Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) on Sunday accusedhis Democratic opponent Tammy Duckworth -- a double-amputee veteran of the Iraq War -- of not being a "true hero" because she made her military service central to her campaign.
After calling Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) a "noble hero" for downplaying his military experience during a 2008 presidential bid, Walsh shifted gears to Duckworth at an Elk Grove, Ill., town hall.
Duckworth lost both her legs after Iraqi insurgents hit her helicopter with a rocket propelled grenade in 2004. She is now challenging incumbent Walsh in Illinois' re-drawn 8th Congressional district.
"Now I'm running against a woman who, my God, that's all she talks about," saidWalsh, a Tea Party freshman. "Our true heroes, it's the last thing in the world they talk about."
Sunday's event was not the first time Walsh mocked Duckworth for touting her military record on the campaign trail.
In an interview with Politico's David Catanese in March, Walsh brushed offDuckworth's military credentials and accused of her being "nothing more than a handpicked Washington bureaucrat":
"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."
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