Dear Cindy:
I read your diary, declaring your intent to run for Congress against Nancy Pelosi with great interest. You state that unless Rep. Pelosi puts impeachment back on the table by the end of July, you will run against her for her seat in Congress.
It's unclear to me whether you will mount a primary challenge against Rep. Pelosi, or run as independent. Your disparaging remarks about the Democratic Party seem to indicate that you do not want a "D" next to your name on the ballot anytime soon. Remarks aside, I'd like to give you a bit of unsolicited advice:
Don't run.
Ms. Sheehan, I can't fathom what you have been through. I don't have any children, let alone have lost any due to this senseless war. Your cause has brought attention to the war in a way that, possibly, nobody else could.
I, too, am for impeachment. I, too, am heartily disappointed that our Speaker has ruled it out. I, too, want justice.
But running for Congress is not the answer.
I know a little -- very little, to be sure, but enough -- to know what it is like to have your name on a ballot. There is one question, and one question only, one must ask before running for any office:
Do I want the job?
Cindy, it appears that you do not want the job. You want to make a statement. And statements are great as tools of activism. But in real world politics, of getting votes, not so much.
Let's face a cold hard fact: should you decide to run for Congress, based on the reasoning that Speaker Pelosi has taken impeachment off the table, were you to be elected, it would not affect the issue of impeachment one iota. For the simple reason that when you take office in 2009, the crooks will be gone. There will be no impeachment to do. A new administration will be at hand.
So a one-issue campaign will not suit you. And frankly, it marginalizes your message. All you are seeking to do is punish Speaker Pelosi. To me, that is not the right reason to run.
Why take this step? Certainly it will call attention to the issue. But nothing more.
I'm sorry, but I can't take you seriously as a candidate for Congress. You don't really want the job.
And I'm willing to bet that most people feel the same way.
Sincerely,
wmtriallawyer