Cindy Sheehan is apparently considering a run for Senate. Her rationale? "I think our Senator needs to be held accountable for her support of George Bush and his war policies." She continued by saying she felt Senator Feinstein was out of touch with Californians on the issue.
Ms. Sheehan said thatshe doesn'tharbor anyillusions about winning, but rather thinks that by running in the Democratic Primary, she can bring attention to the peace candidates.
Now, my opinion on the Cindy Sheehan matter is not the most well-informed, so take what I'm about to say for what it's worth. I think Cindy Sheehan has surrounded herself with groupies, the result of which being that she believes she and her message are bigger and better received than they actually are. I don't suggest that she's not earnest about her opinion, rather I think she's quite sincere about her desires and I respect her stance. Instead, I think that she's not as influential as those around her would suggest. In fact, one might suggest that she suffers from the same echo chambering that the President has been accused of suffering from.
I don't think she's clear on the current politics in California (indeed, neither am I, and won't comment on them here). I think it would be a bad idea for her to run, even in a primary. I think that there are far too many issues affecting California for her to try to hitch her pony to one inflammatory one in hopes of pushing her own agenda.
2 comments:
Putting aside that this is Cindy
Sheehan, consider that it could be anyone that's fed up with politicians and what's going on in the country. Why not run, even if you know you don't stand a chance of winning? The political process is there for all of us to get involved in & instead of complaining, DO SOMETHING. No matter whether you agree with her ideals, her tactics, her personality, whatever, at least you can't say that she's just sitting idly by, complaining. I think the greater message is not that Cindy Sheehan is delusional, wonderful or whatever, but that we should all consider getting more involved in the political process if we want to make a difference, regardless of our ideals. And the fact that she's doing it within a mainstream party is also commendable. There's somewhat of a misconception that in order to have any chance of affecting the political process, one would need to resort to a third party, but I think we only need to look to the example of the Christians taking over the Republicans to see that you don't have to go 3rd party.
Eek, r.h.m.--can you add a modifier to "Christians" so that people don't continue to associate the GOP with God's Own Party, or think that all Christians hold Republican beliefs?
I feel sorry for Sheehan. I can't help but wonder if she has ever privately dealt with her grief, or if the constant activity since her son's death has delayed that process.
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