Thursday, March 23, 2006

Iraq I: The New Democratic Hope

The Democratic Party badly needs new blood, and it doesn't get much newer than returning Iraq war veterans.

The Dems blew it in Ohio earlier this year when they forced war vet Paul Hackett off a primary ballot and replaced him with an old-school incumbent congressman. But they seem to be doing things right in suburban Chicago where L. Tammy Duckworth, a retired Army major who lost both legs in Iraq, won a close primary election this week and will run against a Republican state senator for the seat of Rep. Henry J. Hyde, a Republican master of bloviation and pork-barrel politics who is retiring after 32 years.

Republicans are so concerned about holding onto Hyde's seat that they flew in the party's Death Star, Vice President Cheney, to campaign for Duckworth's November opponent.

Unlike Hackett, who ran on his harsh antiwar views, Duckworth vows to focus on issues like education, health care and jobs.

Details here.

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