Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Cindy Sheehan: "Challenge the Status Quo" (Grab an XL Hefty Bag)
Yahoo! News ^ | July 24, 2007 | John Nichols

Posted on 07/24/2007 2:28:30 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Fresh from being arrested on Capitol Hill, along with 45 other activists demanding that Congress get about the business of impeaching George Bush and Dick Cheney, Cindy Sheehan has determined that she can no longer count on others to stop the war in Iraq or hold a lawless administration to account.

So she has announced that she will, indeed, challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's bid for reelection next year.

It is a bold gesture, rooted in the deep frustration of the nation's most prominent anti-war activist with Pelosi's hyper-cautious approach to her duties as both the leader of the congressional opposition to an unpopular president and as a sworn defender of the Constitution.

This is the context in which Sheehan proposes to challenge Pelosi. "At the end of this day, Speaker Pelosi has not supported impeachment and has not upheld her oath of office to 'protect and defend' the Constitution," says the challenger.

Sheehan's bid, presumably on an independent line, will be uphill all the way. Pelosi has all the advantages of incumbency -- and more. Closely tied for decades to the Democratic political establishment of San Francisco, Pelosi and her campaign team know just about everything there is to know about winning elections there. And, as the Speaker of the House, she has the ability to deliver both on the practical and egotistical needs of the city by the bay. Additionally, she has the ability to raise and spend more money than any opponent.

With all of this said, however, Sheehan has standing.

It is not just that she enjoys her own prominence, and a measure of sympathy and respect, as the mother of slain soldier Casey Sheehan who turned her personal grief into a powerful call for accountability from President Bush and those who were responsible for the illegal and immoral war that claimed Casey's life.

What makes Sheehan a potentially credible challenger is the fact that, by any reasonable measure, she is more in touch with the true passions of San Francisco's voters than Pelosi. Pelosi is a war critic, but she has never gone to the mat on the issue. San Franciscans, on the other hand, have voted overwhelmingly for immediate withdrawal. Similarly, Pelosi says that impeachment is "off the table," despite the fact that San Franciscans voted by a 3-2 margin last fall in favor of holding the president and vice president to account.

For Sheehan, it is Pelosi's determination to protect Bush and Cheney from demands for accountability that tipped the balance in favor of making the race against the Speaker.

And it is Sheehan's faith that Bush and Cheney must be held to account -- not just to constrain them but to constrain the excesses of future presidents and vice presidents -- that will define her challenge to Pelosi. There is no question that the war in Iraq is an issue, but the deeper concern is with the political compromises that made possible that war and that have allowed for its continuation.

"If anybody would dare think that I am not serious, I would hope that they would look back at the last three years of my life and everything that I have sacrificed to restore our nation to one that obeys the rule of law and can be looked up to with respect once again in the international community and not as the hated laughingstock on the block," says Sheehan. "I am committed to challenging a two party system that has kept us in a state of constant warfare for the last 60 years and has become more and more beholden to special interests and has forgotten the faces of the people whom it represents."

Sheehan continues, "I am committed to using our strength as a country to wage peace and to elevate the status of every citizen in our country by converting the enduring war economy to a prosperous one with lasting peace."

If that sounds like a campaign speech, it is. And as someone who has appeared on dozens of platforms with Sheehan over the past few years, I can confirm that she is able to deliver a stemwinder in the best old populist sense.

Good speeches do not always translate to electoral success, however, as the Rev. Jesse Jackson,

Nothing about challenging Nancy Pelosi will be easy. Victory is unlikely. But, as George Bush will confirm, Cindy Sheehan has shaken the political establishment before. And she is determined to do so again -- not just as one "Peace Mom" running for Congress but as part of a political upheaval that she dares to dream might involve a lot more than a spirited contest in San Francisco.

"Someone needs to step up to the plate to do this and I challenge other Americans to do the same," says Sheehan. "Challenge the status quo, because the status quo is no good. We need to become plugged into our government once again as active participants not just passive voters."

-------------------------------------------------------

John Nichols' new book is THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT: The Founders' Cure for Royalism. Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson hails it as a "nervy, acerbic, passionately argued history-cum-polemic [that] combines a rich examination of the parliamentary roots and past use of the 'heroic medicine' that is impeachment with a call for Democratic leaders to 'reclaim and reuse the most vital tool handed to us by the founders for the defense of our most basic liberties.'"


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; Politics/Elections; US: California; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bush; cindysheehan; codepink; congress; cutandrun; democrats; elections; georgebush; hippies; impeachment; internationalanswer; iraq; johnnichols; lefties; moonbats; mothermoonbat; nancypelosi; peacecreeps; pelosi; sanfrannan; wot
When Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn't far enough to the left for you, you are WAY out there! This election between Pelosi and Mother Moonbat looks to be highly entertaining!
1 posted on 07/24/2007 2:28:33 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Actually more like a train wreak. Sheehan will make Pelosi look like Stephen Hawkins. White trash stupid!


2 posted on 07/24/2007 2:31:54 PM PDT by Bommer (Global Warming: The only warming phenomena that occurs in the Summer and ends in the Winter!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet
Cindy is going to be dragged, kicking and screaming, from her (expired) publicity spotlight.

Gets kinda' lonely and quiet when you're no longer the prima donna of the anti-war movement....and are told so, in so many words by "Daily KOS" etc.

3 posted on 07/24/2007 2:32:04 PM PDT by capt. norm (Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Comment #4 Removed by Moderator

To: Bommer

Stephen Hawking?


5 posted on 07/24/2007 2:36:33 PM PDT by j. earl carter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet
I just love the sight of the Left fighting each other. They'll forget all about Bush by the time its over.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

6 posted on 07/24/2007 2:37:20 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mkjessup

LOL, I hope she wins. Think of Pelosi with that look Daschle had when he went packing. Shoehorn will also be a loser Congresscritter and glean no respect in the house so she would be moot, but Nancy would be back at Star-Kist. If nothing else Nancy would have to spend some money, no republican can win there anyway.


7 posted on 07/24/2007 2:39:40 PM PDT by Resolute Conservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Sheehan is still laboring under the illusion fostered by the far Left that Bush may be impeached on the basis of anything they say is a crime. Pelosi may be a kook herself but she’s a pro, and embarking on an impeachment at this point risks both the Dems’ majority status and the White House in ‘08, particularly if it turns into pure street theater and even more so if it fails as it is likely to.


8 posted on 07/24/2007 2:41:49 PM PDT by Billthedrill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Sometimes, in the course of events, an iconic figure will arise, savior-like upon the scene and galvanize the body politic; more often, we are beset by the dull clamor of idiocy; I will leave it to history to judge this moment.


9 posted on 07/24/2007 2:44:47 PM PDT by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Since no one’s sending money to the GOP, maybe we can all donate to Cindy’s campaign.
Man, this is going to be fun to watch.
I’m going to need to buy a whole lot of popcorn in 2008.

The national media is bound to give that race a lot of attention, and with Pelosi pushing even further left to compete with Sheehan’s insane shrill rhetoric, the whole country will get a front row seat to who the Democrats really are. Nancy’s finally going to have to take off that ugly mask.


10 posted on 07/24/2007 2:49:04 PM PDT by counterpunch ("The Democrats are the party of slavery." - Cindy Sheehan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

May Cindy win so we can impeach her for treason.


11 posted on 07/24/2007 2:49:49 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul (What's the difference between the CIA and the Free Clinic? The Free Clinic knows how to stop leaks.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

12 posted on 07/24/2007 2:54:11 PM PDT by LurkedLongEnough (Third rule is: Don't talk to commies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet
What makes Sheehan a potentially credible challenger is the fact that, by any reasonable measure, she is more in touch with the true passions of San Francisco's voters than Pelosi.

If this were true, then Sheehan would do better by moving to SF and running for city supervisor or state assembly, instead of taking on Pelosi.

The far left always, always overplays its hand. They are incapable of nuance and are incapable of "playing the game" by any rules other than its own.

13 posted on 07/24/2007 2:56:14 PM PDT by GSWarrior
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Billthedrill

The dems are in a fix, their idiot base is foaming at the mouth for impeachment but they know that would be the kiss of death but they have to have the base. Remember how our fearless leaders were snapped back into line during the immigration amnesty sham. They’re in a real pickle here, I feel so bad for them. NOT!!!!!


14 posted on 07/24/2007 3:01:56 PM PDT by ontap (Just another backstabbing conservative)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

We keep hearing that Cindy got arrested for this, Cindy got arrested for that, Cindy got arrested for something else, Cindy got arrested somewhere else. While these arrests are seemingly only misdemeanors, shouldn’t some judge have the stones to really make her pay for being such a pain in the ass to society?? I would think that 60 to 90 days jail time would do nicely for a start...and go up from there for continued offenses.


15 posted on 07/24/2007 3:02:10 PM PDT by GoldenPup
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: capt. norm

I think she is stuck in the anger phase of grieving. When she is done with this phase (and it may take years) she will still have to go through the painful, hopeless grieving phase — she is avoiding it like the plague.


16 posted on 07/24/2007 3:45:15 PM PDT by bethtopaz (I'm a flag-wavin' American! Support our beloved troops!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: capt. norm

I think she is stuck in the anger phase of grieving. When she is done with this phase (and it may take years) she will still have to go through the painful, hopeless grieving phase — she is avoiding it like the plague.


17 posted on 07/24/2007 3:45:18 PM PDT by bethtopaz (I'm a flag-wavin' American! Support our beloved troops!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: bethtopaz
When she is done with this phase (and it may take years) she will still have to go through the painful, hopeless grieving phase

Hadn't thought about it that way but it sure makes sense. As long as she's busy, she can hold it at bay, but during the "quiet times" it takes over.

I have been through that sequence...as I'm sure many of us have.

Now I'm feeling sorry for her....I can think of nothing more devastating than losing one of your children. But her "in your face...blame anyone and everyone" attitude turned me off and she walked right into "sock-puppet-hood" for the left, doing more damage than good.

18 posted on 07/24/2007 3:54:26 PM PDT by capt. norm (Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: ontap
"The dems are in a fix, their idiot base is foaming at the mouth for impeachment but they know that would be the kiss of death but they have to have the base."

Democrats create these very monsters. The political leverage that this rediculous party exploited from this emotionally unstable woman is already past exhausted. The public is fed up with this nonsense, too.

The fact that Sheehan's personal politics are far more publicly aligned to a budding couple of South American dictators than the philosophically dishonest "Democrats" we've got here is another problem. This fact hasn't gotten past anybody. Sheehan looks courageous in the face of these sniveling, closeted socialists. She's grown beyond the party's ability to manipulate her and we all saw that coming.

Democrats only intended to exploit her son, her misery and then be done with her. She's only coming to grips with it now. She won't play ball anymore and seeing her being led away from Conyer's office in handcuffs is hardly a surprise.

19 posted on 07/24/2007 7:46:38 PM PDT by eric_da_grate
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: eric_da_grate

[Specialist Casey] Sheehan’s father finds meaning amid grief (MUST READ!)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1861351/posts


20 posted on 07/26/2007 10:27:40 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson