Tag Archives: Tammy Duckworth

Duckworth is running

6 Jul

For awhile, there was some hope that Hawaii-born Tammy Duckworth would re-locate back to Hawaii and run for Dan Akaka’s seat in the Senate.

She went to McKinley High School, UH and is an Iraq War veteran who lost her legs after an explosion in combat.

Last month she left her job as assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Someone even started a “Hawaii Draft Tammy” site on Facebook.

Duckworth eventually stopped that with an announcement that Illinois was now her home and if she ran for office it would be there.

Consider it done.

She announced today she will run in the newly drawn Illinois 8th district.

“My father served in Vietnam, my brother served in the Coast Guard, and my husband continues to serve on active duty because our family believes in this great nation. There are plenty of folks in Washington who serve political ideology and personal ambition. I want to continue serving our country,” Duckworth said in a statement.

We wish her the best of luck.

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Tammy Duckworth quits VA

14 Jun

A lot of people were hoping Hawaii-raised Tammy Duckworth would run for one of the island’s open Congressional seats next year.

Duckworth said thanks, but no thanks.

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting she submitted her resignation to the Veteran’s Administration..

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, “Assistant Secretary Duckworth has submitted her resignation. She has served the Department of Veterans Affairs with distinction. Her unwavering dedication to Veterans and their families has strengthened VA’s ability to perform our mission–providing Veterans the healthcare and benefits they have earned.”

In 2006 she ran for the House in the present Illinois 6th Congressional District – but lost.

While her future plans haven’t been announced, if she ran again she would be a stronger candidate than the first time around.

Continue reading →

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Tuesday quickie

31 May

Congress is thinking of cutting the rising costs of the food stamps program at a time when a record number of Americans are relying on it.
The House Appropriations Committee today will review the fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture. It includes $71 billion for the agency’s “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.”
A record number of Americans — about 14 percent — now rely on the federal government’s food stamps program and its rapid expansion in recent years has become a politically explosive topic.
Nearly 21 million households are reliant on food stamps and nutrition assistance now accounts for more than half — or about 67 percent — of the USDA’s budget.
The Republicans’ 2012 budget plan proposes changing SNAP from an entitlement to a block-grant program that would be tailored for each individual state, much like their proposal for Medicaid. States would no longer receive open-ended subsidies and the aid would be contingent on work or job training. It would also limit funding for the program.

Sarah Palin has said she is “still kind of contemplating” a presidential campaign as she and her family set off from the nation’s capital on a bus tour of historical sites that left observers puzzled about what the former Alaska governor planned next — both for her schedule and her career.
Palin and her aides refused to share basic details about the “One Nation” tour that was scheduled to take her from Washington to New England in the days ahead.

Decorated Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth has not decided if she will run for elected office again. But if she does, it will not be for Hawaii.
“As honored as I am by all those who’d like me to run here — and I get asked that question all the time — my home and my National Guard unit are in Illinois. And if I run for office again, it’ll be there,” she said.
Duckworth, 43, has roots in Hawaii. She graduated from McKinley High School in 1985 and went to the UH.

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The quiet draft of Tammy Duckworth

30 Mar

Let’s go back a bit to March 3rd.

We were handicapping some names for Senator Dan Akaka’s seat in Congress.

Senator Dan Inouye threw out a few in a PBS interview and we added a couple more.

One of those from Inouye was Tammy Duckworth.

She’s a true hero, a graduate of McKinley High School graduate and Iraq war veteran where she was gravely wounded while flying a helicopter.

Today she’s Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

We called her a dark horse if she ran.

Now, some folks are gently pushing for her to jump in.

A Draft Tammy Duckworth website has popped up.
Nothing fancy – just her picture and it states it’s not affiliated or paid for by Duckworth.

But there’s something everyone else missed.
Looking through the source code for the site shows a hidden Facebook page address for drafting her.
You can see it here.

So far no word from Duckworth on whether she might be interested.

UPDATE  4/6: The Draft Tammy Duckworth website now shows a link to the Facebook page.

UPDATE  5/31: Tammy Duckworth has not decided if she will run for elected office again. But if she does, it will not be for Hawaii. “As honored as I am by all those who’d like me to run here — and I get asked that question all the time — my home and my National Guard unit are in Illinois. And if I run for office again, it’ll be there,” she said.

UPDATE  6/14: Duckworth leaves the VA. Speculation is to run for office in the new Illinois 8th district. Details here.

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