Cindy for public office?

[Seedersandleechers]

Has this ever been considered? I could definitely see her in the House or the Senate..

[mtnsnake]

1. Why would Cindy want to lower herself? She's already doing their job

for them.

[AtomicKitten]

2. I am prepared to be flamed

Quite frankly, Cindy should say as little as possible, or limit what she does say. She comes across as not particularly bright and unfortunately has quite a lot to say that showcases that fact. The fascists are documenting everything she says as ammunition. She should quit dictating policy and stick to what she does best. Her message was pure and has since become muddled. The more she talks, the more people pick sides. Let 'em do that, but do it based on their own issues, not as a move against her. She is her strongest as a symbol, a grieving mother. She should step back and let others pursue the rhetoric.

My opinion, I could be wrong.

[OzarkDem]

3. Have you ever talked to a legislator?

Near as I can tell, she's as capable as any of them, and more so than many.

I'd go so far as to say she's more qualified than Tom DeLay, Sonny Bono's wife, Joe Scarborough, any former professional football player or former actor serving in Congress, etc. etc.

If we discourage people from running for office because they may be attacked by the opposition, we'll never get a majority in Congress again.

[Seedersandleechers]

5. I agree with you. If not Cindy then someone who has Passion.

[AtomicKitten]

6. it's not because she's attacked by the opposition

read my post. Christ, if we declined to run because we are attacked by the opposition, nobody would run. Cindy is brilliant as a symbol and is most effective sitting by the roadside waiting to speak to Dim Son. That message is pure. Standing in front of a camera makes her militant. Let someone else take the heat. Her pure message must be preserved.

[renaissanceguy]

7. I do see your point, but

no "rock star" public official is standing with her to take the heat.

[AtomicKitten]

8. point well taken

You are absolutely right about that.

[mtnsnake]

9. She comes across as not particularly bright? Huh? On the contrary,

she's as sharp as it gets. This lady made no mistake when she did the seemingly impossible. She's got Bush backed into a corner like a little mouse with no where to go. She even got away with calling him a liar on national TV. For weeks on end, she's kept him in a lose-lose situation. She's handled everything perfectly. It's not always how well someone verbalizes something, it's how they pull it off that counts. So far, no one has done it better. If anything, this lady is a tactical genius.

[AlGore-08.com]

11. So far no one has done better, because of pure "luck" for the most part

Sheehan isn't the only person who has stood up to Bush in the past five years, and she's certainly not the only person with a compelling personal story who has protested him.

What Sheehan has going for her that others have not is basically the same thing that Hackett had going for him:

a.) The majority of Americans now oppose the war
b.) Smirk's poll numbers going back in the toilet
c.) The progressive/liberal blogosphere coming of age
d.) The MSM beginning to turn on Smirk for both reasons
e.) The lack of more important campaigns/elections which could be portrayed in the black/white terms of For Smirk/Against Smirk.

The media keeps portraying this as Sheehan vs. Bush, rather than having an in depth discussion of the war, how we got there, especially the media's role in getting us there. To them, Sheehan's tragic story is just a "good hook", and as soon as there is more important news and they will move on.

[AtomicKitten]

13. context, not content

I have heard her speak and I stand by what I say. Let's not let the hero-worship prevent you from being practical about her being a political candidate.

The Ben and Jerry boys may have wanted to spend some dough on someone to help her hone her message before cameras. There's a lot of money changing hands, and I'm just saying it would be nice if someone could help her fine tune her message. Less is more. There was nothing more powerful than her sitting in her canvas chair outside BushCo's dirt farm.

[Booster]

4. Just my opinion, but if she does decide to run for office, she needs

to start in her own state's legislature, but not Congress or the Senate. I just don't believe in electing people based on their recent publicity; they should come up from the ranks like everyone else. Case in point, Mary Bono, Arnold, Sonny Bono - there's a lot and I really don't think they add anything because they really don't have anything to add. Flame away.

[AlGore-08.com]

10. I agree 100% - - running people because they get a little media exposure

Is a huge mistake for a number of reasons.

1.) The media has an image cycle that's totally predictable. They love "outsider", celebrity and "freak show" candidates like Jesse Ventura, Aahnold and Gary Coleman. The coverage of these folks often includes issues that are not addressed by the regular campaign coverage only because the press allows them more time on camera. Once the novelty wears off, the press treats them like any other pol.

2.) Cindy Sheehan has no record in office for you to see where she stands on most issues. Right now, do you know where she stands on abortion, gay marriage, free trade, stem cell research, teaching "intelligent design" in public schools, or countless number of issues that are voted on in both Houses of Congress? Dollars to donuts you're assuming that she agrees with you 100% on everything. Odds are, she disagrees with you about one or more major issues. What if they're you're most important issues? Would you support her so enthusiastically then?

3.) Let's assume you ask Cindy Sheehan about her position on these things, and you agree on most or even enough things to still want her in office. She has no record in a lower office to use to see if she can deliver what she promises - - and that ain't easy. Are her solutions the best solutions, or do they cause more problems than they solve?

4.) Without a record in office, you can't really know which principles she never budges on, and which she is okay with compromising to achieve a lesser goal. Because being in office is having to decide which issues you tackle yourself and which you let others tackle, and many, many times you have to vote for something you disagree with because "it's the best choice we're going to get at this time and we have to do something now, not later". Until you see somebody run for re-election, you really don't know what they'll compromise on. It's just a fact.

5.) The people she'd be dealing with on a daily basis - - lobbyists, members of the media, career bureaucrats and other office holders - - would be old timers who know all the tricks. She would be swimming with sharks from day one: people who had no interest in helping her learn the ropes or get her agenda realized or keeping her in office. Without a record in lower office, you can't know what her learning curve is.

6.) Power changes people, and you can't tell ahead of time who it will change. Many people get in office and suddenly become egotistical jerks who think they don't need peasants like us for anything but photographic props. Unless somebody has held lower office, you can't tell how they'll act once they're in office.

Flame away, but I don't agree with first time pols starting out in the Congress, the White House or Governor. I'm a little leary of them in state legislatures as well. I wouldn't care if first time pol was born on Krypton - - or even if somebody suggested running my own Mom for the Senate. I'd still say running first time pols for high office is a really bad idea.

[Booster]

12. Very well said. Damn, wish I'd thought of all that. And your point

about "swimming with sharks" is right on. Can you imagine how these people, even our own, would treat her. She wouldn't have very many "friends" there.