Truman National Security Project

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Democratic candidate Tammy Duckworth yearned for Republican veterans to beat her own party’s nominees in this year’s congressional races – an unconventional wish, particularly in the middle of the Democratic convention.

“I actually hope that some Republican veterans win this cycle,” the decorated veteran said Wednesday. “Because I want to go out there and find my counterpart on the other side of the aisle and say, ‘all right, we have this shared history, let’s sit down and figure this out.’ Surely we can talk about the military, that we both love and we both serve, and figure out a way that we can solve these problems.”

She said lawmakers need to set aside the political “crap” when discussing military options, something veterans are particularly well-equipped to do.

“We will be paying to care for our nation’s veterans and their families of these wars that we’re in right now at least for another 80 to 100 years,” she said at a veterans’ event hosted by the pro-Democratic Truman National Security Project. “So when we talk about going to war, it cannot be one that is based on ‘I am more patriotic than you,’ it has to be based on real honest discussions among legislators [about] is this really in America’s best interest? And if it is, we’ll be there.”  . . .

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The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Truman National Security Project or Educational Institute.