From the Chicago Sun-Times article, “Class Warfare at State Fair as Democrats Rally Against GOP:”
Perhaps the most stinging anti-Rauner attack came from U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.)…
She hit Rauner hard, later likening him to a “deserter” for investing some of his personal fortune in funds and stocks based in the Cayman Islands, a notorious tax haven.
“I think if you’re avoiding paying your fair share in your nation, that fits,” she said of Rauner when pressed on that label, considered in military circles to be the most derisive of all.
Personally, I’ve never believed campaign rhetoric to be particularly newsworthy, no matter how outrageous or venomous it can be. I’ve always been more concerned with public policy decisions, math, and results.
In other words, actions still speak louder than words for voters like me. But the Illinois Mirror is a media watchdog and for the mainstream media today, in an age of social media and the 24 hour news cycle, where people are tweeting/blogging/reporting what lawmakers say more than what lawmakers do, words evidently speak louder than actions for many.
And the mainstream media certainly holds Republicans accountable for their words. Despite outrageous comments that are routinely made by extremist Democrats like Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and others, they never get as much attention and coverage from the media as Republican firebrands – even if they’re no longer holding any office (and thus have zero decision-making power) – like ex-Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), ex-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), or ex-Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.).
Nobody knows this more than Duckworth’s 8th Congressional District predecessor: ex-Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.).
Walsh’s remarks were routinely scrutinized and looped hour after hour by the Illinois media when he was in office. If he ever said anything that was even remotely controversial, you would never hear the end of it.
Here, we have a sitting Democratic congresswoman accusing a gubernatorial candidate of being a “traitor” to his country for investing part of his own personal money outside the U.S. I must’ve missed when it was decided that any holdings you may have abroad is now considered “traitorous.”
My Greek grandmother opened up a bank account in Greece in my name 10 years ago. Guess that disqualifies me from the Democratic Party, a party self-described as “the party of inclusion.”
Others have rightfully condemned Duckworth’s comments for being extremist and intolerant. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), a fellow military veteran, remarked:
“If we use comments like ‘deserter’ and ‘traitor’ that normally those crimes have a capital punishment consequence, I’d say that rhetoric is probably too overblown for a country that wants to stick together and hang together,” Kirk said. …
“The point of America is that we all want everyone to be wealthy,” Kirk said. “We’re a success-driven country. We want to make sure that we Americans are not jealous of our fellow citizens. We don’t want to pull people down just because they’re successful. The class warfare message has never really worked well with the American people.”
But even Capitol Fax’s Rich Miller – no friend of Republicans or the Rauner campaign – thought Duckworth’s comments were inappropriate:
That’s disgusting and way over the line.
For crying out loud, it’s August and the campaign is already this ugly?
[Kirk] was being too kind.
But more importantly, who else in the Illinois media even reported this incident besides the Sun-Times? That would be the Daily Herald and… that’s it.
I doubt the rest of the Illinois media would’ve ignored this if an office holder with an (R) next to his or her name made such blistering comments.
She’s yet to apologize for these slanders by the way.
