#il 08

On Thursday, after his debate against Democrat Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) told reporters that an abortion exception is never necessary to save a woman’s life, explaining, “with modern technology and science, you can’t find one instance” of a woman dying from childbirth. Walsh claimed pro-choice advocates simply used the prospect of maternal death “to make us look unreasonable.”

Walsh went on to assert that women whose health would be jeopardized if they carry their fetus to term are simply using the exception as a “tool” to get an abortion for “any reason.”

With modern technology and science, you can’t find one instance…There’s no such exception as life of the mother. And as far as health of the mother, same thing, with advances in science and technology, health of the mother has become a tool for abortions anytime under any reason.

By pretending these women don’t exist, Walsh joins the ranks of his other colleague, Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), who ignited a firestorm over his opposition to a rape exception because “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

Duckworth rips Walsh over ‘dress’ attack: Mostly I’ve worn one color – camoflage (via Raw Story )

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) deployed a strange attack on his Democratic opponent, Iraq War veteran and former Veterans Affairs official Tammy Duckworth, at a debate Tuesday night — brandishing a photo of her picking out a dress for the Democratic National Convention.

The point that Walsh intended to illustrate was that Duckworth was a political insider and a handpicked candidate of the national Democrats.

“I was marching in a parade in Schaumburg (Ill.), Sunday, two days before the Democratic convention,” Walsh said, holding up the photo, “when Tammy Duckworth was on a stage down in Charlotte (N.C.) — if you can look at the picture — picking out a dress for her speech Tuesday night.”

Back in September, Walsh issued a statement attacking Duckworth’s speech at the convention, and accusing her of dodging debates: “It has become abundantly clear that at this point the only debate Ms. Duckworth is actually interested in having is which outfit she’ll be wearing for her big speech.” Walsh pointed to the photo on Tuesday night as a way to explain what he said previously.

Members of the audience booed profusely, but Walsh wasn’t fazed. He went on to address his criticism of Duckworth picking out her clothes for the Democratic convention — by holding up the photo.

The audience booed again, very loudly, as Walsh was finishing his statement. For her part, Duckworth accused Walsh of trying to distract from the issues — and she got in a kicker of her own.

“And yes, I do sometimes look at the clothes that I wear,” she said. “But for most of my adult life, I’ve worn one color — it’s called camouflage.”

Congratulations to the nation's most infamous deadbeat dad, Rep. Joe Walsh. The Hill reports that Deadbeat Joe is officially no longer a deadbeat:

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) and his ex-wife have reached an agreement to end the court case over whether he owed her more than $100,000 in unpaid child support, Walsh's campaign announced Thursday morning.

The couple even released a joint statement to make it very, very clear that Deadbeat Joe is no longer a deadbeat, so we can all stop calling him that now:

“We both regret this public misunderstanding and the effect it has had on our children. Like many families, we have had our share of issues and made our share of mistakes over the years. Having resolved these issues together and cleared up these mistakes in private, we now agree that Joe is not and was not a “deadbeat dad” and does not owe child support. We both have been loving and devoted parents to our children, ages 24, 21, and 17, and are happy to avoid a public legal fight hurtful to our entire family and look forward to caring for our children in private.”

Got that? Deadbeat Joe is not a deadbeat. Stop saying that! The child support his ex-wife has been trying to get out of him for the better part of a decade is all taken care of now. Repeat: Deadbeat—sorry, ex-Deadbeat—Joe is not a deadbeat.

#IL08: Tammy Duckworth wins Dem Primary, Krishnamoorthi concedes: twitter.com/#!/seanlewiswg… /@seanlewisWGN #ilprimary

In a jam-packed bar on Chicago's North Side, Congressman Joe Walsh Thursday ended more than a week of speculation, confirming that he would be running for election in a Northwest suburban congressional district rather than facing fellow freshman Rep. Randy Hultgren of Winfield.

Walsh — lured by the thought of an easier primary and the promise, according to top Illinois GOP officials who requested anonymity and influential Barrington Republican Jack Roeser, of $3.5 million in general election fundraising help from House Speaker John Boehner — will now make a bid in the recently drawn 8th District, roughly centered in Schaumburg and including Addison, Elk Grove, Hanover and Wheeling townships.

The move sets the stage for perhaps the most watched race in the country in the General Election, with a potential opponent in Hoffman Estates Democrat Tammy Duckworth, the Iraq War veteran and former Obama administration member who gained national recognition in 2006 during her congressional race against Peter Roskam of Wheaton.

Duckworth faces a primary challenge from Raja Krishnamoorthi, also of Hoffman Estates.

Yet, like Duckworth, Walsh still faces a primary battle — against DuPage Regional Superintendent of Education Darlene Ruscitti and Barrington businessman Andrew Palomo. Ruscitti, who held an Addison fundraiser on Thursday, is expected to receive the support of several members of the Illinois Republican delegation over Walsh — including Roskam, the GOP chief deputy whip and 6th District congressman, and 13th District Congresswoman Judy Biggert of Hinsdale.

“I've made an equal number of enemies in the Republican establishment and the Democratic establishment,” Walsh told the crowd at the Cubby Bear in Chicago, to cheers.

Yet extolling President Ronald Reagan, he said Republicans were “warriors” in a fight they needed to win.

“I refuse to believe that most Americans want to depend upon government,” Walsh said. “And this run in the 8th will prove we're right.”

Walsh's office remained tight-lipped about the decision up until the final announcement, but late Thursday morning, a Palatine Tea Party group suggested that it would be the 8th where Walsh would be making a primary bid and encouraged supporters to attend the Chicago Tea Party meeting at the Cubby Bear, where Walsh had been scheduled for more than a month to speak.

The once-a-decade redistricting process, controlled by the party that holds the most sway at the state Capitol, has created a number of headaches for Walsh and the GOP, with several districts drawn to the perceived advantage of Democrats or forcing a faceoff between two Republicans, like Walsh and Hultgren.

The recently drawn 14th District — where Walsh's home is — contains roughly a third of Hultgren's current congressional district. Divided almost evenly between Kane and McHenry counties, it is expected to pull Republican in 2012.

Hultgren was seen as a tough opponent for Walsh, who is battling more mainstream members of his own party as well as allegations of late child support payments.

The new 8th District, on the other hand, contains about one-fourth of Walsh's current district but is expected to lean Democratic in the next election, as it now contains some of the most independent voting portions of Northwest Cook and DuPage counties.

At a November 19 town hall meeting in Gurnee, Illinois, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) smeared Occupy Wall Street protesters as “generally spoiled, pampered, unfocused, clueless young people and a smattering of other people who don’t understand this country and are advocating anti-American solutions.”  When asked by a subsequent questioner if his attack applied to “veterans who fought in foreign wars” who are part of the 99 Percent Movement, Walsh replied that they were advocating “socialist solutions” and that “they don’t understand this country.”  Walsh later admitted that he’d never actually been to any of the protests.