Battling for reelection in a new left-leaning district, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) identified oil subsidies as one area where lawmakers can trip government spending, during a town hall in Elk Grove Wednesday.

“Get rid of subsidies for the big oil companies if you want. Do it,” Walsh declared to loud applause, calling the move “important”:

WALSH: You can do anything you want to. Bring our boys and girls home from Afghanistan, that’s what I want to do. Do it. Get rid of the federal Department of Education. That’s what I want to do. Do it. [Applause] Get rid of subsidies for the big oil companies if you want. Do it. [Applause] You can go on down the line and nail all of these things — and they’re important — but they’re billions. When it comes to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, we’re talking about trillions.

Watch it:

Of course, Walsh doesn’t have to just pontificate on the issue. He is one of 535 people in the country whose job it is to decide whether taxpayers continue to give oil companies $4 billion in subsidies every year. And when he had the opportunity to vote on the matter last year, he took the opposite position, voting in sync with House Republican colleagues to protect oil company subsidies.

Walsh didn’t mention this vote when skewering the subsidies in front of constituents, however, leaving the impression that he supported ending handouts to oil companies.

After saying his opponent was not a “true hero” at a town hall last week, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) was the object of ire from veteran groups and voters alike. But Walsh stands by his statements, and at a town hall over the weekend he actually doubled down on his attacks of his double-amputee veteran opponent, Tammy Duckworth.

In a video taken at the town hall, Walsh acknowledged that members of the military are heroes, but said Duckworth “talks about her service too much”:

WALSH: I do believe as someone who respects what Tammy Duckworth did with her service, as someone who is thankful, and someone who is sorry for her injuries, I do believe she talks about her service too much. And as a voter in this district, I would want to know where she stands on issues.

Watch it:

In fact, Duckworth has proposed several initiatives to help veterans, but tried to take the focus off of her own service in a recent interview with MSNBC, saying “I dont think Mr. Walsh remembers how much others have sacrificed so that he can say whatever he wants to no matter how irresponsible it is.”

Veterans expressed outrage over Walsh’s comments last week with angry messages on the Congressman’s facebook page. One veterans’ group is even calling for Walsh to resign.

This afternoon, CNN host Ashleigh Banfield took Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) to task over his comments concerning his opponent, Tammy Duckworth. Walsh responded with a condescending repetition of the host’s name that topped out at 93 times. ThinkProgress has the video, with the counter to confirm. Watch it:

Despite earning widespread condemnation for dismissing the military service of a double amputee woman, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) has decided his original comments didn’t go far enough.

In a statement released this evening on his campaign website, Walsh again refused to apologize, instead attacking Tammy Duckworth — his Democratic opponent who lost both her legs in an insurgent attack in Iraq — for allegedly using “her service and the service of others as a political ploy.”

Presenting himself as the real victim in this ordeal, Walsh claimed he was being accused “of something that is not true.” (Watch his original comments here and judge for yourself.) “Shame on her for using veterans,” he declared, despite having never served in the military himself.

From Walsh’s website regarding the “Duckworth Attack”:

Friends,

My opponents are once again trying to accuse me of something that is not true. It has become their agenda this Fourth of July week to twist my words and claim I said my opponent is not a hero and have insulted all veterans as a consequence. Folks, if you’re familiar with me and my campaign, you know this is utterly false. Shame on her for saying this and shame on her for using veterans in this fashion. In fact, recently on the Big John and Amy Show I stated, “Tammy Duckworth’s service demands our respect and that is something I will do and say for her throughout this campaign.” I open all my town halls byrecognizing our veterans who served to protect our great nation.

Tammy Duckworth knows this and should know better than to use her service and the service of others as a political ploy to distort my words and distract voters. We as a people are facing great problems in our country, and it is time for us to get serious and address them.

Read the rest of his statement at the bottom here.

Many pundits are referring to Walsh’s comments as a major gaffe, but that’s incorrect. It’s not a gaffe if you mean it.

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL)

Many of these veterans described themselves as “dedicated conservatives”, “rock-ribbed Republicans”, and “Tea Party members.” Yet despite their ideological leanings, Walsh’s insult drove them to defend Tammy Duckworth and strongly condemn the Tea Party freshman.

Bob Frick wrote: “As a dedicated conservative and Republican and Tea Party member, you overstepped Congressman. Before I am either of the aforementioned, I am an American. I am a retired American soldier. How dare you refer to or determine what a hero is when you never served.”

Similarly, William Gilliam posted: “I am a rock-ribbed Republican and a Vietnam Veteran. Your comments about Tammy Duckworth’s military service and resultant injuries are just dead wrong. Unless and until you have the courage to sign up yourself, don’t disparage anyone else’s service nor their willingness to talk about it.”

A leading veterans group has also called on Walsh to resign.

Here is a sampling of veterans defending Duckworth and denouncing Walsh:

Tammy Duckworth — a double amputee who lost both her legs in Iraq — is hitting back against Rep. Joe Walsh’s (R-IL) claim that she exploits her military service and battle wounds for political purposes. During an interview with MSNBC’s Martin Bashir Tuesday afternoon, Duckworth — who is challenging Walsh’s House seat — said the hurtful comments offended all veterans across America and noted that her experiences in war do inform her policy views:

DUCKWORTH: If anybody highlights my military service, it’s Mr. Walsh, who actually attacked it on a regular basis. Yes, my wounds do inform my discussions with the constituents when I talk about health care. I know very deeply in a deeply personal way what access to affordable health care means, so when he votes against Medicare for our seniors not once, but three times, he’s voting against the people of the district. So yes, I talk about the fact that had I not had the great health care that I have from the VA [Veterans Administration], I would probably be bankrupt and that’s why we need to make sure we preserve Medicare as we know it.

Watch it:

Military and veterans advocacy organizations have condemned Walsh’s comments, but the Congressman has refused to apologize.

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL)

At a town hall on Sunday, Walsh blasted his Democratic opponent, Tammy Duckworth, for having the temerity to note that she’s spent two decades serving in the military. Walsh dismissed Duckworth, an Iraq War vet who lost both her legs in an RPG attack, as not a “true hero.”

Vote Vets, a non-partisan PAC that supports veterans issues, condemned Walsh’s comments in an exclusive statement to ThinkProgress. The veterans group wrote that “Telling a veteran to shut up on the 4th of July is beyond the pale.” They called on Walsh to “step aside and and stop embarrassing his district and America.”

Their full statement:

Joe Walsh’s disgust for our veterans’ sacrifices knows no bounds. First, he falsely and maliciously claims that Tammy Duckworth, a veteran who lost her legs in Iraq didn’t have much of a record of service. Now, he denigrates that same American hero for talking about how her experience shaped her worldview and strengthened her resolve to serve even more – a conversation that isn’t just legitimate to have, but crucial as America charts its course domestically and internationally. This is a new low for this deadbeat dad. Telling a veteran to shut up on the 4th of July is beyond the pale. We are past the point of calling on Joe Walsh to apologize. He should step aside and and stop embarrassing his district and America.