GOP senator attacks his opponent, a war hero, for her Asian heritage

During a debate Thursday night at the University of Illinois Springfield, Representative Tammy Duckworth began to discuss her experience as a veteran, only to have it attacked by her rival, Senator Mark Kirk, using inflammatory and racially charged rhetoric.

Duckworth, who is challenging Kirk for his seat in the Senate in this November's election, had been discussing her experiences as a war veteran when Kirk launched a bitter counterattack. The representative's parents, he claimed, didn't come "all the way from Thailand" just so that they "could serve George Washington."

Duckworth, a Democrat, won a Purple Heart and lost both of her legs during the Iraq War. She was born to a Thai mother of Chinese descent and an American marine, whose ancestors served in the American Revolution.

"I’ve bled for this nation. But I still want to be there in the Senate when the drums of war sound. Because people are quick to sound the drums of war, and I want to be there to say this is what it costs, this is what you’re asking us to do . . . Families like mine are the ones that bleed first," Duckworth said.

"I forgot that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington," Kirk sarcastically responded.

In September, the Illinois senator was accused of inflating his own war record. His website claimed that he was a veteran of the Iraq War, when in fact, he stayed in the United States in the Navy Reserves throughout the course of the war.

Though Duckworth did not immediately respond on stage to the comment, she did follow up later with a photo posted on Twitter.

"My mom is an immigrant and my dad and his family have served this nation in uniform since the Revolution," Duckworth wrote.

The Kirk campaign initially didn't offer an apology, but instead released the following statement:

"Senator Kirk has consistently called Rep. Duckworth a war hero and honors her family's service to this country. But that's not what this debate was about. Rep. Duckworth lied about her legal troubles, was unable to defend her failures at the VA and then falsely attacked Senator Kirk over his record on supporting gay rights," Eleni Demertzis, a spokesperson for the Kirk campaign, said.

Shortly after noon on Friday, however, Kirk released the following apology on Twitter:

Public polls give Duckworth a comfortable lead over the incumbent.

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