It Takes Guts to Enter Politics
She lost her right leg above the knee and her left leg below the knee when a rocket grenade took down her helicopter.
Army Major Ladda "Tammy" Duckworth, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot, lost both legs and much of the use of her right arm when her aircraft was hit in Iraq November 12, 2004.
Ms. Duckworth received the Air Medal as well as a Purple Heart.
A Democrat, Ms. Duckworth is currently seeking her party's nomination in a March 21 primary for the seat being vacated after 32 years by Republican Representative Henry J. Hyde in suburban Chicago.
"I had my legs blown off in Iraq, and because I had my legs blown off in Iraq people are listening to me," said Ms. Duckworth, 37, who announced her candidacy officially today at a rally and in an appearance on the ABC News program "This Week."
"I'm not going to get my legs back, and that's fine, but if that gives me a platform to talk about the things that are important to me, like education and jobs, that's great."
Best Last Words Department:
"Don't mourn for me. Organize!"
Joe Hill (1879-1915) joined the International Workers of the World (the Wobblies) c. 1910 and in 1914 murdered a Salt Lake City store owner and was sentenced to death. His last words became a rallying cry for the labor movement of that time.
posted by mireille at 10:06 AM
7 Comments:
Wonderful tie in, with the "best last words"
Not sure how I feel about her seeking the party's nomination by using her disability as leverage for a platform? Experience?
And I would love to know what her position is on the war.
What do you think? I'm going to find out if I can find more info on this. Very interesting, thanks M.
12:15 PM
You know, you're right. She does need more than her disability to leverage her into office. But she says she has ideas about education and about jobs ... and I wonder if her disability gives her a unique insight into the disadvantaged -- of all stripes -- that might be useful in a bureaucracy that so often ignores that constituency. xoxo
1:23 PM
I'm going to be very careful about the spelling here after reading the post below!
I say if life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. If having lost her legs give her a voice, so be it.
Of course, yes, she has to have good positions on the issues. She's in a good place to talk about the war for sure.
4:02 PM
Wow, what a great attitude! Good for her! Now let's hope she's got good positions, as TLP says.
4:45 PM
Totally OT and probably horrible, but I have to ask - is it just me, or does she look a LOT like Roseanne? I thought that's who it was, at first.
And on-topic - I'd *love* to hear her stand on Iraq! Other issues too!
10:50 PM
I am with the Roseanne thing as well:)
I think that whoever has something of value to say should do so. Whoever has the ability to be heard should speak.
Unfourtunately we need to stand out to be listened to and disability seems to be one of those things. That and being an actor/singer...who have more money between them than any concert they hold can collect! Isn´t the world a crazy place...
5:04 AM
it takes a lot of guts to suffer those injuries and not just curl up and go into yourself. I admire that. I will pay attention to hear more on her views. More women in politics is a good thing too.
Can you imagine a world where the proportion of women in power actually represented the proportion of women on the planet? I suspect it would be a slightly different world.
xoxo
L
8:14 AM
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