U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican running for re-election, mocked the Thai heritage of his Democratic challenger during a debate on Thursday.“I had forgotten your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington,” Kirk told Rep. Tammy Duckworth, in response to her answer to a question about the costs of going to war. Duckworth is a veteran who lost both of her legs in the Iraq War.Kirk, a Republican who won his seat in a reliably blue state during the tea party-dominated 2010 midterm elections, is about 10 points behind Duckworth. He is viewed as one of the more hawkish members of Congress, a close ally to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, and a vocal opponent of the Iran nuclear deal. During his 2010 campaign, he was caught multiple times stretching the truth about his own military record.In a statement sent to Politico and other outlets, Kirk did not apologize for comments, but instead doubled down.“Senator Kirk has consistently called Rep. Duckworth a war hero and honors her family’s service to this country,” the statement said. “But that’s not what this debate was about.”You can watch the relevant portion of the debate below:
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