Hey, That’s My Name

It’s been awhile since I’ve discussed politics here. Frankly, I just haven’t seen much worth talking about. You’ll forgive me, but I just don’t really care whether or not Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck or whoever the hell wants Obama to fail. I just don’t think they matter enough for me to give a crap. So this makes Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina very special. He’s managed to find a way to make me mad.

Burr has decided to hold up the nomination of Iraq war vet Tammy Duckworth as Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Veterans Affairs Department. Now, truthfully, this is a bit trivial. Burr won’t actually succeed in keeping Duckworth off the committee because he doesn’t have that kind of weight, but the mere fact that he’s doing it all steams me.

If you’re not from Illinois, you probably don’t know that much about Tammy Duckworth and even then, you might not know much about her unless you lived in Illinois’s 6th Congressional District in 2006. I did. Tammy Duckworth was the first political candidate I ever knocked on doors for (if you know me, you know this isn’t something naturally predisposed to do). Duckworth is Major in Illinois’s Army National Guard and flew helicopters in Iraq where she lost both of her legs and severely damaged one of her arms in crash in 2004. Sadly, she lost her run for Congress, though it was a very close race in a district that is incredibly conservative. Since that time, though, she has served as the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs where she has done a fantastic job making Illinois a leader in taking care of veterans.

So, why would Richard Burr seek to keep such a candidate from a leadership role at the Veterans Affairs Department. Well, quite frankly, we don’t know, because he hasn’t said why. Burr’s spokesperson has attributed the delay to questions the senator wishes to be answered by Duckworth and the Obama administration regarding her candidacy. There has been no clarification on what these question might be.

Those better be some damn good questions, Senator Burr.

As the Republican Party searches for meaning in the political minority, the latest project of one Republican senator is blocking Tammy Duckworth from a top job in the Veterans Affairs Department.

Duckworth is a major in the National Guard who lost both her legs when the helicopter she was piloting was attacked in Iraq in 2004. She is renowned nationwide as a wicked smart, effective, passionate veterans advocate.

But now, Republican Richard Burr from North Carolina has decided to personally delay her nomination. And he won‘t say why. His spokesman says, “He is doing his due diligence to ensure that veterans have the best representation possible.”

Due diligence? On the decorated Iraq war veteran who helped make the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs a leader in state benefits for vets and who is renowned nationwide for that purpose?

Senator Burr, how about diligently doing the right thing right now and picking a different high horse to ride in on, OK? You picked the wrong fight here.

Tags: MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, Richard Burr, Tammy Duckworth

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