Tammy Duckworth

The left-wing righteousness was heavy in the air on Tuesday, the tenth anniversary of the U.S. war starting in Iraq. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow booked Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) to decry all the lies told to Congress and the American people about the intelligence out of Iraq. Conservatives aren't just hostage-takers on taxes or the sequester.

Duckworth called the run-up to war a "hostage situation," since members of Congress were "being threatened and had their patriotism questioned." That sounds just like the anti-conservative blather from then-MSNBC president Erik Sorenson in the early weeks of the war in Afghanistan in 2001: "Any misstep and you can get into trouble with these guys and have the Patriotism Police hunt you down." Here's how Maddow spurred the latest conservative-hostage-takers metaphor:

Is CNN campaigning for Rep. Joe Walsh's Democratic opponent? In a heated exchange with Walsh on Thursday, anchor Ashleigh Banfield rattled off a list of opponent Tammy Duckworth's accomplishments and admitted "she should get elected" if voters are pleased with her resume.

CNN gave much softer treatment to Duckworth on Friday. Host Wolf Blitzer did press her about controversial statements she has made, but also tossed her softball questions and gave her an opportunity to explain her stances on issues that matter to voters -- an opportunity CNN did not give Walsh.

Blitzer asked her softballs like "Do you have a problem that he [Walsh] never served in the military?" after Walsh had accused her of incessantly touting her own military service. [Video below the break.]

Imagine for a moment the Senate was currently controlled by Republicans, and the white male majority leader advised Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich not to pick a black candidate to fill president-elect Barack Obama's vacated seat instead pressuring the governor to choose between two white candidates, do you think this would get some media attention?

Probably every hour on the hour until the white majority leader was forced to apology and conceivably resign, right?

Well, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday who Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told Blagojevich he did and didn't support concerning Obama's replacement, and irrespective of their qualifications, there was a clear racial divide in his preferences:

Note -- A related November 5 story at KHAQ in advance of the Obama-Blago meeting that is no longer available at KHAQ's site is here at my web host. It has been taken down from the related web site, and I believe its Google cache has also been removed.

(original post follows)

Yes indeed (content at original link was deleted; current link is to copy at my web host; HT to an e-mailer, who tells me that “this is (in) the newspaper from Quincy, IL from KHQA, a CBS affiliate”; bold is mine):

By Alexis Hunt
Saturday, November 08, 2008 at 9:48 p.m.

Duckworth comments on consideration for Senate

QUINCY, IL -- Now that Barack Obama will be moving to the White House, his seat in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois will have to be filled.

Obama met with Governor Rod Blagojevich earlier this week to discuss it. Illinois law states that the governor chooses that replacement. There's already been speculation about his selection...from Congressman Jesse Jackson, Junior to Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth.

Obama, yesterday (a quote that, strangely enough, seems barely present on Google News, and on Google Web):

"I have had no contact with the governor or his office, so I was unaware of what was happening.”