgruntled conservatives. However, Emanuel decided to throw Cegelis and her established organization to the curb and recruited Duckworth to run in the Democratic primary. As previously indicated, Emanuel brought in the Democratic power players to back Duckworth over Cegelis in the race, resulting in a 4 point victory for the Iraq war veteran. |