Is he, in the words of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, the “worst congressman in America?”

Or is he, in the words of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste “a bona fide fiscal conservative committed to reducing the size of government by working to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.”

Congressman Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) is running for re-election in the 8th District against Democrat Tammy Duckworth. Walsh has more than the eyes of Chicago’s northwest suburbs upon him though. He is dancing in a national spotlight, thanks to his over-the-top demeanor and “acid tongue.” But is Walsh really the tea party newcomer that some see in the YouTube videos of his interviews and town halls? Or is he a zealous Congressman who fairly represents the large conservative faction in the new 8th district?

He has argued on Hardball with Chris Matthews, rarely letting the liberal host get a word into the conversation. CNN’s Ashleigh Banfield dueled with him in a fiery debate about his complaints that Duckworth talks too much about her service in Iraq. At an Elmhurst Town Hall in June, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Walsh said Obama “isn’t smart enough to know what ‘tyrant’ means.” In August, Walsh told citizens at Elk Grove Village Town Hall that radical Muslims “trying to kill Americans every week” are in Chicago’s suburbs, including the 8th district. His most notorious outburst shows Walsh screaming at constituents at his “Cup of Joe with Joe Walsh” event in Gurnee.

Kerry Lester, political editor and projects writer at The Daily Herald, has witnessed many of Walsh’s performances. “I think what separates him from a lot of other politicians is he has a very flamboyant style and he’s not afraid to say bold things,” said Lester.

“There’s a story we did this summer where he made a comment that radical Islam was rooted in the suburbs. He got a lot of heat from the area’s Muslim community and, you know, when they were pressing him and saying, ‘How could you say this?’ He didn’t back down. You know, he certainly will point out there are members of the Muslim community that he really respects and he wants to get to know, but he did not stray from his point that Radical Islam was a threat,” said Lester

One of his main points against Duckworth is that he is very involved in the community; more so than she has been. However his criticisms of Duckworth talking about being a war hero are another example of his unwillingness to back down on what he says.

“It is very tough running against an opponent who has served the country as valiantly as Tammy Duckworth,” said Lester. “You can’t make a lot of personal criticisms and he stepped into that landmine and really wasn’t afraid of it.”

Naturally, there are liberal outfits at work trying to deny Walsh a second term. The CREDO SuperPAC, which is a very liberal political committee, created a “Take Down the Tea Party Ten” campaign using their website to display and insult Walsh and other congressmen who have tea party support.

There’s also a Facebook page and a Twitter account against Walsh’s re-election. There are 754 people who “Like” the page on Facebook and 343 followers on Twitter, so it is hard to evaluate the reach of this anti-Walsh campaign.

Walsh was born and raised in the northwest suburb of North Barrington and is the fifth of nine children. He graduated from Barrington High School in 1980 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Iowa in 1985. In the mid-1980s, he undertook an acting career by attending lessons from The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York and Los Angeles. He also earned a Master of Public Policy at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy Studies in 1991.

Walsh worked with the Jobs for Youth program in inner-city Chicago, teaching high school dropouts basic academic and job skills. He also taught American government and American history at Oakton Community College and the Hebrew Theological College.

When he ran for a spot in Congress in 2010, it was a close one. He beat three-term Democratic incumbent, Melissa Bean, by a slim 291 votes.

“He did it by a lot of grassroots support so watching him cultivate that support over the last two years I think has been really fascinating,” said the Daily Herald’s Lester.

“You know, he holds a lot of these like, ‘Cup of Joe’ sessions and town hall meetings and he’s a very charismatic individual. I was talking to this source the other day and they were saying, ‘No matter what you think of Joe Walsh and his ideology or where he stands on certain policies, if you are in a restaurant and he walks into that restaurant, you will come away thinking, ‘Boy, that’s a nice guy’ because he is a really good retail politician.”

So is Walsh capable of winning a second term in Congress?

Polls seem to favor Duckworth, but the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has reserved “nearly a half-million dollars in cable television airtime to support Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.)” according to The Hill’s Ballot Box campaign blog. The television ads are to run through Election Day.

Though the Walsh campaign has raised some of its own money, the NRCC has chosen to invest larger sums in Judy Biggert and Robert Dold for their northern Illinois Congressional races.

Walsh’s personal finances are also an issue. His ex-wife filed a lawsuit in 2010 claiming he owed more than $100,000 in child support, which was eventually settled. Prior to running for Congress, he lost his condominium to foreclosure-something he believes will connect him to voters. Chicago Magazine’s staff blog, “The 312” reported last summer that Walsh said: “When stuff on the foreclosure came out in the spring, many Republicans gave me a stiff arm. The average voter wanted to put their arms around me.” Walsh also has had his driver’s license suspended twice, most recently in 2011 when he did not pay his auto insurance on time.

Walsh and Duckworth are scheduled to debate on WTTW-TVs “Chicago Tonight” on Oct. 18. Walsh has called for more debates but Duckworth has demurred.

Lester believes this works to his strategy. “I mean he is, like I said before, a very good retail politician and he kind of, you know, sucks up the energy in a room. He’s always kind of jumping around and during the last debate, he was actually poking (at) her and muttering under his breath when she was making a point … and that can be a little unnerving.”

Story from DePolitics2012.com featuring work by DePaul communications graduate students.