Tearful Cindy Sheehan Announces Plans to Run Against Nancy Pelosi

Last month, anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan told reporters that if Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. House speaker, didn’t move to impeach President Bush by July 23, she would launch a campaign to run for Pelosi’s seat. Since that deadline came and went without Pelosi rising to the challenge, Sheehan has announced that she intends to come through on her promise.

Cindy Sheehan gained the attention of the world in 2004 after her son Casey, 24, was killed in Iraq. She set up camp outside the Texas ranch of President Bush and demanded a meeting with him, but her demands were never met. Since that time she has staged multiple public protests and has been arrested numerous times, all to protest the war in Iraq.

Sheehan says that her anti-war activism has all been carried out to honor the memory of her fallen son. When she announced her candidacy for the U.S. House, she said that her son was her inspiration for launching the campaign. Sheehan said that Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco in Congress since 1987, has "protected the status quo" of the corporate elite during her time in office. Claiming that Pelosi has lost touch with the people in her district, Sheehan said that most of the citizens there want American troops withdrawn from Iraq.

During her announcement, Sheehan said that she will run on an independent ticket, with a platform consisting of universal health care for everyone, making college affordable for everyone, and working to improve ethics in the government. She added that the money being spent on the war in Iraq should be redirected to offer assistance to America’s shrinking middle class.

Right now Sheehan has no money for running a campaign, but she is making plans for a fundraiser. She told reporters she would not accept any money from corporations.

Former Pentagon analyst Daniel Ellsberg is a supporter of Sheehan, but he admits that her prospects for success are not promising. Ellsberg, who has also been arrested for protesting outside Bush’s ranch in Texas, said that because Sheehan is going head to head with a well-funded, powerful incumbent, the odds against her appear "insuperable" without party support.

Sheehan made her announcement to the media while standing at a podium with a photograph of her son taped to it. "The country is ripe for a change," she said. "It’s going to start right here and right now."