Cindy Sheehan: Strange Bedfellows

[babylonsister]

Strange Bedfellows
by Cindy Sheehan

Since I announced my challenge to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi a few days ago, I have been very thrilled that issues like impeachment and the inherent corruption of the "two" party system have been brought to the forefront of public discourse. Every interview that I have done has given me the opportunity to throw the impeachment issue out there. The democratic blogosphere has predictably lined up against me and must be very frightened because they are repeating the scandalous lies of the right. Wow, the right and left are finding common ground over slandering me. I must be a uniter.

I received an email from David Swanson from AfterDowningStreet.org yesterday saying that ADS was in trouble because the blogs were trashing us for targeting John Conyers and Nancy Pelosi. My question for these bloggers is whom should we target? Should we go after House Minority Leader John Boehner? Repugs are literally like rats jumping off the sinking ship of state and they are distancing themselves from George and Dick faster than the Democrats. With the mood of the country, we know this is not a moral position but a politically expedient one. Why can't we urge the Democrats to a moral position? Because they have been elected with a (D) they become one of the Untouchables?

Instead of trashing David Swanson and I for wanting our leadership to do their jobs why can't the left join with us and be concerned with the people who are being killed, maimed and displaced on a daily basis and not worry about Dems being held to the same standards that we have been trying to hold the Repugs to? David has a baby boy named Wesley that deserves a better future. There are millions of children in Iraq that deserve a better future. There are over 600 American troops that have been killed since the Dems took over the power structure in DC and did nothing to stop George's murderous surge. When the Repugs were in power we targeted them. Now the Dems are in power so they are the ones that we have to focus on. It is not a difficult concept.

There must be an underlying shady reason that Speaker Pelosi took impeachment off the table. Her office stated the other day that she will not put the issue back on the table because she is focused on "ending the war." The statement would be laughable if it weren't for the fact that she is using a neo-con strategy of saying the exact opposite of what is true. Ms. Pelosi would not allow Rep. Barbara Lee's bill that truly supported the troops by fixing a quick timeline for their withdrawal to be brought to the floor and instead used her power to whip her caucus into approving a "non-binding" resolution that by its very name is meaningless and useless. The Dems can accomplish much if they put their muscle behind it and the Dems could impeach BushCo and end the war if that was truly their focus. Besides all this, actions speak louder than words and one cannot say that she is focused on ending the war with her mouth while she is signing a one hundred BILLION dollar check to keep the war going with her signing hand.

Since I announced, along with the expected slurs from the "left," my team of my sister and assistant, and I have received thousands of messages of support. People are lining up to donate to a potential campaign and are pledging to close businesses and quit jobs to move across the country to San Francisco to work on my campaign. I have been asked to run for Congress from districts all over the country, but I am a California home-girl and have spent the last 15 years less than an hour away from what we call "The City." If Ms. Pelosi does not exercise her mandatory (A president and vice-president SHALL BE impeached) constitutional duty to remove the uncontrollable Bush mob from power and I do run against her it will be a pleasure to sleep in the same bed every night and live near my family and friends!

I will be running on the People for Humanity platform that is coalescing right now with other possible exciting candidates coming on board to challenge other corrupt Repugs and do-nothing Dems. Politics are not the be-all and end-all of our society and one thing we all need to learn is that people power should run this county not a bunch of corporately controlled wealthy elitists that are disconnected from humanity and reality. The system of constant war and constant war profiteering needs to be challenged in a very pronounced way if we want constant peace and a system of sustainability. Great social change will not happen without great sacrifice and maybe its time to suck it up and work for a better country, and then a better world by default.

Our Journey for Humanity and Accountability has gotten off to a great start. We left Camp Casey in Crawford on July 10th. Our "parade" (we got in lots of trouble for not having a permit) that walked along the Lone Star Parkway in Crawford for about a mile received honks and waves and not one middle Our first stop was Houston, the former home of Halliburton and the headquarters of many immoral oil companies. Our second stop was New Orleans where mostly people of color are still homeless, or inadequately housed and still desperately seeking help. The young people who still put their own lives on hold to come from around America to help them are still my heroes.

Change is hard and scary, I know this all too well. My life changed irrevocably when Casey was killed in the occupation of Iraq that has been supported and funded by both parties. But oftentimes change can be good.

Don't fear change especially when the status quo is so freaking frightening.

For more information, or to donate money to our Caravan, please go to www.thecampcaseypeaceinstitute.org.

[Ninga]

1. You are a steadfast pioneer in the Iraq anti war effort, and thank you for that.

You have shown very clearly, that it takes more than clicking the "send" button, to affect change.

If doing the right thing were easy.......than everybody would do it.

I am happy to donate.

Bless you for your courage and work.

[xultar]

2. Wow, the right and left are finding common ground over slandering me.--And other good ones...

underlying shady reason that Speaker Pelosi took impeachment off the table

she is using a neo-con strategy of saying the exact opposite of what is true

[LoZoccolo]

3. A toast!

_{NOTE: I am in opposition to Sheehan's run.}

[NotGivingUp]

4. yep...pelosi is full of bullshit...impeachment is off the table cuz i'm trying to end the war.

what a lying crock of shit. give me a frigging break. yeah...we're all gonna fall for that one, nancy.

I gotta do something to help Cindy. Wow! She is one courageous person.

[xultar]

5. It would have been much better if she had only included from the 4th paragraph

till the end. The stuff in the beginning was quite..."They are all out to get me-ish." That platform isn't quite going to work.

[mmonk]

6. There is important information in those paragraphs from

her standpoint of what she wants accomplished for peace and justice.

[DireStrike]

9. Well it is a bit personal

But it does expose the mindless partisanship that fails us all by not allowing real issues to be discussed, since neither party will bring them up.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Yes - another great piece!!

I am really impressed at how Cindy's writing has improved. And of course, I am with her 1000%. Painful, but facts we MUST face if we are ever going to have peace.

[ShaneGR]

8. hey are distancing themselves from George and Dick faster than the Democrats.

So the Republicans are the good guys? Sorry I need to get back to repressing minorities now, since I'm in the party of slavery like Cindy says. Sigh

[mzmolly]

10. At the risk of being flamed, I thought this was going to be an article about Cindy and Lew Rockwell?

:blush: Sorry, LOL

[knowledgeispwr]

11. Umm....

I have a few issues with this...

The democratic blogosphere has predictably lined up against me and must be very frightened because they are repeating the scandalous lies of the right.

Ms. Sheehan opened a can of worms by making inaccurate and insulting statements about the democratic party. Of course people are going to call her on it. Nor does Ms. Sheehan address those concerns directly. Neither in this statement or in a new diary on dailykos ( http://dailykos.com/story/2007/7/12/91014/1295 ) has she clarified if we've all "misinterpreted" her words as some of her supporters have claimed. She could have easily cleared that up is she wanted to.

There must be an underlying shady reason that Speaker Pelosi took impeachment off the table.

That's over the top. There are many legitimate reasons why Ms. Pelosi "took impeachment off the table." They include having only slim majorities, having to do a lot of legislative work in a short period of time and wanting to quiet the right-wing noise machine so there is one less distraction. Of course, I believe it's perfectly valid to disagree with those (and other) reasons, arguing that impeachment should trump those rationales. Still, that doesn't make Pelosi's reasons "shady."

The Dems can accomplish much if they put their muscle behind it and the Dems could impeach BushCo and end the war if that was truly their focus.

Again, slim majorities. We can't override vetos. We also may have trouble corralling conservative democrats in the House into voting for certain war bills that would stop things just like that. We can oppose those democrats in primaries with more progressive dems. The problem there is that if it's a conservative district, the seat will go back to the republicans and we'll have one less seat. My point is that it's not simply a matter of will.

[Swamp Rat]

12. k&r

[LostInAnomie]

13. "...they are distancing themselves from George and Dick faster than the Democrats."

Really? I didn't realize Republicans were battering down Pelosi's door demanding impeachment. I didn't realize it was the Dems in the senate filibustering all the Iraq war bills. Who knew it was the Republicans that had to fight tooth and nail to get the war funding/time line bill passed over Democratic objections? :eyes:

I can't believe anyone takes this myopic solipsist seriously.