From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary…
I recently predicted that the independent challenge against San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi by peace activist Cindy Sheehan would cause the House Speaker no end of heartburn between now and the 2008 election. Democrats would themselves regret ever legitimizing the bombastic mother of a U.S. soldier who died in Iraq, once given a ready platform by Democrats as a way to embarrass President Bush.
It looks as if Ms. Sheehan is fulfilling that prediction. In a widely read op-ed published in Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle, she took a two-by-four not only to Ms. Pelosi for her failure to cut off funding for the Iraq War. Ms. Sheehan used her cudgel to whack the entire Democratic Party.
"I was a lifelong Democrat only because the choices were limited," she wrote. "The Democrats are the party of slavery and were the party that started every war in the 20th century, except the other Bush debacle. The Federal Reserve, permanent federal income taxes, not one but two World Wars, Japanese concentration camps, and not one but two atom bombs dropped on the innocent citizens of Japan — all brought to us via the Democrats."
"Don’t tell me the Democrats are our ‘saviors’ because I am not buying it — especially after they bought more caskets and more devastating pain when they financed and co-facilitated more of President Bush’s abysmal occupation."
Ms. Sheehan, who is starting a national fundraising operation for her insurgent candidacy, finished with a flourish by saying voters shouldn’t be afraid to cast a vote for an independent candidate. "Voting out of fear is one of the things bestowed us with the Bush crime mob and may give us the Republican, if not in party affiliation, Hillary Clinton."
As someone who lived in San Francisco, I have to tell you that that kind of rhetoric actually sells with a large part of the electorate there. My advice to Ms. Pelosi is to avoid all the challenges Ms. Sheehan will issue to have an open debate during the campaign. The atmospherics created by the audience attracted to such an event will not make for flattering television.
July 24th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Ms. Pelosi and many in the Democratic party encouraged Ms. Sheehan in her vitriol and false allegations against the war on terrorism and President Bush in particular. So now Ms. Sheehan is turning on the new House Speaker for not being militant enough in being a dove.
I’d say the chickens have come home to roost for Ms. Pelosi.