Joey Davis – DonkeyDigest
As the old movie line goes, Cindy Sheehan could have been a contender. Her touching story, the woman who stood up to a President for the love of her son, would have made a perfect Lifetime or Hallmark Family movie. But she let her cause get hijacked by various fringe left groups and it became much more than it originally was. It became a parody of something good and decent. Because Cindy Sheehan, in disrupting a Democratic press conference on ethics reform Wednesday, became the proverbial dog who bit the hand that at least partially fed her.
The Democratic party, out of power for 12 years, was to begin a sweeping first 100 hour marathon of legislation and the before mentioned press conference was helping kick it off. The Democratic party, who themselves have plans to create policies to end the debacle in Iraq, just aren’t being fast enough for Sheehan after being in control of Congress for mere hours. Isn’t it time, though, that the left call a spade a spade? Sheehan is no hero. At the very least, she appears to want to “Gore” the Democrats, to play spoiler in true Nader-like fashion. Will she follow us from press conference to press conference as we lay out our plans on the economy, Iraq, ethics, and education and heckle us like some cheap comedy club whore? Not a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties, eh Ralph, uh… I mean Cindy?
I was reading various “progressive” blogs yesterday and the “Sheehan has hit the fan,” so to speak. Many applaud her for interrupting the Democratic press conference. Others feel as I do. But there has been an interesting question raised that I will answer here: Did Sheehan hijack that press event because it was Democrats holding it or because it was the far leftwing’s most reviled congressman Rahm Emanuel who was conducting it? My answer is both… and more. She did it because it was a United States Congressman from an American political party representing the United States of America. I don’t believe, as some in the blogosphere assert, she picked out Emanuel’s press conference because he initially backed the Iraq war. If that were the case, she’s going to be a very busy girl protesting Democrats and heckling them at other events. At times, she may be required to be in two or more places at one time if her goal is to protests Dems who supported the Iraq war. But I don’t think that is the case.
After a very noble and worthwhile beginning, her world has become a place where America is the enemy and it really doesn’t matter to her who is running the show here – Republicans or Democrats. Her goal has grown way beyond ending the Iraq war. It has now become altering the very structure of the United States government. Of course, she isn’t the mastermind here. She isn’t that smart. But she has become the willing pawn of a much larger movement.
Now before I’m accused of falling off the rightwing deep end and using that Republican “Cindy hates America” cliche, humor me for a few minutes. World Can’t Wait, a fringe left communist revolutionary organization (FACT), has been whispering in her ear for some time now (FACT). Last October, they published a top 10 list of Why people shouldn’t put their hopes and money into the Democrats, effectively admonishing World Can’t Wait supporters (and that includes Sheehan) not to support the Democratic party. It didn’t name specific Democrats, but it was specific in saying not to support the Democrats! There is a partial answer to the question – Sheehan was targeting the Democratic party and in doing so, she was targeting America. How so? Read on…
World Can’t Wait is truly a snake in the grass organization and it is a shame Sheehan has involved herself with it. One of the group’s leaders, C. Clark Kissinger, is involved with the Revolutionary Communist Party, a Maoist vanguard party, and was the national secretary of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), which, in 1969, became the Weather Underground, an organization whose purpose was to “carry out a series of militant actions that would achieve the revolutionary overthrow of the Government of the United States (and of capitalism as a whole).” He was a strong supporter of Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979 and supported Bob Avakian’s work to build a real communist party in the U.S.
In August 2005, Kissinger wrote an article titled Getting Real About The Democrats in which he blasted the Democratic party, naming in particular John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid as Democrats not worthy of the left’s support. He accused the liberal Reverend Jim Wallace of being the Democrat’s “Secretary of Religion” and implied Wallis was being used by Democrats for some ultimate theocratic goal.
Remember – Kissinger works with World Can’t Wait. And so does Sheehan.
But if you’re a logical person, you’re probably thinking this is only guilt by association. What has Cindy personally done that proves she is no friend of the Democratic party and should not be treated as such? For starters, Sheehan threatened to run against Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein in California but instead opted to support the Green Party candidate Todd Chretien in that election. Chretien, a leading member of the International Socialist Organization and frequent contributor to CounterPunch wrote an article in July of 2004 praising those who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 and declaring that “progressives” shouldn’t squander what they started in 2000 by voting for John Kerry in 2004:
Medea Benjamin… and many other liberal and progressive leaders tell us that a Kerry regime “would be less dangerous” than Bush. This may or may not be true… But, even IF Kerry is “less dangerous,” he will be MORE capable of wreaking havoc on Iraq, Palestine, Venezuela, abortion, gay rights, civil rights and unions IF we sacrifice our political movement to getting behind him…. Tragically, rather than building on the great start we made in 2000… many of the very same people who helped that effort are trying to wreck it this time around (by) condoning, if not actually leading, a campaign to vilify (Ralph Nader and Peter Camejo) as “Republican dupes”…
I could go on about her, delving into some particulary unsavory alegations about her personal character, but I won’t. Frankly, one’s personal conduct, as long as it is legal, has never been an issue with me. Sheehan has enough political baggage to warrant writing her off. But at least the curtains are closing on her tired act and I can truthfully say I’ve never been a fan nor have any centrist Democrats I know of. Her anti-semitism, her threats to run against Democrats for political office, her support for third party candidates, her calls for the National Guard to leave “occupied New Orleans” after Hurrican Katrina, her condemnation of the Afghanistan invasion, and her association with known revolutionaries targeting the American government, are just some of the reasons Sheehan, like a once worthwhile TV show that keeps hanging on for one more season, has finally jumped the shark.
Hopefully the few real Democrats that have supported her will now finally cancel her sitcom, too.
(For centrist Democratic news and opinion, visit DonkeyDigest)
8 users commented in " Cindy Sheehan – No Friend To The Democratic Party… Or America "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI was at the press conference with Cindy Sheehan and Daniel Ellsberg (remember the Pentagon Papers during Vietnam?) the other night. I believe it was the same day as a group (which included Cindy) interrupted the Dems to remind them that all exit polls showed dissatisfaction with Iraq to be the number 1 issue in November. I find it offensive that you attack Cindy as “targeting American government” and terming her “not that intelligent” because she wants to help improve our nation and her’s. Isn’t that what America is about? A democracy where individual voices can be heard and that we all have a say in our destiny?
But, alas, you slam her and compare her to Ralph Nader. When Dems want someone to blame all their problems on — just point to Ralph Nader. It’s become all too predictable. And this sort ad hominem strategy has become all too common, as the center Dems attack the progressives.
Cindy lost her 24-year-old son. Have you lost a family member in Iraq? I think Jim Webb and one member of the House has a child in Iraq. So that’s 2 out of 535. I think she has the right to be critical of our government, especially the Dems who on one hand criticize Bush’s handling of the War, but continue to vote for funding it.
You will probably decide I am from the “fringe left” but I am an American, also. I think our government can do a lot better. I am willing to see what the Dems do, but to be honest I don’t have high hopes that much will change. Here’s where we are: habeas corpus has been revoked, all of our civil liberties are being eroded, and a war based on lies goes on and the cost has now surpassed $355 billion.
Even you cannot honestly deny that THE issue for the ’08 campaign will most likely be Iraq and the continued costly occupation. It already is.
By the way, I am not affiliated with World Can’t Wait, and I share a few of your same concerns regarding who they really are. But I have also met Cindy personally and I think she is intelligent and funny and very straightforward. I would encourage you to get to know her before you pass so many judgements.
Let me quote you, Pete:
Cindy) interrupted the Dems to remind them that all exit polls showed dissatisfaction with Iraq to be the number 1 issue in November.
Now, let me correct you:
By a wide margin, Americans who voted Tuesday in the midterm election say they disapprove of the war in Iraq.
But when asked which issue was extremely important to their vote, more voters said corruption and ethics in government than any other issue, including the war, according to national exit polls.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/07/election.exitpolls/index.html
Cindy Sheehan disrupted a press conference where the Democrats were announcing plans to tackle voters’ #1 concern. They were doing the people’s work but it wasn’t good enough for Cindy.
Next?
Not quite so simple as you state. It was slightly higher than ethics in the minds of Dems. Also, from CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/US/H/00/epolls.0.html
Pete – you’re looking at party breakdown on the numbers. In regards to Iraq, 35% of ALL voters found Iraq to be Extremely important, and 32% found it to be very important. I’ll disregard the figures for “somewhat important” and “not at all important” because they hurt your case more. Averaging the “Extremely important” and “very important” states gives us a figure of 33.5% who found the Iraq war to be extremely or very important.
On ethics and corruption, 41% of ALL voters found the issue to be extremely important, while 33% found it to be very important, averaging to be 37% who found it to be most or very important.
Certainly the party breakdowns give the impression that Iraq was most important if you assume that the new congress and senate were elected to represent just Democrats. But these figures take into account all voters. The people who elected the new congress and senate chose corruption and ethics as the their #1 issue.
Further:
Corruption named as key issue by voters in exit polls
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/07/election.exitpolls/index.html
BREAKING: Exit Polls Show Corruption As Most Important National Issue
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/07/exit-polls-corruption/
CORRUPTION LEADS VOTERS TO TURN OVER HOUSE; #1 ISSUE AT EXIT POLLS
http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=176
And Pew Research:
Pew Research:
http://pewresearch.org/assets/obdeck/88-3.gif
MOST Important to Cindy: People dying, both US troops and Innocent Iraqis. People losing thier limbs. People never being the same becasue of War that never leaves thier heads, both awake and asleep.
MOST Important to You and Democrats that were Interupted: Ethics and Corruption
Maybe you and Interupted Democrats should take another evaluation of whats really important, as the Democrats seem to be doing now.
Its not about Democrats or Republicans. Cindy has said that before. Its about bringing the troops home and ending the bloodshed.
Ethics is really important. Its ethical to stop people from dying before you stop people from buying congress members. Its ethical to not forget to stop people from buying congress members. Its not an either or. Stop degrading Cindy to make your arguement seems more important.
Believe me, Cindy knows whats she is doing and no one can tell that woman what to do. If politicians had that kind of backbone we wouldn’t need to be trying to stop this war.
MOST Important to Cindy: People dying, both US troops and Innocent Iraqis. People losing thier limbs. People never being the same becasue of War that never leaves thier heads, both awake and asleep.
MOST Important to You and Democrats that were Interupted: Ethics and Corruption
Maybe you and Interupted Democrats should take another evaluation of whats really important, as the Democrats seem to be doing now.
Its not about Democrats or Republicans. Cindy has said that before. Its about bringing the troops home and ending the bloodshed.
Ethics is really important. Its ethical to stop people from dying before you stop people from buying congress members. Its ethical to not forget to stop people from buying congress members. Its not an either or. Stop degrading Cindy to make your arguement seem more important.
Believe me, Cindy knows whats she is doing and no one can tell that woman what to do. If politicians had that kind of backbone we wouldn’t need to be trying to stop this war.
Pelosi hasn’t had a town hall meeting in a year. She’s been ineffective in enforcing the subpoena against Rove. She let the Telecom Immunity Act make it to the floor for a vote. Not very good for Democracy.
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