Thank You Cindy Sheehan! Down with D.U.
Not a shock from this observer’s point of view. Once you go after both sides of politics, you are marginalized. This is exactly what has happened to Cindy.
From Cindy Sheehan;
I have endured a lot of smear and hatred since Casey was killed and especially since I became the so-called “Face” of the American anti-war movement. Especially since I renounced any tie I have remaining with the Democratic Party, I have been further trashed on such “liberal blogs” as the Democratic Underground. Being called an “attention whore” and being told “good riddance” are some of the more milder rebukes.
I have come to some heartbreaking conclusions this Memorial Day Morning. These are not spur of the moment reflections, but things I have been meditating on for about a year now. The conclusions that I have slowly and very reluctantly come to are very heartbreaking to me.
The first conclusion is that I was the darling of the so-called left as long as I limited my protests to George Bush and the Republican Party. Of course, I was slandered and libeled by the right as a “tool” of the Democratic Party. This label was to marginalize me and my message. How could a woman have an original thought, or be working outside of our “two-party” system?
However, when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the “left” started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used. I guess no one paid attention to me when I said that the issue of peace and people dying for no reason is not a matter of “right or left”, but “right and wrong.”
I am deemed a radical because I believe that partisan politics should be left to the wayside when hundreds of thousands of people are dying for a war based on lies that is supported by Democrats and Republican alike. It amazes me that people who are sharp on the issues and can zero in like a laser beam on lies, misrepresentations, and political expediency when it comes to one party refuse to recognize it in their own party. Blind party loyalty is dangerous whatever side it occurs on. People of the world look on us Americans as jokes because we allow our political leaders so much murderous latitude and if we don’t find alternatives to this corrupt “two” party system our Representative Republic will die and be replaced with what we are rapidly descending into with nary a check or balance: a fascist corporate wasteland. I am demonized because I don’t see party affiliation or nationality when I look at a person, I see that person’s heart. If someone looks, dresses, acts, talks and votes like a Republican, then why do they deserve support just because he/she calls him/herself a Democrat?
You should read and add to the comments here and here.
The disturbing part of the saga is Democratic Underground’s involvement. This from another member of the progressive antiwar community in an email regarding Cindy bowing out:
What used to be a wonderful site for Democrats, Democratic
Underground has in recent months become the enemy of Democrats and
the enemy of the Progressive Antiwar movement in the United States.This weekend, DU has managed to finally hound Cindy Sheehan into
resigning and going home. Yes, that’s right, they were SO vicious
towards her that she is giving up the Anitwar movement and giving up
the Democratic Party!
I agree. It’s truly democratic when one holds not only the opposing party’s feet to the fire, also holding one’s own party just as accountable is crucial. I thought DU was about democracy? I guess it is more about “THE PARTY”.
I ‘d like to refer to “The 14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism” By Dr Lawrence Britt:
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate
a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals;
communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.and
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the ArtsFascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education,
and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored
or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
I think both of these points apply to what some at DU and others on both sides of politics have done to a mother who spoke out. There is a thread that demands apologies here. It appears scanning DU that the offending material was on a thread dealing with Cindy Sheehan leaving the Democratic Party.
While reading through, I get the impression the more offensive comments have been deleted. There are a few comments in the thread making comment to the viciousness of some.
Some of the comments:
I think she only recently “joined” and now she’s out. Party doesn’t matter all that much really.. Does anyone think she’d vote for Duncan Hunter or Rudy or Mittens? I think Cindy is just trying to stay in the news so people know she’s still at it
Cindy will be betraying us and herself if she pulls a Raplh Nader and helps elect Republicans.
Reactionary, narrow-minded, and unable to handle simple questions. I’ll never forget her calling Neil Conan of NPR a “dick” (off-mike but still audible) and hanging up on him.
There is reference to “Attention Whore” on the thread. Deleted in belief it was a freeper. I have no way of knowing.
What I do know is this. Unless we take both sides of politics to task for the continued bloodshed, we will only be labeled as being partisan ourselves. Then those of us on the left are no better than the neo-conservative right! Now that the Democrats are in control of both houses, we must hold them accountable. Cindy proved she was no “Tool” of the democrats as the heads on Fox would like you to believe. Imagine if they ever held the Republican’s feet to the fire on anything of value? Keep imagining, it’ll never happen.
I myself am beholden to no party. I have understood the two party system is horrible. I support individual candidates myself. With this comes crap from both sides. I think primarily because they can’t pin you down by your affiliation. And you have all the facts at your disposal.
Going back to the comments on DU. Some folks there felt betrayed by Cindy leaving the democrats. Pardon me, should you not be screaming at the Democrats who would rather bash a mother who lost her son, then take to the Party the message, “Our supporters are not happy! they feel we have betrayed them!”
That is what representation is! In this day and age though, who do most of the politicians represent? The people? I think not. They represent Big Oil, Big Pharma, and the war machine. Our Corporatist system no longer represents a democracy at all! For this I return to “The 14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism” By Dr Lawrence Britt:14.
Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections
are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition
candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district
boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use
their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
Never forget 2000. There is no doubt our Supreme Court installed George as pResident. It’s harder to manipulate state wide elections.
So I will finish with this.
To you Cindy Sheehan, my utmost respect and admiration. Others have been marginalized throughout history. Our founding fathers were marginalized. It only means you understand the problems we face better than most. History will see you as an honest and open person who cared not for the partisan system that has destroyed a once great nation.
Once enough people realize they too have been marginalized, that’s when real revolution occurs.
Rest Cindy, get to know your family again. You more than most deserve it! I for one, Thank You!
[...] Thank You Cindy Sheehan! Down with D.U. [...]
May 29th, 2007 at 5:54 pmGreat post, Jon.
I thought you had disappeared, glad to have found you again.
May 29th, 2007 at 6:39 pmLook, if you are in democatic party and you feel so much about the Iraq war then you know the party will be rewarded for being on the other side of the issue even if they gave in as far as Cindy Sheehan goes your 15mins are up!By the way Jon it is 120deg over here.
May 29th, 2007 at 10:07 pmSteve!!!!!!!!!
May 29th, 2007 at 11:04 pmMate! Good to see you come by… Been quiet working on a radio project for the past 18 months or so. I just woke the beast after being quiet.
We lost .com due to red tape. So we bought .net
I’ll stop by your blog soon. Somehow you got out of my daily surf, which recently became rare to none.
We’re Baaaaaaaack!!!!!!!
As Left and Green as ever.
Check out Shears Music
Billy does a friday music segment on my show fridays. My mate Scott, a fellow Audio pro in the loop did this weeks guest commentary.
Welcome to our net!
Gabriel DJIBOUTI Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 Says:
By the way Jon it is 120deg over here.
Still damned hot. I understand. That’s officialy “$%&$%! Hot!
May 29th, 2007 at 11:10 pm[...] happened to Cindy, The Democratic Back Stab, and where to from [...]
May 30th, 2007 at 1:23 am[...] Goodbye, Cindy Sheehan: the view from the right, the Right and the left. [...]
May 30th, 2007 at 4:34 amA Thank you letter to Cindy Sheehan is awaiting your signatures and comments at http://www.petitiononline.com/peacemom
May 30th, 2007 at 7:54 amWhy I Am Leaving the Democratic Party
May 30th, 2007 at 10:18 amI always wondered why people had to make up their minds between either Democrats or either Republicans, knowing that Democrats are very good at downplaying situations for the main goal of oil corporations into the Middle-East. Cindy Sheehan will join the rest of the 50% of Americans who are tired of voting. Although they are slight differences between Dems and Reps, the center of ideas issued from capitalism has always been intertwened between both of these parties. The survival of a society through consumerism is not necessarly the best option for The People caught in a wartime.
Food for thought:
For those who can’t bring themselves to say that the war is not a “mistake” but a crime. For those who can’t call for immediate withdrawal in accordance with the wishes of the American and Iraqi people but talk about “benchmarks” for a gradual withdrawal. For those who want to shift the onus of the U.S. failure in Iraq to Iraqi politicians for their delays and bickering, and the Iraqi people for their bewildering Islamic sectarianism.
It serves those who vote in bipartisan fashion to further vilify and isolate Syria and Iran—the fools who do not know the first thing about Islamic history and the divisions between Shiites and Sunnis, secularists and Islamists. It serves those lining up to embrace the fear-mongering Islamophobic neocon agenda for more confrontation with the Muslim world. It serves those who fear AIPAC more than the consequences of a strike on Iran. It serves the Democrats who want to keep an attack on Iran on the table, but assure President Bush that his impeachment is off the table because it’s just too radical a prospect for them to consider.
This is indeed the way the system works.
“I am deemed a radical,” writes Sheehan, “because I believe that partisan politics should be left to the wayside…” Having seen Sheehan speak on several occasions, I think rather she’s been deemed radical because her understanding of the war is too honest for the system’s hacks and political opportunists (including some who affect a liberal antiwar posture) to endorse. They cannot.
Nancy Pelosi cannot say, “This is an imperialist war to reconfigure the Middle East, allow the U.S. to control the flow of oil from the region, dot it with huge permanent U.S. military bases, advance Israeli aims in the region, and intimidate all potential rivals for decades. It is wrong, a clear violation of international law.” Harry Reid can’t say, “The lies of these war planners are so obvious. We need hearings now about the Office of Special Plans. We need to find out who forged the Niger uranium documents and who undercut our intelligence professionals in pushing that completely false case presented by Colin Powell to the U.N. We need to move on impeachment of both Bush and Cheney.”
That sort of honest talk is not normally allowed by the system to the “loyal opposition.” Only under circumstances of extraordinary duress, when it feels its very existence threatened, does the system make some concessions to the people it doesn’t work for. In the early ‘70s our outrage over the war in Vietnam, compounded by disgust about the evolving Watergate Affair, forced Congress to cut off war funding (through the Case-Church Amendment passed on June 19, 1973), produced a wave of investigations that exposed the vicious Cointelpro Program, and produced the Freedom of Information Act. We’re not yet back to that level of outrage, but the number of people questioning the system itself—the money-driven “Republican/Democratic duopoly of trivialized politics”—is growing. As the Democrats drag their feet, ignore their mandate to end the war, and collude with moves against Iran and Syria bound to produce disastrous repercussions, disillusionment will no doubt mount, as it should. Then maybe we’ll see (create, force) some change.
“To be radical,” wrote Marx, “is to grasp the root of the matter. But for man, the root is man himself.” In other words, radicalism means thinking clearly about how and why people in general are oppressed by the “money” to which Bacevich alludes. By those who use their unconscionable wealth (= political power) to pursue their boundless “interests”—sacrificing other people’s children to do so. But Marx in the same work notes how people oppress themselves with delusional thinking. He refers to religion but might as well be speaking of delusions about contemporary American “democracy” when he writes, “The demand to give up illusions about the existing state of affairs is the demand to give up a state of affairs which needs illusions.”
Sheehan’s disillusionment need not lead to a dead end. It could be the premise for appropriately deeper radicalization.
June 1st, 2007 at 9:21 pmhttp://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17804.htm