From the Clark County Washington Columbian
http://www.columbian.com/...
In an interview with The Columbian, Tran criticized Cantwell for not doing more to support low-income and working families and for not taking a consistent approach to environmental issues.
But her strongest comments were on Iraq. Tran called for ending what she called "the Iraq occupation" and withdrawing all U.S. forces before the end of 2006.
"The claim is we can't 'cut and run' because it will be destabilizing," she said. "But we have been there for three-and-a-half years, and that country is becoming more destabilized."
Cantwell has drawn fire from anti-war activists for her 2002 vote giving President Bush authorization to go to war in Iraq.
Tran acknowledges that her campaign is a long shot, but in a state where many are hesitant to support an otherwise decent senator, the "war thing" is a potential deal-breaker.
Tran said of Cantwell:
"It seems like she falls in line more with the Republicans in terms of her continuing support for the war," Hong Tran said. "On Iraq, Maria Cantwell isn't any different from the Bush administration."
Cantwell has done a very clumsy job of addressing this. Fair or not, this is one area in which many Democrats are vulnerable from within. In a atmosphere where support for the continued occupation if Iraq is rapidly falling, more and more voices like Tran's are being raised.
BTW, Hong Tran's website is: http://hongtran.com/...