Iraq Veteran Wants to Serve in Congress

It seems like every time we turn around, another Republican decides to cut and run when a FBI agent, a US attorney, or a national intelligence estimate shows up. And too many Republicans in Congress and the White House hardly seem to know what it means to give to one's country; in fact, given recent scandals and congressional funny business, it seems this generation of Republicans in Washington specialize in taking.

Whether Republican or Democrat, we need good people in Washington and one of the better candidates is Democrat Tammy Duckworth who knows a thing or two about service and sacrifice; here's the story from Dennis Conrad of the Associated Press (via Yahoo):

An Illinois congressional candidate who lost both her legs during combat in Iraq said Saturday that President Bush has no real strategy for securing the war-ravaged nation, just political talk designed to appeal to voters.

"Instead of a plan or a strategy, we get shallow slogans like 'mission accomplished' and 'stay the course,'" former Army Capt. Tammy Duckworth said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. "Those slogans are calculated to win an election. But they won't help us accomplish our mission in Iraq."

Duckworth's address served as a response to the president's weekly radio talk and gave the Democratic Party a chance to showcase one of its strongest candidates as it seeks to regain control of the House in November's elections.

Duckworth, who copiloted a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed while under a rocket grenade attack almost two years ago, also criticized Bush and others in his administration for accusing anyone who challenges the president's policies of "cutting and running."

"Well, I didn't cut and run, Mr. President. Like so many others, I proudly fought and sacrificed," Duckworth said. "My helicopter was shot down long after you proclaimed 'mission accomplished.'"

We all know Senate Majority Leader Frist and House Speaker Hastert would rather hide their heads in the sand than admit Bush doesn't know what he's doing and that it's long past time for them to speak up and demand something other than more of the same. Haven't we put up with Bush's failures long enough? Isn't it time for the country to start holding the president accountable for his recklessness and failure to fix his mistakes?