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DroppinScience
07-24-2008, 06:53 PM
Though I don't recall the mainstream media giving a lot of airtime to this, but Nancy Pelosi actually recently said that the House Judiciary Committee can actually discuss whether to hold impeachment hearings for Bush, which is a reversal from her "impeachment is off the table" claim in '07.

Could the reason for this (albeit quite modest) reversal be the fact that Cindy Sheehan is running as a 3rd party candidate for Nancy Pelosi's seat? "The Nation" magazine seems to think so.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/24/10571/

Published on Thursday, July 24, 2008 by The Nation
Cindy Sheehan Is Putting Impeachment on the Table
by John Nichols

Does anyone seriously doubt that one of the reasons why a House Judiciary Committee hearing will at least discuss the “I” word on Friday is Cindy Sheehan’s independent challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi?

Pelosi, famously, took impeachment “off the table” just before the 2006 election.

Then, this month, she edged it back on the menu — suggesting that the Judiciary Committee might take up the matter of Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s proposal to impeach the president for using deception to draw the nation into an illegal and immoral war.

Judiciary Committee chair John Conyers, the Michigan Democrat who has never made any secret of his desire to address the imperial reach of the Bush-Cheney presidency — especially on matters of war and peace — jumped at the chance to schedule the hearing. A two-hour session, at which the “i” word will be discussed openly by advocates such as Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, is scheduled for Friday.

Though the hearing is unlikely to evolve into the full-fledged inquiry that many of us believe necessary, it is remarkable that in the summer of a presidential election year the key committee in a chamber where impeachment was supposed to be off the table will turn its attention to the tool that the founders afforded the legislative branch for constraining the executive.

Why is this happening now?

It is worth noting that this is petition-gathering season for independent candidates running in California. Sheehan, the mother of a slain Iraq War soldier who turned her grief into activism, and her supporters are busy collecting the 10,198 signatures that will be needed to get her name on the ballot.

Sheehan — echoing the sentiments of the millions of Americans who believe that it if it is wrong for a Republican administration to abuse the Constitution then it is just as wrong for Democratic leaders to refuse to defend the document’s principles — has made presidential accountability a central issue of her independent campaign in a city that has already overwhelmingly endorsed an impeachment initiative.

Indeed, Sheehan announced that she would challenge the speaker after it became clear — after President Bush commuted White House aide Scooter Libby’s prison sentence last summer — that Pelosi was blocking consideration of impeachment by the House.

Local media has focused on Sheehan’s advocacy for impeachment, noting this spring when she filed initial paperwork for her candidacy that the woman who has been referred to as “the Rose Parks of the anti-war movement” had decided to run because “seeing George Bush impeached would be a victory for humanity.”

Sheehan is a realist. She admits that her candidacy is “an uphill battle.”

But she has drawn significant television, radio and newspaper coverage in San Francisco, as well as endorsements from the local Green and Peace and Freedom parties and local officials such as the president of the city’s school board and plan commission. She has raised more than $100,000 for the campaign, attracted an energetic team of volunteers. And, now, as those volunteers hit the streets to collect the signatures to put Sheehan’s name on the ballot, Pelosi is suddenly showing some flexibility — the key word being “some” — with regard to the impeachment discussion.

No matter how many votes she gets in November, give Cindy Sheehan credit for opening up the debate — not just in San Francisco but in Washington.

John Nichols, a pioneering political blogger, has written The Beat since 1999. His posts have been circulated internationally, quoted in numerous books and mentioned in debates on the floor of Congress.

saz
07-24-2008, 07:17 PM
seeing pelosi defeated would be a dream, as she is a total disgrace, but i doubt it's going to happen.

Documad
07-27-2008, 07:04 PM
I can't stand it when one issue real people run for public office. We have a local celebrity who is similar to Sheehan and she ran for office with good intentions but wound up getting a very conservative nut job elected to congress. Sometimes the old school democrat you dislike is the better choice.

Of course, I think that impeachment proceedings would be a big mistake at this point -- we should focus on the very tight presidential race that's coming up and avoid stirring up the republican faithful who aren't currently very excited about their party.

saz
07-27-2008, 08:34 PM
i think it would be deplorable to let a bunch of criminals off the hook and let them ride off into the sunset, all the while setting an extremely dangerous precedent for any future administration to get away with more crimes. obama should landslide mccain.

DroppinScience
07-28-2008, 12:17 AM
I can't stand it when one issue real people run for public office. We have a local celebrity who is similar to Sheehan and she ran for office with good intentions but wound up getting a very conservative nut job elected to congress. Sometimes the old school democrat you dislike is the better choice.

Of course, I think that impeachment proceedings would be a big mistake at this point -- we should focus on the very tight presidential race that's coming up and avoid stirring up the republican faithful who aren't currently very excited about their party.

Eh, it's San Francisco we're talking about. In the race for mayor, the Democrat only slightly edged out the Green party candidate (the Republican was a non-entity, practically), so I hardly think Sheehan could be considered a "spoiler" and allow a right-winger to take Pelosi's seat.

Sheehan running is an excellent idea because at least the House Judiciary is taking some extremely modest steps to reign in the grave abuses of power that Bush and co. have wrought. I don't know about you, but I always thought the opposition party was there to challenge the party in power, not enable them.

Documad
07-28-2008, 12:40 AM
obama should landslide mccain.

Except the race has been getting closer and closer, despite Obama getting a lot of good press and despite McCain continuing his incredibly stupid campaigning. I know it's early and I know polls this early aren't accurate, but I'm officially concerned. McCain has a real chance.

DroppinScience
07-28-2008, 11:49 AM
Except the race has been getting closer and closer, despite Obama getting a lot of good press and despite McCain continuing his incredibly stupid campaigning. I know it's early and I know polls this early aren't accurate, but I'm officially concerned. McCain has a real chance.

Until we see a poll where McCain is actually ahead of Obama (which hasn't happened at all as far as I recall), even if it's only by a single thread, then that's the time to truly be concerned.

Diana has even been telling me that when you include third party candidates (Barr, Nader, McKinney), Obama's lead is actually higher. Don't ask me how that's possible, but that's what I'm told.

Edit: BTW, Obama's lead has apparently doubled now. So it's not as close as it once was.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/28/poll-of-polls-update-obama-up-by-six/

DroppinScience
10-08-2008, 12:29 AM
Here's some news of Sheehan on the campaign trail. Kind of a nice profile on her experiences.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/10/07-13

Published on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 by Associated Press
Cindy Sheehan Finds A Bit of Peace in Candidacy

by Evelyn Nieves

SAN FRANCISCO - "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan may finally have found some in her long-shot independent challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

When the anti-war activist speaks in California's 8th District, no one boos or shouts "Traitor!" or "Commie!" No one kicks her out for being disruptive. She doesn't get arrested.

"Oh, this is a lot easier than what I was doing before," Sheehan said, riding back from one of three recent rallies. "I'm home almost every night now."

The campaign trail, rather than the Senate gallery or President Bush's Texas ranch, is where Sheehan, 51, has chosen to take her message and to honor the memory of a son slain in Iraq. Here, Sheehan can make her point simply by making the claim that she wants a seat in Congress.

And not just anybody's. She wants Pelosi's, because the 11-term congresswoman has led the House for two years without making good on a promise to end the war.

In fact, the audience clapped generously at a recent speech at San Francisco State University when Sheehan took the stage, cracked a wide grin and talked about the harsh reaction she has generated.

"You know, it's not easy having most of the country hate you," Sheehan said. "I know ..."

Her camp-outs, protests and arrests on behalf of her 21-year-old son, Casey, galvanized the peace movement and made Sheehan ubiquitous at anti-war rallies around the world.

However much sympathy and support she attracted, her methods also sparked a backlash.

Critics called Sheehan a strident spotlight-grabber. They even accused her of dishonoring her son.

Not Pelosi, a Democrat in a Democrat's town who tends to win elections with 80 percent of the vote. So little a threat does Sheehan's candidacy pose for the speaker that Pelosi has done little to acknowledge it beyond a tepid statement of respect.

Still, Sheehan sees opportunity. Congress has never been more unpopular. She hopes disappointment with Pelosi will send disaffected voters her way.

Her office, lined with photos of her children, all in their 20s, and her 4-month-old grandson, Jonah, is full of awards for speaking out against the war when it was unpopular to do so.

"As much as I had a lot of great experiences and met a lot of great people then," she said, "I was never happy. I would have given all of it to have Casey back."

Her eyes watered. "Now," she said, "I think it's OK to enjoy life again. My grandson has made me realize that."

Dorothy Wood
10-08-2008, 12:36 AM
being an anti-war activist is great and all, but I don't really think she has the credentials to be in congress.

I could be wrong, but it seems like she pretty much turned her life into a circus, and sadly I feel like a lot of her supporters are too extreme and follow her cause because of her celebrity. :/

DroppinScience
10-08-2008, 12:45 AM
being an anti-war activist is great and all, but I don't really think she has the credentials to be in congress.

I could be wrong, but it seems like she pretty much turned her life into a circus, and sadly I feel like a lot of her supporters are too extreme and follow her cause because of her celebrity. :/

After this Congress' inaction, someone like Sheehan would be just what is needed for Congress. Of course she will not get in against Pelosi (but this is SF, so that means the Republican candidate is a complete non-entity (y)), but you gotta admire her for trying.

funk63
10-08-2008, 01:18 AM
After this Congress' inaction, someone like Sheehan would be just what is needed for Congress. Of course she will not get in against Pelosi (but this is SF, so that means the Republican candidate is a complete non-entity (y)), but you gotta admire her for trying.

sike