Roll Call reports that Democrats are lining up another Iraq veteran to challenge freshman Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) — Colonel Jill Morgenthaler, a deputy chief of staff for public safety to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Morgenthaler has yet to make her candidacy official, but reports say that she will likely make the bid.

Democrats hope that they can put Roskam on the defensive in this Democratic-trending district, but it remains to be seen whether Morgenthaler has the right profile to inspire local activists. She was at the center of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal as an army spokeswoman, and a Web journal that she had during her time in Iraq features a good deal of criticism of the media for what she perceived as negative coverage of the war.

One such nugget from her journal: "As people get upset about Abu Ghraib, one thing that should never be forgotten: these are men who have murdered Americans and would continue to murder Americans if given the opportunity."

A TV ad running through Election Day on local Illinois stations against Dem House candidate Tammy Duckworth is urging voters to express their views on higher taxes by calling Duckworth -- at her home. The ad, which includes Duckworth's home number at the end, is being paid for by the Free Enterprise Fund -- you remember, that third-party group funded by Swift Boat bankroller Bob Perry that recently ran those delightful ads in Montana attacking Dems as "Brokebank Democrats." A Duckworth adviser tells Election Central that soon after the ad went up on the air, her home phone started ringing virtually nonstop -- until Duckworth disconnected it and plugged the line into a fax machine.

The NRCC has come up with a novel way of attacking Dem Tammy Duckworth on immigration: It's sent out a new mailing packed in a cardboard box, of all things, and the box is labeled, "Welcome to America Kit!" Inside this "kit," which you're supposed to think is for immigrants, is another mailing designed as if it were intended as an offer to illegals. It says: "Enter America illegally and get...Social Security benefits!" There is also a picture of Duckworth, which is obviously meant to suggest that she supports the "offers" to illegals on the mailing. She doesn't, however: Duckworth actually backs GOP Senator John McCain's immigration approach, which doesn't include benefits for illegals. View the box and its contents here.

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One of the few deciding issues in the race between GOPer Peter Roskam and Dem candidate Tammy Duckworth -- a race which is too close to call -- has been Social Security. Roskam and the GOP have been hammering Duckworth relentlessly on the issue. The attacks have been full of distortions -- okay, outright lies. Case in point: Roskam's latest ad. Many of you won't be surprised by Roskam's mendacity, because you already know Roskam is one of TPM's top-flight Social Security "bamboozlers" (rundown on that here). Watch it:

Despite Roskam's dodgy past support of phase-out schemes, the ad claims Roskam is the candidate who would "protect" Social Security. The ad continues: "Tammy Duckworth supports cuts in Social Security benefits. She’d even raise the retirement age and Social Security taxes. But she would give our Social Security to illegal aliens." All three assertions are false.

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This is a good one. Yesterday John McCain did an event with GOP House candidate Peter Roskam, who's running against Dem Iraq vet Tammy Duckworth. McCain spoke at length about wounded soldiers at the event. In a reference to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, McCain said: "I go out to Walter Reed quite often and see these brave young [soldiers] who have served and sacrificed so much. Many of them have lost limbs, as you know. And it's a very sad thing to see. But at the same time it's very uplifting. Because these young people are so proud of what they've done...This generation of men and women who are serving in the military are the very, very, very best of us." Watch it below:

Though the event was for Roskam, you'd think it should have been for Duckworth: After all, she is one of the people who, as McCain put it, "lost limbs" -- she lost both legs in Iraq. And here's the kicker: She recovered at the hospital McCain mentioned -- Walter Reed -- and continues to go there for follow-up treatment. So one of the "brave" vets McCain said he sees there and is saddened by could have been Duckworth herself.

Check out this fundraising letter sent out by GOP Rep. Peter Roskam, who's battling Dem Tammy Duckworth in Illinois' sixth district:

Note how Roskam insinuates -- without quite saying it -- that "Al Jezeera" (sic) wants Duckworth to win. Also note the reference to George Stephanopoulos a

So we've received a copy of the closing ad being run by Dem vet amputee Tammy Duckworth. It quickly recaps her bio and the rationale for her candidacy: She served our country when called, and suffered severe injuries for her country, but now sees that the GOP leadership is refusing to recognize that the Iraq war is a disaster. Duckworth looks directly into the camera, and says: "I'm proud of my service in Iraq, and the sacrifice I made when our country called. But two years later, things are even worse." It also runs through Duckworth's newspaper endorsements, which are compelling.

It's a good ad. The question now, however, is whether the Duckworth campaign has the cash it needs to run this and other ads often enough. A poll out today from Illinois' Daily Herald shows that if the Duckworth forces lack the resources to give a real final push, it could cost them the race: It found the race a dead heat.

Most of you readers well know that GOP House candidate Peter Roskam, who's running against Dem Tammy Duckworth, is one of TPM's award-winning Social Security bamboozlers. Last year as a state senator, he ducked out of a vote on whether or not to back Bush's phase-out privatization plan. More recently, he told AARP that he opposed privatization -- even though he replied "yes" on the National Tax Payers Union's survey on whether he backed privatization. Given this record, it's kind of surprising to see that Roskam is now hammering Duckworth for wanting to take away Social Security in a new ad. In it, he says: "Tammy Duckworth says she'll cut Social Security benefits or even raise the retirement age. I never will."

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Election Central is told that a new as-yet-unreleased internal poll commissioned by the campaign of Dem Iraq veteran Tammy Duckworth has found her up one point -- a virtual tie -- over GOP foe Peter Roskam, 44%-43%. If the poll's accurate, it suggests Duckworth may have withstood weeks of hammering in the form of negative ads and mailings from the NRCC and Roskam. The NRCC alone has dumped over $2.2 million into the race. This is an internal poll, and we don't have any more info as of now, so make of this what you will. Public polls have shown both sides leading at various times. Read the Duckworth polling memo after the jump.

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What a bunch of jokers: If at first you don't succeed, smear, smear again. You may recall that GOPer Peter Roskam got knocked around for suggesting that Dem Tammy Duckworth, the veteran who left her legs in Iraq, wanted to "cut and run" from the war. He disavowed the "cut and run" line, saying it was "not my language." But then Roskam turned around and brought a surrogate in a few days ago to keep up the retreat-and-defeat attacks for him. Now there's more. The Illinois GOP has just sent out the following mailer in the sixth district, reviving the very phrase Roskam disavowed:

Note the cut-out white spot where the gun should be -- suggesting that those questioning the Bush administration's policies in Iraq want to take the troops' guns away. This stuff is contemptible enough by itself. But to disavow an attack like this one while standing by as others keep the same craven smears alive -- just embarrassing.

David Beamer -- the father of the man killed aboard Flight 93 on 9/11 after saying "let's roll" to rally passengers -- has been very busy of late attacking Dems around the country on national security. Beamer appeared in TV ads funded by the right-wing Progress for America which featured the burning Twin Towers, and he recently called for the booting of John Murtha. Beamer's latest target? Antiwar Dem vet double amputee Tammy Duckworth. Beamer yesterday did a press conference with her GOP foe, Peter Roskam, at which he was careful to "honor" her service before slamming her as "dangerous." "The enemy doesn't have the word `surrender' in the dictionary," Beamer said. "We cannot have the word `retreat' in ours." View it here.

Every now and then amid the stilted talking-points, choreographed events and airless speeches that are the stuff of modern political campaigns you get a moment of genuine, wrenching emotion. Such a moment came the other day in Illinois' sixth, where Dem vet double-amputee Tammy Duckworth is battling GOPer Peter Roskam. At an event where Duckworth was speaking, a woman stood to share with Duckworth and the audience her thoughts about her brother, a soldier who's heading out for a second tour in Iraq. As the woman describes it, she was quickly overwhelmed with emotion and broke down and cried. Duckworth made her way over to the woman on her artificial legs and gave her a hug.

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Right now the GOP and House candidate Peter Roskam are betting that attacking Dem Tammy Duckworth on immigration is their last-ditch route to victory. Both the NRCC and the Roskam campaign are running ads claiming Duckworth -- who maintains a slim lead in polls -- supports "amnesty" and Social Security for illegals.

Today, however, the Duckworth camp went on the air with a new counterattack: An ad starring Barack Obama. He says: "Tammy and I both support John McCain's plan, which does not include amnesty or benefits for illegal immigrants." By associating Duckworth with two Senators with a "leadership" aura, the Duckworth camp hopes to quell any doubts about whether she has the heft to be effective in Congress. View it here. Update: This is the Web version of the ad. A shorter one is on the air.

Barack Obama has lent his star power to the campaign of Dem veteran and double-amputee Tammy Duckworth. Obama's ad is meant to counter the withering assaults on Duckworth which have been coming of late from the NRCC and Roskam, who are claiming that Duckworth supports "amnesty" and giving Social Security to illegal immigrants

The NRCC has a new ad out slamming Dem challenger and Iraq war vet Tammy Duckworth on illegal immigration. The ad is pure red meat, uses the word “amnesty” as a dog whistle, and is filled with images of boarder crossing, and the Illinois families that have to foot the bill.

The NRCC has sent out a mailing in Illinois' sixth attacking Dem House candidate Tammy Duckworth on Social Security. The flyer comes enclosed in this envelope:

As you can see, the envelope's color and its eagle stamp -- as well as its lack of anything identifying the source as the NRCC on the front -- suggest that recipients are meant to think it's an official government mailing on Social Security. Then, when recipients open it, they find a mailing attacking Duckworth (view it after the jump). So Duckworth supporters are asking:

Does the mailer conform to laws which place restrictions on imitations of official government mail?

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Peter Roskam -- the GOP candidate who suggested that Dem vet amputee Tammy Duckworth wanted to "cut and run" from Iraq -- doesn't appear to be letting Foleygate prevent him from enjoying the fundraising help of Speaker Dennis Hastert. The embattled Hastert is headlining an upcoming private fundraiser for Roskam and GOP candidate David McSweeney, who's targeting Dem Rep Melissa Bean in Illinois' eighth, according to an invite obtained by Election Central. The event -- which also features President Bush -- is set for Oct. 12 at the Chicago Hilton. A Roskam rep declined comment. View the invite here.

Foleygate is taking a toll on Republicans in Illinois, at least according to GOP Rep. Ray Lahood (IL.-18), who told the Chicago Tribune that for "people like Peter Roskam and David McSweeney and Andrea Zinga--this presents a real problem for them." Read why here.

Dem House candidate and veteran Tammy Duckworth -- who lost both her legs in the Iraq war -- will slam President Bush for painting Dems as the "cut and run" party in the Dem response to tomorrow's Presidential radio address, according to an audio excerpt of the speech obtained by Election Central. "I didn’t cut and run, Mr. President," Duckworth will say. "Like so many others, I proudly fought and sacrificed. My helicopter was shot down long after you proclaimed `Mission Accomplished.'" Exclusive audio excerpt after the jump.

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MSNBC's Keith Olbermann yesterday nominated GOP House candidate Peter Roskam for his "worst person in the world" award for suggesting that his Dem foe Tammy Duckworth wants to "cut and run" from Iraq even though she lost both legs in the war. As Election Central first reported on Monday, Roskam made the comment at a debate a week ago. Speaking of Duckworth, Olbermann said: "She can't run, since she lost both her legs there. Nice touch, Pete." Roskam was bested for the title by Roger Ailes. View Olbermann here.

GOP House candidate Peter Roskam -- you remember, the one who suggested that Tammy Duckworth wanted to cut and run from Iraq, even though she lost both legs in the war -- has just released a new ad featuring all of his kids. They tell viewers that the key thing about Roskam is that he's a "good dad." And one son says "he talks a lot about protecting Social Security, too" -- even though last year as an Illinois state senator Roskam ducked out of a vote on a resolution calling on Congress to oppose private accounts. Maybe Roskam's trying to air-brush his portrait a bit, now that Duckworth is aggressively painting him as callous in the wake of his less-than-tasteful remark. Check it out below.

Duckworth isn't ducking this one. Dem House candidate Tammy Duckworth is hitting back at GOP rival Peter Roskam for charging she wants to "cut and run" from Iraq -- a less-than-tasteful comment given that Iraq vet Duckworth lost both legs in the war. In an email message to be sent to supporters tomorrow which was obtained by Election Central, Duckworth campaign manager Jon Carson blasts Roskam for the comment. "Tammy lost her legs fighting in Iraq and to accuse her of wanting to `cut and run' is simply crude," Carson writes, concluding that Duckworth "has never `cut and run' from anything, especially a fight." The full email after the jump.

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Peter Roskam, the GOP candidate to succeed outgoing Rep. Henry Hyde, accused Dem opponent Tammy Duckworth of wanting to "cut and run" from Iraq during a debate a couple days ago. The use of this common pro-war talking-point in this case surprised some observers—not to mention Duckworth herself—because the veteran Duckworth lost both of her legs in Iraq. Duckworth's post-debate reply was rather straightforward: "I just could not believe he would say that to me."