Political Frenzy

Today Cindy Sheehan, “war mom,” announced that because Speaker Pelosi didn’t file articles of impeachment against President Bush she will be running for Pelosi’s seat in the House.

Part of me likes this; the other part says…’ehh, what’s the point?’

Sheehan feels that our government is not doing its job and wants to do something about it, which is commendable. The Declaration of Independence says that we have the responsibility to challenge our government when we feel that it isn’t working. I also like that she will be running (if she makes it that far) as an independent.

I don’t like how Sheehan threatened Speaker Pelosi; it’s a bit cocky. As much as it would please a lot of people, impeaching President Bush is simply not realistic. Bush cannot be impeached for making questionable decisions. And, at the risk of sounding like a jerk, her son died while he was in the volunteer Army. President Bush didn’t pull Casey Sheehan out of bed in the middle of the night, give him a M-16, and force him to fight.

Sheehan said that Pelosi has lost touch with the people in her district. At least Pelosi lives in that district, Sheehan lives outside of Sacramento. Can she be more in touch with these people when she lives over an hour away?

Sheehan will run on the familiar platform of universal health care and making college more affordable. Does she even have a clue about how to take on these issues?

Should our politicians have actual experience in government before running for office? Or would they be more effective if they were a bunch of ordinary Joes? With the track record of our politicians it makes me wonder. I know that some people think a chimp could get more done than their congressman!

I live in Congressman Doolittle’s district…enough said.

“War Mom” Cindy Sheehan, who retired from the peace movement in May, has ‘threatened’ to run against Speaker Nancy Pelosi if Pelosi doesn’t file articles of impeachment against President Bush by July 23rd.

Sheehan feels betrayed by Democratic leadership saying, “We hired them to bring an end to the war.” and is encouraging others to “run against Congress members who aren’t doing their jobs, and are beholden to special interests.”

I respect that Sheehan is challenging the system but maybe she doesn’t realize that even if she found a way to run a campaign with no money it would just force the Speaker to go even further into debt with special interests. It is just the sad truth about our politics today.

Since the death of her son in Iraq Sheehan has had a bone to pick with President Bush, and now she is calling out Congress…she should take a number. Historically it is very rare if the public as a whole is satisfied with the presidency or Congress.

According to a recent Gallup Poll, Congress is listed as the least trusted in a list of 16 prominent institutions. The most trusted was the military with 69% of people having a high level of trust; the presidency garnered 25%, Congress checked in with an abysmal 14%. Lower than both big business and HMOs.

This Congress is now facing criticism for not getting much done. According to a recent CBS News poll 59% of people think that this Congress has accomplished less than previous Congresses did in their first 6 months. It is sad that a do-nothing Congress is expected when two parties are in power.

Congress isn’t the only one taking heat; President Bush is now seeing his Iraq surge plan being abandoned in the Senate. Congress members are facing pressure to pass a bill forcing a major change in Iraq policy before their August recess when they will have to “face constituents.” It seems a bit odd that they only want to get things done when they have to face their constituents, and we wonder why nobody trusts them.

Maybe President Bush should encourage the articles of impeachment; it did wonders for President Clinton’s approval ratings!