IL-06: Soldier's Sister Sends Out Wrenching Letter About Duckworth
Every now and then amid the stilted talking-points, choreographed events and airless speeches that are the stuff of modern political campaigns you get a moment of genuine, wrenching emotion. Such a moment came the other day in Illinois' sixth, where Dem vet double-amputee Tammy Duckworth is battling GOPer Peter Roskam. At an event where Duckworth was speaking, a woman stood to share with Duckworth and the audience her thoughts about her brother, a soldier who's heading out for a second tour in Iraq. As the woman describes it, she was quickly overwhelmed with emotion and broke down and cried. Duckworth made her way over to the woman on her artificial legs and gave her a hug.
The woman, a volunteer for Duckworth who's gotten more involved in the campaign since the event, has now written an emotional letter about the experience which has been emailed out into the district by the Duckworth campaign. And it's well worth a read, because it demonstrates a fact about this election that's been sorely neglected: The war in Iraq is more than something which can be magically transformed into a "winner" or a "loser" around "national security issues" with just the right "political positioning."
The most important thing about the Iraq war is not what people are saying to pollsters about whether the Republicans pulled off the trick of conflating it with the "broader war on terror," as pundits keep wondering. The war is not something that can simply be pushed or pulled or manipulated in the minds of Americans with just the right Rovian stunt, stage set or talking point.
Rather, it is a gargantuan, traumatic event that has colored, defined and even overwhelmed the lives of real people.
Duckworth, having having lost her legs in Iraq, understands this -- and more important, can communicate it, too. Which is why people like this woman who doesn't know if her brother will come back alive from Iraq will vote for her in November.
Read her letter for yourself:
Dear Friends,My name is Nicole Curtis-Torres. I’m a lifelong resident of Wheaton. Some of you may know my brother Master Sergeant Brian Curtis. Brian, like me, grew up in Wheaton and lived here until devoting himself full-time to the United States Army.
I am so proud of my brother – he is my hero. He’s been serving in the military for 20 years – 13 of which have been full-time in the Army. He is about to go back to Baghdad for his second tour. During this tour, he will be leading a team in weapons cache and IED disposal. IEDs have killed and injured so many of our soldiers and my brother works to make Iraq safe for our soldiers.
My brother selflessly puts his life on the line for all of us. He, like all of our soldiers, has made many great personal sacrifices for our country.
We need someone who has served in Iraq, we need someone who has seen the daily fighting in Iraq. Tammy has been there and she understands the sacrifices our Soldiers have made.
While at a coffee in Bloomingdale, I stood up to tell Tammy and the audience about Brian. While talking in front of the group, I became overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry. Tammy got off her chair, walked over and gave me a hug. For the first time, someone understood what I was going through.
Talking with her that night was the first time I was able to talk to someone who understood what it was like to have a loved one serving overseas. It was the first time I felt a connection with someone. Tammy understands how much I miss my brother, how proud I am and how angry I am.
When I talk to Tammy, I’m not talking to a politician – I’m talking to someone who understands how much I miss my brother. Tammy isn’t a politician, she’s a real person who understands what it is like to have a loved one in Iraq.
Talking to her was the first time I could say, “I’m scared as hell.” She understands what I go through everyday. He’s my brother – he’s my hero. This has been my own daily struggle and Tammy understands what it feels like.
Despite political differences, one thing all Americans can agree on is that we are all proud of those who serve in our armed forces. This fall, I will be supporting Tammy Duckworth because she is the type of person we need in Congress – she understands what is going on in Iraq.
Thank you,
Nicole Curtis-Torres
I can well understand the passion and commitment of Nicole Curtis-Torres regarding her support for Tammy Duckworth, I can well understand her statements about needing people in elective office who understand our realities... it's something that I feel strongly about as well.
Families like mine are on the front lines of the cold shower that the Bush administration has rained down upon the nation, and we've taken more than our fair share of the suffering.
It's more than just politicians though, it's the ideological extremists who, while giving occasional lip service to the issues, seeking to exploit them, have no commitment to, or understanding of those issues.
Sometimes here and elsewhere, you run across people who like to infer that their intent is electing good candidates, yet if the truth is that their candidate is absolutely lousy on the issues, they refuse to see it.. in fact, they will attack any criticism, they refuse to even research the candidate on the issue so as to educate themselves and make up their own mind based on the facts. They'll behave exactly the same way Karl Rove behaves, seeking to censor and defame any one who expresses an opinion they disagree with about a candidate or ideology that they espouse.
The other day I was shocked to read on the Daily Kos blog, a slander against a fantastic democrat who has been working hard for the past three years to help take back the congress from total republican control. Not shocked that Kos would be perpetuating such a smear, after all, Kos smears anyone who isn't paying him to spew happy talk. But I was shocked at how those who rely on the Kos owned blogads to help subsidize their blogs, felt obliged to help perpetuate those lies.. even one blogger who I respect for his tradition of speaking truth to power.. for someone who claims to care so passionately about freedom and rights, it was rather sad to witness how he was as willing as any reporter in the right wing controlled media to spin and smear, to slander for profit. I believe he felt a bit guilty about it later as he made an attempt at a weak retraction later on..
The thing is, while the internet is a positive thing in many ways, if one is going to rely on it to publish one's work, especially if one's work is reporting on politics and the government, than I think one owes him or herself, but also his or her readers to keep oneself free from those who would seek to manipulate and control his or her writing, in their bid for power. In fact it is the writer's obligation to expose such machinations, such corruption and manipulation.. else one is no better than those one seeks to expose in government or the MSM when they act as a smokescreen and facilitator for corruption.
October 20, 2006 11:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was moved to tears when I read Nicole's e-mail this morning. And just a few hours later, I was again moved by another message about a brother - Kevin Tillman's post about honoring his brother's memory (Pat was killed in Afghanistan).
I wrote up my thoughts on what these patriotic messages say about what's at stake in November here.
Thanks for reprinting the e-mail.
--Rick
October 20, 2006 11:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now that's really interesting. I read all the way to the bottom to hear you vaguely attack Kos over something you can't bring yourself to talk about.
If you have something to say, say it. In 1000 characters or less please. It's the least you can do. The rest of us are busy trying win elections.
October 21, 2006 12:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Where did I attack Markos?
October 21, 2006 12:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry not you Rick. Mary from RI did right here:
Not shocked that Kos would be perpetuating such a smear, after all, Kos smears anyone who isn't paying him to spew happy talk.
Then she goes on attack unnamed others in the next sentence. Then trots out the goofy idea once again that Kos financially and editorally controls the blogging left.
But I was shocked at how those who rely on the Kos owned blogads to help subsidize their blogs, felt obliged to help perpetuate those lies.
Still don't know who or what you're talking about Mary. Who and or what did Kos smear? Who is this unnamed candidate who is lousy on the issues?
October 21, 2006 10:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think that the fantastic Democrat smeared by Kos is Lieberman. Mary either has a huge crash on Joe, or is on some payroll -- I do not know which.
October 21, 2006 12:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, it's not Lieberman.. and if you don't know, perhaps you should start actually reading a bit more, start closer to home.. by which I mean here..
October 21, 2006 12:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Kos is attempting to control and manipulate those who rely on blogads, and if liberal bloggers do really believe in the issues of which they expound on, the freedoms, et al.. then perhaps they should start considering how some of them are allowing said freedomes, etc.. are being limited by those they are helping to empower, like Kos.
If you're so offended by criticisms of Kos, then why not actually consider that he censors any dissent, he doesn't rely on truth or even research his claims, he willingly lies and smears democrats, and those lies and smears go hand in hand with whomever is paying Jerome Armstrong, or not paying. If you truly despise what Bush is doing, how can you rationalize those same actions in someone else, including one who purports to be "on your side"? Consider that Armstrong first started his con writing an astrology column on a site of his, and then reshaped that same con, to what we found later was his investment fraud scam. Then he and Markos reinvented the scam for politics.. it's a way of making money by using a protection scam, pay us and we'll not slander you..
If you actually do care about the issues, why not consider how little is actually achieved for those issues by what is written by Kos. Consider how much of his writing is actually smears against democrats. Mix that in with the rest of the activities, the history of the players in the scam, and you'd have to be as woefully ignorant as any Bush loyalist who still insists on voting in a way that puts their own family on the line.
Is your loyalty to fighting injustice or to a particular ideological agenda? Consider how Kos's support of candidates is influenced by whomever places Jerome Armstrong on the payroll, if you have a short memory, consider Paul Hackett, consider Howard Dean who is NOT liberal, by any stretch of the imagination. He started touting Mark Warner after Armstrong was put on the payroll. Frankly I think they just took Warner's money without any interest in actually helping him at all. From what I heard, they actually hurt his chances.. Perhaps they think that it won't get out, but the word is actually making rounds. Kos is a con artist, he's lied about himself, and relies on dirty tricks.
October 21, 2006 1:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you Greg. Thank you Nicole and Tammy.
Interesting what this says about one woman's view of what a leader should be. This woman wasn't looking for some abstract leadership, some leader on a pedestal. This woman extols a leader who is on a level with the voters who the writer believes will lead peers and not followers.
In the disgust with Washington are we seeing a different model for political leaders?
October 21, 2006 1:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't know what you're talking about Mary from RI but if you'd like to make it clear it might help.
October 21, 2006 5:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey I don't like Kos prefacing every reference to my governor with the word "corrupt" either. Blagojevich for all his faults is a damn site better than the George Ryan devotee/barfly who's running against him.
But I don't go to other blogs to smear Kos about it. I write my complaints about him on his blog.
October 21, 2006 5:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's a lot of unsubstantiated criticism of Kos and Jerome Armstrong. It has no business being posted in these comments on this thread. What does it have to do with Tammy Duckworth or Nicole Curtis Torres?
October 21, 2006 5:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's all a vast and complex Republican Conspiracy engineered by Karl Rove to disrupt our very very very important work on very very very important blogs like DKos and TPM!!!
October 22, 2006 11:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
To see more photographs of Tammy, go to the following page:
www.photos.yahoo.com/tammy_duckworth_photos
The photograph above "The Hug" is in the Bloomingdale folder.
October 22, 2006 11:51 PM | Reply | Permalink