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(At least not to me. This is at the risk of beating a dead horse, of course...)
I'm going to assume that Sheehan is running against Pelosi for the reasons she has stated: to pursue Impeachment more aggressively and end the war in Iraq. Nothing wrong with these goals. And if Pelosi isn't doing her job as Speaker, I certainly endorse someone who will.
But Cindy ISN'T endorsing a new Speaker of the House, I notice. In fact, she's now going out of her way to denigrate members of both parties--see her rant on the Democrats as the "Party of slavery" that "started every war in the 20th century." Whether Democrat or Republican, according to Sheehan's current way of thinking, we're equally screwed. So why create upheaval in the current leadership at all?
"Now, wait a minute," you're saying. "Pelosi is perfectly entitled to run for office. And she's not trying to win--she's trying to make a point." But then, what point would that be? After all, as many here have pointed out, Cindy doesn't reside in Pelosi's district; she's not running for House Rep of Vacaville, CA, where Casey grew up, or Crawford, TX, where her base of operations has been until recently. Apparently, she's going out of her wayto embarrass, if not depose, Nancy Pelosi, while offering no alternative to her leadership. (I need hardly mention that Cindy could never become Speaker, even on the off-chance that she DID upset Pelosi.)
And I don't buy the idea that this a bluff to "light a fire under Pelosi's ass." Once I believed this, but her rhetoric (not to mention the rhetoric of her supporters) already suggests that she is dead set on blaming the Democrats in general and Pelosi in particular for many of our country's current ills. Not only do I believe there WILL be a campaign, but it will be fought tooth and nail, and Pelosi will be tarnished because of it.
While Nancy Pelosi may be a flawed Speaker, perhaps a lousy leader, her past and current record suggests that is serving with at least her district's best interests in mind--why demonize her, dub her a cancer on the Congress, as many here have already done? And even if she WAS, why not only refuse to suggest an alternative Speaker to Pelosi, but burn all bridges to the Democratic party so recklessly? No one, not even a progressive, pro-impeachment Rep like Kucinich, would accept an endorsement from Sheehan now, proud members of the "party of slavery" such as they are.
I can understand wanting to criticize, hold accountable, demerit, or even demote Nancy Pelosi. Why does Sheehan want her PUNISHED so very badly?
You may argue, but I think Sheehan's interests at this point are very, very personal. Understandable, of course. Her son died because of George Bush's war, and at first, I believe she wanted nothing more than to stop the fighting, so that other parents would not feel her pain. At this point, however, her overriding goal is merely to punish Bush for this pain, no matter how much trying to do so would disrupt those currently trying to find a way OUT of Iraq. And because these legislators are not rising to punish Bush, she wants to punish THEM as well, no matter what the cost to the process.
I admire Cindy's zeal, and I'm sure her pain and sorrow are very, very great, past my understanding. But is someone so vindictive, so thirsty for revenge, so completely overcome by her own personal interests and emotions that they trump all practical concerns as Cindy Sheehan worthy enough to be compared to Ghandi and Martin Luther King, much less be taken seriously in her current quest to assault the Democratic party and its leaders?
You tell me...
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