She was actively recruited by Dick Durbin and Rahm Emanuel who saw her as the perfect made to order Democratic candidate who could be promoted as above all criticism despite her leftist views due her personal narrative. It took nearly seven years before Duckworth managed to be elected to Congress (in a newly gerrymandered district designed for her). Her first campaign resulted in a loss (to Peter Roskam). Duckworth has been criticized as a carpetbagger inasmuch as she has had to change her residence in order to run in various Congressional Districts. Now, she is a statewide elected official in the US Senate.
When it comes down to politics, governance and her legislative voting record there is plenty to object to.
I have long said that any military person who is a democrat has some sort of self hate complex. Clearly she does.