“She’s Done Very Little With Her Gravitas In Washington”

Last year, InsideGov concluded that Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth is among the least-effective members of Congress.

Fellow Democrat Andrea Zopp agrees with that assessment.

Fresh off of receiving endorsements from Rev. Jesse Jackson and Chicago City Treasurer Kurt Summers, Zopp slammed Duckworth for her failure to make a difference in Congress and her decision to wait until it was politically safe to chime in on President Obama’s Iran deal:

CITY CLUB OF CHICAGO EVENT MODERATOR: Can you distinguish your approach to the office you seek from your primary opponent, Tammy Duckworth?

ZOPP: …I think the issue here is getting things done…Whether it’s the Iran agreement, supporting the Iran agreement very early on is probably the best example, but there are others…Congresswoman Duckworth did not even get on as a sponsor of the Voting Rights Restoration Act. The Voting Rights Restoration Act! As I said, for me, that’s very personal, but on the Iran agreement, I came out and supported the Iran agreement very early on…Congresswoman Duckworth came out and supported the Iran agreement three days before it was voted on, and when it was already clear it was already going to pass. Why is that important? Because Congresswoman Duckworth could actually have made a difference because of who she was and who she is, and chose not to until it was safe. We don’t have time for safe politics anymore…

With respect to her support for President Obama’s nuclear deal with the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Zopp actually understated Tammy Duckworth’s dodge.

FLASHBACK:

• Tammy Duckworth Announced Her Support For President Obama’s Nuclear Deal On September 9, 2015. “This week I will vote to support the JCPOA. This is a vote with enormous consequences for U.S. national security interests. I did not make my decision lightly…” (Press Release, 9/9/15)

• On September 11, 2015, Tammy Duckworth Voted In Support Of A Resolution To Approve President Obama’s Nuclear Deal. “Passage of the bill that would express Congress’ approval of the Iran nuclear agreement signed on July 14, 2015 between United States, Iran and five other nations.” (HR 3461, CQ Vote #493: Rejected 162-269: R 0-244; D 162-25, 9/11/15, Duckworth Voted Yea)

As the Daily Chronicle reports, Zopp also bashed Duckworth this week for her poor leadership:

“The main differences between myself and Congressman Duckworth are about the quality of leadership,” said Zopp. “While I have a tremendous amount of respect for Congressman Duckworth for her service to our country, she’s done very little with her gravitas in Washington.”

With an effectiveness score of 0%, Tammy Duckworth doesn’t always decide to do her job. But when she does, as Andrea Zopp explains, she prefers doing so without leadership for purposes of political calculation.