According to SF Gate — California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer today urged anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan not to challenge the state’s senior senator, Dianne Feinstein, in the June Democratic primary.
Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, has been actively considering a campaign after criticizing Feinstein for refusing to call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
But Boxer, a liberal former Marin County supervisor who strongly opposed the war in Iraq, said Sheehan might actually hurt her anti-war cause by jumping into the race against her fellow Democrat who is entering her 14th year in the Senate.
“I don’t think having her in the Senate election helps her at all,” Boxer told a roundtable of California reporters this morning. “I think it might have the opposite effect.”
“Maybe she’s more valuable out there not as a candidate,” Boxer said of Sheehan and her anti-war effort
Feinstein and Boxer were both elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992 – the “Year of the Woman” in national politics – but they have not always seen eye-to-eye on issues. Feinstein voted for the 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq if the country refused to comply with U.N. weapons inspectors, while Boxer was one of 23 senators who voted against it.
But Boxer defended her Senate colleague today, saying Feinstein has been a critic of the administration’s war policies and favors withdrawing troops as soon as possible.
“Sen. Feinstein and I are very involved in trying to figure out a way to get the troops back,” she said.
Sheehan, who was arrested and removed from President Bush’s State of the Union speech last week for wearing an anti-war T-shirt, spent part of her time in Washington asking Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, whether she should run for the Senate. A former Vacaville resident who now lives in Berkeley, she told the Chronicle she was leaning toward entering the race.
“What I hope to do with it would be to energize other anti-war candidates,” Sheehan said in an interview before the State of the Union speech. “If I entered it, it would bring attention to the fact that there are many, many races where pro-peace, anti-war candidates are running.”
BEAR TO THE RIGHT 
Gary,Your source, SF Gate, doesn’t have at least one fact correct. The Washington police (or was it the Secret Service? I forget) who arrested Cindy Sheehan during President Bush’s SOTU speech eventually apologized, admitting they had no grounds for the arrest. She was unfairly removed from the public gallery for exercising her First Amendment right of free expression.President Bush has notorioulsy thin skin when it comes to public criticism, which of course was Sheehan’s goal. All the more reason to give him credit for attending Mrs. King’s funeral, where he walked into a brick wall. He should do that more often.Howard
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Howard,I can only say that Democrats (at least the loony left wing of the Democratic Party) seem to have no sense of propriety or appropriateness. There is a time and place for protest. A time and place when protest is inappropriate is: 1) in the capital during the State of the Union speech, and 2) at funerals.Cindy Sheehan can protest all she wants. Just not in the chamber during ceremonies such as the State of the Union address. You noticed I am sure that the wife of a Republican congressman was also ejected for wearing a tee shirt which had a message supporting the troops. I approve both her ejection and Cindy Sheehan’s. That is not the place for messages – whether of support or of protest.Secondly I thought it was despicable of the Rev. Lowery and of former Pres. Jimmy Carter to insult the President of the United States during a funeral. The funeral of Coretta Scott King should have been a place and time when there was unity – since all Americans respected her. The Democrats never miss an opportunityto use funerals to disrespect their fellow Americans who happen to be Republican. I think it is shameful and reflects poorly on the Democrats.The anger of the Democratic Party, I suspect, is so palpable that they are unable to control themselves, especially at funerals because it reminds them that the far left itself is dying.
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Gary,Perhaps you missed Peggy Noonan’s op-ed piece in today’s WSJ. She completely approved of the dissing of President Bush durin Mrs. King’s funeral. That’s American democracy, and in light of the thrashing being doled out by Islamists over a few cartoons, Peggy has a valid point. It’s messy, it’s contentious, it’s (perhaps) impolite, but that’s America. I repeat my earlier point: I give credit to President Bush for going, considering all the NAACP meetings he’s skipped.However, I sympathize with your POV, Gary. I think the House chamber where presidents deliver the SOTU is a sacred place, too. But, again, democracy is a messy thing and thank goodness.I wasn’t aware of the other ejection you mentioned, but I hope she received the same apology given to Cindy Sheehan.Take heart, friend. We both feel prickly about our presidents when they’re attacked, and when we feel they’re attacked unfairly. I can truly say that I know how you feel because I felt the same thing.Best always,Howard
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