Tammy Duckworth, Joe Walsh's Winning Opponent, Says 2012 Voters Rejected Extremism [View all]
Source: Huffington Post
WASHINGTON -- It’s been just under a week since Tammy Duckworth defeated Republican Rep. Joe Walsh after a heated contest for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, but according to Duckworth, voters sent Washington a message last Tuesday that could not be more clear: Americans do not want to be represented by voices of extremism.
Duckworth’s opponent was a Tea Party favorite known for controversial statements that often attracted national attention. Walsh was one of the few Republicans to support Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) over his comments on “legitimate rape,” and caused his own controversy when he said that there should be no abortion exception for the life of the mother due to “advances in science and technology.” He also infamously declared that Muslims were “trying to kill Americans every week,” and accused Duckworth -- a double amputee Iraq War veteran -- of not being a “true hero.”
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Duckworth said her victory was an indication that voters are looking for moderate voices that will bring people together -- not divisive rhetoric that alienates key constituencies and only accentuates the differences among both political parties.
“In this race, Mr. Walsh proceeded to insult just about everyone in the district, and [there were] a series of things he said that just were not reflective of where people were,” Duckworth said. “All he was doing was speaking in an extreme way about groups of people and trying to isolate people [and] work them against each other, and so people realized that’s who he really was.”
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/tammy-duckworth-joe-walsh_n_2119144.html
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