By IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writer
48 minutes ago



CARACAS, Venezuela - Cindy Sheehan, the peace activist who set up camp near President Bush's Texas ranch last summer, said Saturday she is considering running against Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record) to protest what she called the California lawmaker's support for the war in Iraq.

"She voted for the war. She continues to vote for the funding. She won't call for an immediate withdrawal of the troops," Sheehan told The Associated Press in an interview while attending the World Social Forum in Venezuela along with thousands of other anti-war and anti-globalization activists.

"I think our senator needs to be held accountable for her support of George Bush and his war policies," said Sheehan, whose 24-year-old soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004.

Feinstein's campaign manager, Kam Kuwata, said the senator "doesn't support George Bush and his war policies."

"She has stated publicly on numerous occasions that she felt she was misled by the administration at the time of the vote," Kuwata said by phone from California.

But with troops committed, Feinstein believes immediate withdrawal is not a responsible option, Kuwata said.

"Senator Feinstein's position is, let's work toward quickly turning over the defense of Iraq to Iraqis so that we can bring the troops home as soon as possible," he said.

Sheehan accused Feinstein of being out of touch with Californians on the issue.

She said she would decide whether to run after talking with her three other adult children. The Democratic primary will be held in June, and candidates must submit their statements for the voter guide by Feb. 14.

Kuwata said Feinstein and Sheehan appear to have a fundamental disagreement over whether troops should be pulled out right now. "That's why they have elections, and if she decides to file (paperwork to run), so be it," he said.

Sheehan said running in the Democratic primary would help make a broader point.

"If I decided to run, I would have no illusions of winning, but it would bring attention to all the peace candidates in the country," she said.

Sheehan, 48, who lives in Berkeley, Calif., said she would head to Washington on Sunday for protests against Bush's State of the Union address on Monday, and then return to California to discuss her idea of running against Feinstein with her son and two daughters.

"I can't see — if they think it's going to help peace — that they would be opposed to me doing it," she said.

Dear God, I knew this was going to happen I even called it. I remember a couple of months back I was talking to my dad and I said I bet she is going to try to run for office and I was right.

I may agree with her policies on the war but I cannot stand the shit this bitch says about our country. I hope she gets destroyed in the polls. Plus what kind of back ground does she have to run for office? This just seems like a sick a joke.

Huh?

I'm not a big fan of Diane Feinstein, but is she serious? Cindy Sheehan has no previous political experience, aside from camping out outside Bush's ranch with signs.

Knowing California though, the fact that she's been on TV besides C-Span will probably make her popular.

Cough cough, Schwarzenegger the crappy governor, cough cough.

She needs to realize her 15 minutes of fame is virtually up...

http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/sheehan.asp
Cindy Sheehan at book signing.

Haha. That's quite interesting. I'll have to agree that she should at least get some kind of political science degree or something before she runs for Senator. I personally love the idea of just average middle-class Americans holding political offices, and I think the main problem in America's political system is that its not a people's government, and we don't have a people's congress. Instead this high top noch of society, the rich plutocrats, hold the political positions. The result? Scandals, lies, and whatever they can do to get more money and power. People always complain about how slimey politicians are, but it doesn't have to be that way.

I was one of the people camped outside Bush's ranch last summer, and one of the people that marched on Washington at the big march as a member of Military Families Speak Out. In fact, I think you can see my mother behind Cindy on just about every 'press conference' on every major news network. So my mother and I were right up there, and as a result I spent some time with Cindy and the rest of the Gold Star Mothers. I think that too many people judge her based soley on what they get from the mainstream media. If you want to know what she's really like, then just ask me. But don't go and make assumptions if you haven't even met her, or looked into it further than just turning on CNN or Fox News.

She's a very nice person. I like her very much, and I like what she has to say. But I'm going to agree with some of what you guys are saying, which she shouldn't run for Senator. Or at least not yet. I think she's great where she is; at the front lines of the peace movement and activism. Activists randomly running for Senator is unprecedented. I like her political views, but I'm not sure she knows how everything is run, and how things are done in Washington. She has absolutely no experience in any other political office. Which is why I think she should start smaller if she wants to get into politics. However, with all of this in mind, I'm pretty sure she would do a better job than Diane Feinstein. So it will be pretty interesting to see where this goes.

I don't think she should have announced the thought of running until she was sure she was going to run. Now if she decides not to run, she's attracted needless bashing and smearing by the media and other people. She took all of the media attention and smearing surprisingly well before, but I don't know how she'll stand in the mud-slinging tactics of a campaign. Plus she most likely wont have as much funding for her campaign as Feinstein.

But no matter what happens, I'd rather see her in office than Feinstein. That's for sure.

wow!

I don't think it's about degrees necissarily, I think it's about qualifications.

Cindy Sheehan has no experience with any political office, therefore she is unqualified.

I think the mud has been slung. I think that the election really matters less than what she would DO in office.

Does she know anything about writing legislation? Does she know who to hire, and who to talk to to get a political office organized? How did she do in school? What are her views on things besides the Iraq War?

I just don't think Sheehan cuts the mustard. 'Being a nice person' doesn't make you a good politician. In fact, sometimes it can even be a detriment.

If Sheehan really wants to get involved in politics, she should start at the bottom and work her way up. Maybe she should work on a campaign for a politician she likes, or run for the local school board. If she wants to shoot high, she could run for mayor. Then, if she's OK at that, she should try running for congress, and then, perhaps senator.

There's a reason that most senators are pretty old.

"America is not worth dying for" - Cindy Sheehan

I would love to see her run and LOSE!

Okay, you basically just repeated what I already said...

I wonder who is funding this lady and her travels.

Starts with a D and ends in rats.