Hillary for President?

By Cindy Sheehan
t r u t h o u t | Guest Contributor

Monday 22 January 2007

Senator Hillary Clinton is running for president.

Twelve people killed in a helicopter crash Saturday in Iraq. Thirteen other service members reported killed in other incidents. Two more on Sunday and two more on Monday.

Twenty-nine people dead in the last three days in a war that the senator has supported since she first voted "yea" to give Bloody George carte blanche to invade Iraq and with her continuing support via her "yea" votes on giving the war addict in the White House the key to the treasury.

Soon after Camp Casey, in August 2005, I was meeting with some Hollywood people who pretended that they supported me, but really were big money donors and supporters of Hillary. I was told that the senator was really against the war, but she was waiting for the politically correct time to come out against it. I was told that she was the best hope for the Democrats in 2008, and I should give her a break.

I don't know who Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood and Mr. Hollywood Got Rocks thought that they were talking to. My son was used as a "soldier of Christ" in BushCo's crusade against the world and a political pawn in this pro-war Democrat's moves toward the White House. I was disgusted and noted this in many blogs that I wrote at the time.

I supported the New York candidate for Senate who ran a very courageous, anti-war race against Clinton: Jonathan Tasini. CodePink New York did amazing work dogging the senator and her supporters everywhere she went, and outing the fact that she is a Republican in Democratic clothing. Unfortunately, the people of New York spoke - and Clinton, the pro-war candidate, beat out Jonathan. The conservative area she and President Clinton moved their carpet bags to after their presidency was over had a major impact on the last elections.

I, my sister Dede, and another Gold Star Mother, Lynn Braddach, whose son, Travis Nall, was killed in Iraq in 2003, met with Senator Clinton in DC in September of 2005. We poured our hearts and souls out to her. We cried as we told her of our sons and our fear for the people of Iraq and the escalating body count of our brave young people. She sat there stone-faced and walked out and told Sarah Ferguson of the Village Voice, "My bottom line is that I don't want their sons to die in vain.... I don't believe it's smart to set a date for withdrawal.... I don't think it's the right time to withdraw." She may as well have slapped us in the face using Bloody George's line and using our son's sacrifice to justify her war-mongering.

On Thursday, January 18th, Senator Clinton introduced a meaningless bill to put a cap on the number of soldiers that can be in Iraq, set at January 1st levels. It is as weak and meaningless as a nonbinding resolution - and a politically safe move, since almost three fourths of the country oppose the war and oppose Bloody George. By the time she introduced her Senate bill last Thursday, over 1000 of our young people had come home in body bags and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis had died, while she was waiting for the best political time to be semi-against the war. How many of our troops are lying in Walter Reed with devastating injuries that could have been prevented if a Senate leader like Clinton had taken a moral stance instead of political one?

This occupation of Iraq can't be won by being smarter - it was lost before we went in. The US, again, was a big loser in a capricious military expedition, with the support of Senator Clinton. She is an amazingly brilliant person, and she cannot say that she was fooled by George. We, the American public, can be brilliant too, and we can't buy that baloney.

In 2005, I was dying to support Hillary for president: finally, a bright woman with experience. However, she is a champion fence-sitter and politically heartless.

I again affirm my commitment to peace. I don't care if it is a man or a woman; Democrat or Republican; white or black; Christian, Jew or otherwise. I will only support a candidate who is courageously and uncompromisingly committed to peace.

Hillary Clinton is not that person. She never will be. History speaks louder than words.

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Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Sheehan, who was killed in Bush's war of terror on April 4, 2004. She is the co-founder and president of Gold Star Families for Peace and the Camp Casey Peace Institute. She is the author of three books; the most recent is Peace Mom: A Mother's Journey Through Heartache to Activism.

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