POL The war hero who could be Biden’s running mate

bev

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I haven’t kept up very well on Biden’s “short list,” but this could be a good match, for him. Not sure how it would work if/when Biden steps down - natural-born issues and all. (Yeah, I know, we cover this every four years.)


US election 2020: The war hero who could be Biden's running mate

By Tara McKelveyBBC News, Freeburg, Illinois
1 August 2020

Who is Tammy Duckworth, the US senator from Illinois who is reportedly on the short list for the vice-presidential slot on the Democratic ticket?

Born in Bangkok and wounded in the Iraq war, Tammy Duckworth has a Purple Heart and the instincts of a street fighter.

Her name has come up frequently during high-level discussions about the vice-presidential slot for the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden. She has also become a target for Fox News's Tucker Carlson and other conservatives.

When she said recently on CNN that she was open-minded about the prospect of removing US monuments to US founders and slave holders, Mr Carlson questioned her patriotism.

She fired back, saying that Mr Carlson should "walk a mile in my legs and then tell me whether or not I love America".

Her challenge to Mr Carlson attracted national notice and drew people's attention both to her political acumen and to her military background. She was shot down in a helicopter during the Iraq war and lost her legs.

Many Democrats believe that her military record and her tenacity during fights with conservatives, as well as her background as an Asian-American, would strengthen Mr Biden's candidacy. If he chose her as a running mate, say her supporters, she would help to shore up votes among veterans, minorities and women.

Yet many believe that Mr Biden should pick a black running mate instead - Senator Kamala Harris is frequently mentioned as a possibility. Besides that, Ms Duckworth's home state is safely Democratic. Other contenders for the Democratic ticket, a group that includes New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, could help Mr Biden in states where he could use a boost.

The choice of a running mate has added importance for Democrats because of Mr Biden's age and his own assessment of his role.

He is 77, and if he were elected he would be 82 by the end of his term. He sees himself as a "transition candidate", and even his diehard supporters assume that if he were elected he would not seek a second term.

That means that the person who serves as his vice-president could someday become president.

Ms Duckworth, who is 52, is best known for her work on veterans' issues. In addition, she has worked on health-care policy and spoken frequently about national security. She fought in the Iraq war, but she believes that it was a mistake.

"It's a tough lesson," she says. "And I hope this nation will be a lot more sceptical of the reasons to go to war."

She also has a compelling personal story. She and her husband, Bryan Bowlsbey, have two daughters, Abigail and Maile Pearl, and she was the first to bear a child while serving as a US senator.

Her father, Frank, a US citizen, worked for the United Nations, and her mother, Lamai, is originally from Thailand.

Ms Duckworth, who speaks Thai, lived with her parents in Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia because of her father's UN job.

The family was in Cambodia, living in Phnom Penh during a period of violence shortly before the Khmer Rouge took power in the mid-1970s.
She recalls going to her market with her mother when, suddenly, bombs began falling. Her mother pushed her to the floor of the car, Ms Duckworth says, "so I wouldn't see the bloodiness".

Ms Duckworth later enlisted in the military, following in the footsteps of her father, a Vietnam veteran. She once told me that she did not see herself ever running for president.

"I don't have that fire in my belly," she says. But she is a ferocious advocate for Mr Biden, and he has taken a shine to her.

During an online fundraiser, he praised her bravery in battle and in politics. "I can't think of anyone who has shown more courage," he said. Addressing her directly, he said: "I'm grateful for you here with me in this fight."

Ideologically, Ms Duckworth is a good match for Mr Biden, a centrist Democrat. Among Democrats in the US Senate, she, too, appears in the middle of the ideological spectrum.

In recent weeks, she has ripped into President Donald Trump and his "failure to lead our nation", showing her willingness to act as Mr Biden's attack dog during the campaign.

Mr Biden's aides interviewed her not long ago for the vice-presidential slot, she said during a live Washington Post chat on Thursday. She described the job interview as "positive".

After retiring from the military, Ms Duckworth worked on veterans' issues at the state and national level and was elected to Congress in 2012. She won a senate seat in 2016, becoming the state's junior senator and following in the footsteps of President Barack Obama. Her rise from state politics to national prominence has been fast.

Dick Simpson, the head of the political science department at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says that she has moved up more rapidly than anyone in politics he has seen in half a century. Mr Obama, who also got his start in Illinois politics, rose higher than Ms Duckworth. But as Mr Simpson points out: "It took a little longer."

Peter Levin, the founder of a software company in Washington, worked with her at the US department of veterans affairs and says that she has an innate talent for politics.

"She naturally brings out the best in people even when there's tension in the room," he says, explaining that she is skilled at tuning "her language, her emphasis, to the person she's speaking to" in order to build consensus.
Her record in politics is far from perfect, however.

She has struggled to get legislation passed in Congress, and she has been criticised for her work on veterans' issues. She said all the right things, according to her detractors in Illinois, but many of the veterans' programmes that she spoke about never got off the ground.

A spokesman for Ms Duckworth disagreed with the negative assessment of her work as a lawmaker, saying that she has been effective as a senator and has, among other achievements, passed bipartisan legislation and blocked "efforts to repeal the Americans With Disabilities Act".

The criticism has hardly slowed her down, and throughout her career she has shown an unusual resolve. While recovering from her war injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland in 2004, she was given "heavy-duty pain blocks", she says, but they barely muffled the agony of losing her legs.

Yet during her recovery and in the years that followed, she has shown almost no self-pity: "For me, it just comes back to the fact that I'm so grateful to be alive. I know that sounds so corny," she says. "But I think of what my buddies did to get me out and of the pilot who carried me to safety. I can't mope around."

Her supporters are hoping that Mr Biden will choose her as his running mate so that she can bring her enthusiasm to the campaign. He is expected to announce his decision this week.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Well she does check off more than a few boxes, as I've noted before. That being said, with the forlorn hope nature of the Biden campaign, I'm wondering if she'd be smart enough to let this one pass and let another swim with the sharks this time around? After all she's got plenty of time when compared to the others suggested.....
 

MinnesotaSmith

Membership Revoked
Mystery meat AND a broad. In scary times, people tend to prefer known safe types to lead. NWIH are nonlib whites going to vote for someone who looks like Indira Ghandi for Prez (which everyone know Biden's running mate will be if he wins).
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Duckworth is no hero. She was a soldier that was wounded and has been riding that for all it is worth.

"Professional" politician definitely. Effective legislator and public administrator (was appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs by Governor Rod Blagojevich after loosing her first congressional campaign), that is a discussion definitely worth having both in terms of policy and effectiveness.

As to "hero" you be the judge......



ETA: The other pilot of the helicopter, Chief Warrant Officer Dan Milberg, who Duckworth herself credited with being "the real hero” of the mission." was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
 
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Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________
She won't be able to keep her mouth shut and won't be as controllable by the back room boys. If she looks better than Biden that will add to the problems. You don't want your veep to be more heroic than you.
 

adgal

Veteran Member
Fair use cited:

This is how she plays - Duckworth to halt military confirmations until she receives assurance Vindman promotion won't be blocked
She uses the military as pawns...

Duckworth to halt military confirmations until she receives assurance Vindman promotion won't be blocked
By Clare Foran, Ted Barrett and Ryan Browne, CNN

Updated 6:10 PM ET, Thu July 2, 2020

Key impeachment witness and his brother fired from White House

NOW PLAYING
Key impeachment witness and his brother fired from White House
CNN


00:33/01:44


Now PlayingKey impeachment...
Source: CNN
Key impeachment witness and his brother fired from White House 01:44
Washington (CNN)Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois announced on Thursday that she is blocking Senate confirmation of 1,123 senior US Armed Forces promotions until she receives assurances that the promotion of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in President Donald Trump's impeachment inquiry, won't be blocked.
Duckworth, a combat veteran who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is seeking written confirmation from Defense Secretary Mark Esper that he has not and will not stop Vindman, a decorated veteran, from being promoted to the rank of Colonel.
Duckworth's power play, which her office described as "unprecedented in modern history," takes advantage of unanimous consent procedures in the Senate that are used to efficiently conduct Senate business. Typically, a large batch of non-controversial military promotions, like the ones Duckworth is holding up, would be passed all at once with just a few words exchanged on the floor between Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and whoever is the presiding officer.
But instead of granting consent to pass the promotions, Duckworth objected, meaning McConnell would have to go through the time-consuming process of filing motions to overcome what amounts to her filibuster.
Her move also comes with some risk, as she could be criticized for holding up promotions and pay increases for hundreds of deserving servicemembers over what some will consider a political disagreement with Trump.
A defense official said that the Department of Defense "received the notification from the senator's office last night and the secretary is aware."
A Pentagon official said later Thursday: "It is disappointing that Senator Duckworth would willingly impede the careers of more than a thousand deserving Army officers, many of whom are deployed overseas defending our country. In addition, among those officers is the nominated next Chief of the National Guard Bureau, who, if confirmed, would be responsible for leading tens of thousands of Guardsman deployed around the country helping local communities fight COVID-19."
Lisa Lawrence, a Pentagon spokesperson, previously told CNN that "The Department follows the applicable laws and regulations with regard to developing and reviewing officer promotion lists and submitting them to the White House and the Senate. This list and any names on it have been and will be treated as is customary."
Vindman delivered explosive testimony during public impeachment hearings that Trump's push for Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden was "inappropriate" and that he knew "without hesitation" that he had to report it.
Lawyer for impeachment witness Lt. Col Vindman demands Fox News retract 'false and defamatory' segment

Lawyer for impeachment witness Lt. Col Vindman demands Fox News retract 'false and defamatory' segment

Vindman said that he reported his concerns out of a "sense of duty," and he defended his fellow witnesses from what he described as "reprehensible" attacks. Testifying in his Army uniform as an active-duty soldier, Vindman invoked his father's decision to leave the Soviet Union and come to the US, noting that the testimony he was giving would likely get him killed in Russia. "Do not worry, I will be fine for telling the truth," Vindman said in a now well-known line.
In February, Trump fired Vindman from his post as the top Ukraine expert at the National Security Council. An Army spokesperson told CNN at the time that Vindman had been reassigned to the Department of the Army. The President later defended Vindman's firing from the National Security Council. Trump complained about news coverage of the firing in a tweet, saying reporting was done "as though I should think only how wonderful he was. Actually, I don't know him, never spoke to him, or met him (I don't believe!)."
In a statement released on Thursday, Duckworth said, "Our military is supposed to be the ultimate meritocracy. It is simply unprecedented and wrong for any Commander in Chief to meddle in routine military matters at all, whether or not he has a personal vendetta against a Soldier who did his patriotic duty and told the truth—a Soldier who has been recommended for promotion by his superiors because of his performance. I won't just sit by and let it happen, and neither should any of my colleagues."
Former national security adviser John Bolton said on Thursday that he believes Vindman deserves to be promoted.
Asked by CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" if Vindman should get a promotion and what signal it would send to military officers if he does not, Bolton responded, "Look, based on not just his service but his twin brother's service at the NSC, both of whom were pushed out of their assignments early, I think they certainly deserve promotion based on what I saw."
Bolton went on to say, "They shouldn't be discriminated against. I hope there's nobody in the White House who's holding this up or putting bureaucratic obstacles in the way. I think it would be a terrible signal. I think this is something, this kind of corruption of this promotion process -- unfortunately typical of a number of things that have happened in the administration -- I think it's a bad signal to all of our military."
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Fair use cited:

This is how she plays - Duckworth to halt military confirmations until she receives assurance Vindman promotion won't be blocked
She uses the military as pawns...

Duckworth to halt military confirmations until she receives assurance Vindman promotion won't be blocked
By Clare Foran, Ted Barrett and Ryan Browne, CNN

Updated 6:10 PM ET, Thu July 2, 2020

Key impeachment witness and his brother fired from White House

NOW PLAYING
Key impeachment witness and his brother fired from White House
CNN


00:33/01:44


Now PlayingKey impeachment...
Source: CNN
Key impeachment witness and his brother fired from White House 01:44
Washington (CNN)Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois announced on Thursday that she is blocking Senate confirmation of 1,123 senior US Armed Forces promotions until she receives assurances that the promotion of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in President Donald Trump's impeachment inquiry, won't be blocked.
Duckworth, a combat veteran who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is seeking written confirmation from Defense Secretary Mark Esper that he has not and will not stop Vindman, a decorated veteran, from being promoted to the rank of Colonel.
Duckworth's power play, which her office described as "unprecedented in modern history," takes advantage of unanimous consent procedures in the Senate that are used to efficiently conduct Senate business. Typically, a large batch of non-controversial military promotions, like the ones Duckworth is holding up, would be passed all at once with just a few words exchanged on the floor between Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and whoever is the presiding officer.
But instead of granting consent to pass the promotions, Duckworth objected, meaning McConnell would have to go through the time-consuming process of filing motions to overcome what amounts to her filibuster.
Her move also comes with some risk, as she could be criticized for holding up promotions and pay increases for hundreds of deserving servicemembers over what some will consider a political disagreement with Trump.
A defense official said that the Department of Defense "received the notification from the senator's office last night and the secretary is aware."
A Pentagon official said later Thursday: "It is disappointing that Senator Duckworth would willingly impede the careers of more than a thousand deserving Army officers, many of whom are deployed overseas defending our country. In addition, among those officers is the nominated next Chief of the National Guard Bureau, who, if confirmed, would be responsible for leading tens of thousands of Guardsman deployed around the country helping local communities fight COVID-19."
Lisa Lawrence, a Pentagon spokesperson, previously told CNN that "The Department follows the applicable laws and regulations with regard to developing and reviewing officer promotion lists and submitting them to the White House and the Senate. This list and any names on it have been and will be treated as is customary."
Vindman delivered explosive testimony during public impeachment hearings that Trump's push for Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden was "inappropriate" and that he knew "without hesitation" that he had to report it.
Lawyer for impeachment witness Lt. Col Vindman demands Fox News retract 'false and defamatory' segment
Lawyer for impeachment witness Lt. Col Vindman demands Fox News retract 'false and defamatory' segment

Vindman said that he reported his concerns out of a "sense of duty," and he defended his fellow witnesses from what he described as "reprehensible" attacks. Testifying in his Army uniform as an active-duty soldier, Vindman invoked his father's decision to leave the Soviet Union and come to the US, noting that the testimony he was giving would likely get him killed in Russia. "Do not worry, I will be fine for telling the truth," Vindman said in a now well-known line.
In February, Trump fired Vindman from his post as the top Ukraine expert at the National Security Council. An Army spokesperson told CNN at the time that Vindman had been reassigned to the Department of the Army. The President later defended Vindman's firing from the National Security Council. Trump complained about news coverage of the firing in a tweet, saying reporting was done "as though I should think only how wonderful he was. Actually, I don't know him, never spoke to him, or met him (I don't believe!)."
In a statement released on Thursday, Duckworth said, "Our military is supposed to be the ultimate meritocracy. It is simply unprecedented and wrong for any Commander in Chief to meddle in routine military matters at all, whether or not he has a personal vendetta against a Soldier who did his patriotic duty and told the truth—a Soldier who has been recommended for promotion by his superiors because of his performance. I won't just sit by and let it happen, and neither should any of my colleagues."
Former national security adviser John Bolton said on Thursday that he believes Vindman deserves to be promoted.
Asked by CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" if Vindman should get a promotion and what signal it would send to military officers if he does not, Bolton responded, "Look, based on not just his service but his twin brother's service at the NSC, both of whom were pushed out of their assignments early, I think they certainly deserve promotion based on what I saw."
Bolton went on to say, "They shouldn't be discriminated against. I hope there's nobody in the White House who's holding this up or putting bureaucratic obstacles in the way. I think it would be a terrible signal. I think this is something, this kind of corruption of this promotion process -- unfortunately typical of a number of things that have happened in the administration -- I think it's a bad signal to all of our military."

As I said, "professional politician"...
 

Normallguy

"just a human bein'"
Running for V.P.
Seriously.
Yeah, I know it's rude.
That seems to be her only qualification, or am I missing something.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Running for V.P.
Seriously.
Yeah, I know it's rude.
That seems to be her only qualification, or am I missing something.

In all fairness her qualifications are better than Obama's when he ran for POTUS from the Senate. I don't agree with her on the 2nd and other things but at least she hasn't been voting "present" as much as Obama ever did.

The MSM running her name up the flagpole as much as they have of late makes me think they or those outside of Biden's cabal are testing the waters.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
In all fairness her qualifications are better than Obama's when he ran for POTUS from the Senate. I don't agree with her on the 2nd and other things but at least she hasn't been voting "present" as much as Obama ever did.

The MSM running her name up the flagpole as much as they have of late makes me think they or those outside of Biden's cabal are testing the waters.

And to see what kinds of skeletons fall out of her closet.
 

TKO

Veteran Member
Biden has to game-changingly give the establishment dems & media an excuse to sing ecstatic in a very big loud way.

There's only one name that could ever fit that bill; Michelle Obama.

Panic Early, Beat the Rush!
- Shane
Obama's latest speech tells me that Moochelle is the one. I don't think she'll garner more votes for Biden than he'd get otherwise, though. I am predicting a landslide for Trump.
 

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Tammi DESPERATELY NEEDS to refer to the biography of JFK. And how he "lost" the VP nomination (back when it was USUALLY a hard-fought thing) in 1956 to IIRC Stevenson.

There ain't ANY writers on that Convention that will convince me that JFK didn't fight that one to LOSE the VP slot.

And one should note that he spent the next 4 years under Ike making a LOT of bones there in the Senate.
When '59 rolled around he was READY to kick ass and take names.
 

The Snack Artist

Membership Revoked
If Duckworth would have lived up to her name and "ducked" she may have been ok. She got an IED while driving a truck. It wasn't hand to hand or anything fancy or dramatic. She was a truck driver. Thanks Tams.

Reminds me of when God told Adam he had a companion for him but it was expensive! Adam says, let's see what you got. God shows him his prize and says that'll be an arm and a leg. Adam says back, "What do you got for a rib?" And that's when the fight started.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
If Duckworth would have lived up to her name and "ducked" she may have been ok. She got an IED while driving a truck. It wasn't hand to hand or anything fancy or dramatic. She was a truck driver. Thanks Tams.

Reminds me of when God told Adam he had a companion for him but it was expensive! Adam says, let's see what you got. God shows him his prize and says that'll be an arm and a leg. Adam says back, "What do you got for a rib?" And that's when the fight started.

Wrong, read up above. The UH-60 she was flying took an RPG into her side of the cockpit while in the air.
 
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night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
UH-60 ain't trucks. And getting an RPG into your cockpit ain't duck-able. PLUS "ducking" doesn't save yer LEGS, dufus.
 

Bubble Head

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Apparently she lost both of her legs when an RPG hit her chopper. This does not bode well for Biden since he tends to ask people in wheel chairs to stand up. I am sure she has metal legs from the VA but still Biden can't control himself. She also lost use of one arm. Certainly bought that purple heart at a price. Biden would ask her to wave to the public. Now she is a seasoned Democrap Polytick but Biden could still screw this up big time.
Good question about her eligibility to be President. Being born in Thailand to a Thai mother but father was deployed US Military citizen. Not sure about that one plus she may have duel citizenship? Would need more information and legal beagle advise.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Apparently she lost both of her legs when an RPG hit her chopper. This does not bode well for Biden since he tends to ask people in wheel chairs to stand up. I am sure she has metal legs from the VA but still Biden can't control himself. She also lost use of one arm. Certainly bought that purple heart at a price. Biden would ask her to wave to the public. Now she is a seasoned Democrap Polytick but Biden could still screw this up big time.
Good question about her eligibility to be President. Being born in Thailand to a Thai mother but father was deployed US Military citizen. Not sure about that one plus she may have duel citizenship? Would need more information and legal beagle advise.

Photos from the BBC article.....

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_113770492_gettyimages-97644149.jpg


from a different source.....

EP-705319947.jpg&updated=201305311056&MaxW=800&MaxH=800&noborder


screen_20051112152518_1service_tribute-1.jpg


ETA and this one of many.....

tammy-duckworth-vogue-october-2018.jpg


What I'm trying to get at is that if things weren't completely through the looking glass but were the "old normal" she would be considered election gold for a pre-2008 DNC. Now however there's no way the body slammed to the Left DNC is going to go with her with her voting record.
 
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Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
She's the Marxist Demoncrat bitch who held up 1000 military promotions because Trump fired that Traitor general and wouldn't promote him. She's Marxist scum and Trump will turn her into mush. Point: ALL DEMONCRATS ARE LYING TREASONOUS SCUM.

Oh I get that. What I'm trying to get at in an apparently ham handed manner tonight is that if things were in the old "normal" with the bench the Dems have, she'd be a very likely convention pick. With things as they are it's anyone's guess as to what the ballot in November is going to look like.
 

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
Housecarl, I remember the All in the Family tv episode where Archie Bunker was talking about Gerald Ford as President. He goes, "Well, he isn't doing too badly for a guy knocked in the head playing football in college." :kaid:
It's the same thing with Biden: he ain't doing too bad for a guy with DEMENTIA. We could put together a little red book "The sayings of our gender fluid Biden.:lkick:
 
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