Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth has accomplished numerous firsts since being elected to Congress as a member of the House of Representatives in 2013 then again in the Senate in 2017.
Senator Duckworth is the first Thai-American woman, the first legislator born in Thailand and the first woman with a disability elected to Congress. She is first female double amputee in the Senate and the first Senator to give birth while in office.
Before serving in the halls of Congress, Duckworth was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot. The Iraq War combat veteran suffered severe wounds causing her to lose both of her legs and some mobility in her right arm.
Georgia Republican Representative Doug Collins was a chaplain in the Navy for two years before becoming a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve.
However according to Collins, Duckworth, and all Democrats, "are in love with" terrorists, as Collins told Lou Dobbs on Fox Business Thursday afternoon.
Duckworth was not going to let the Georgia GOP Representative's lies go unchallenged. Sharing a video of Collins' appearance on Fox and tagging him in her tweet, Duckworth posted:
"I left literal parts of my body in Iraq, where I was fighting terrorists."
"Donald Trump spent months attacking an ACTUAL Gold Star Family."
"[Representative Doug Collins] should be ashamed of himself for perpetuating this offensive lie."
In America, even people who disagree with the President vehemently can still love this country.
I love my country just as much as anyone on the other side of the aisle—it's why I volunteered to serve in uniform, unlike Donald Trump.
— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) January 9, 2020
In an interview with CNN's Brianna Keilar on CNN Right Now, Duckworth said of Collins's baseless lie that Democrats "mourn Soleimani and care more about terrorists than members of the US military killed in Iraq":
"I'm not going to dignify that with a response. I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists,"
"I don't need to justify myself to anyone"
"I'm disgusted. I would never, ever use Gold Star families, military men and women, or their families, as any pawn in any political game."
Duckworth stated:
"No, I am not sad that [Soleimani] is dead. I am glad that he's gone to meet his maker."
"But at the end of the day, because of the poor handling by the White House and the consequences of their actions... American forces are now under greater danger of attack from Iran and other hostile forces in the Middle East."
. @RepDougCollins is once again showing how pathetic he can be. Saying stuff like that is not helping anything, but instead incites anger and aggression. He's pandering to trump and his base being divisive. We need leaders not dividers. Thank you Sen. Duckworth for your courage.
— Theresa M ☘️⚜️ (@thetreezz) January 9, 2020
Doug Collins is a bad faith actor and egregiously dishonest. This is not the only instance where this is viewable, however, it is a particularly insulting and hurtful one.
— Ken Carroll (@Crumlinfinglas) January 9, 2020
@RepDougCollins has zero integrity he is a parrot for the #CowardInChief @SenDuckworth
— 1Luv 💗 🆘 (@spiritmoon7) January 9, 2020
Call @RepDougCollins 202-225-9893: retweet when you have called. He deserves to be censured by Congress.
— taticus (@JoshDrake22) January 9, 2020
Who did Collins mourn for? Otto Warmbier? Jamal Khashoggi? How did he seek to keep the country safer after they were killed? He probably couldn't tell you the name of the American that was unfortunately killed at Soleimani's command in December. He's in it for himself like Trump.
— Untangled Webb 🕸 (@lllimericks) January 9, 2020
People called out more than Collins for perpetuating lies.
Trump and his enablers, like Doug Collins, are incapable of shame. That requires a sense of honor and decency, which they clearly lack.
— Sheryl Sebastian (@harrahgirl) January 9, 2020
also, what in the hell is wrong with @LouDobbs ? Guess him and @RepDougCollins were having fun in their little echo chamber. Meanwhile the rest of us realize how absurd these two are.....
— thedude404 (@thedude404) January 9, 2020
People pointed out Collins parroted the same propaganda that Nikki Haley spouted earlier.
Collins is reprehensible......what he, Nikki Haley and several other Republicans have been saying in regards to Democrats siding with Iran and the terrorists.....VOTE HIM OUT AMERICA.
— paul unknown (@paulunknown2) January 9, 2020
Tammy, you're a much better person than I am. Your post attributes to Collins the ability to recognize inappropriate behavior, let alone shame. He's an embarrassment to his faith, the Oath, the uniform and his rank.
— Jack (@cookoutjack) January 9, 2020
He should be ashamed. But he has shown the nation over and over in the last couple of months that he is an utterly shameless liar and propagandist. Before that time, he was, mercifully, pretty much anonymous.
— Kelly Cameron (@KellyCameronLaw) January 9, 2020
Collins has not yet responded to Duckworth's comments.
The book Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq with a forward by Senator Duckworth is available here.
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