My feelings on Cindy Sheehan

[jackbourassa]

I've been thinking about this these past couple of days, i'm just trying to figure out what possible good Cindy Sheehan's attacks on the Democrats will bring her and her cause. To be honest, it's been very difficult for me understand her reasoning.

In politics it's important to have allies. I don't know of any political figure who can accomplish anything without allies. Cindy is already universally despised among the conservatives and the Republicans. She'll receive no comfort there. Now she has also had a small group of Democrats who just wished she'd go away. But for the most part Democrats, including myself, have been sympathetic to her plight and her mission. But this time she's gone too far. Her actions this week is destroying whatever credibility she has left.

You've heard the saying 'don't bite the hand that feeds you' right? If Cindy should antagonize the only group that still supports her - US - then what good will she be to anyone? Then she will essentially become what Republicans have always accused her of being: an attention seeking troublemaker. Even worse, a mother who is exploiting the death of her son to attain media attention for herself.

She went after Nancy Pelosi - the most liberal Speaker we have had for decades (I don't think she stands a chance against Pelosi in the election by the way, so I'm not worried about that). Now she's going after Conyers? She has made petty and stupid attacks against the Democratic Party as a whole (we are the party of slavery; we started every war of the twentieth century). I mean this doesn't make any sense to me. She is destroying herself. The latest poll from Rasmussen seems to be showing this as well. According to the poll, Cindy is viewed favorably by only 22% of Americans a drop from 31% in September 2005. She is viewed unfavorably by 50%, a rise from 39% in 2005. Only 8% view her very favorably, and an incredible 32% view her very unfavorably. She is running the risk of becoming a national joke. I say this with a heavy heart because I consider myself a liberal. I strongly support her goals of ending the war and impeaching George W. Bush. But what few supporters she has left here don't realize is that her selfish actions are undermining those two very things. That, in my opinion, is unforgivable. It's unforgivable because no one person is bigger than the cause of ending the war. I'm not interested in cults of personality. I'm interested in ending this destructive and stupid war and Cindy Sheehan, like it or not, is putting that in peril by her actions.

If she becomes a national joke what good will she do any of us? The reason her numbers are dropping are pretty simple, because the Democrats are now abandoning her. If she has no allies left, then all she will be is what some people have always accused her of being: someone more interested in getting attention then ending the war.

That's a sad thing for me to admit.