Hillary Clinton, Baby Seal Clubber

Jesse Jackson (at least in the early 1970s) understood very well that you don't mortgage your entire future on a single political party, and that you have a better chance of achieving your goals by positively encouraging multiple political parties.

Cindy Sheehan is taking this strategy in reverse, trying to alienate both political parties. Now she's going after leading Democrats:

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Cindy Sheehan is at it again, confronting those prolonging the Iraq war. Without letting up on the White House, the mom of one of the first 2,000 U.S. military fatalities is also speaking up about Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The New York senator is one of many Democrats with confused positions on Iraq.

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WLBT:

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A grieving mother who's become the face of the anti-war movement says any politician who supports the Iraq conflict shouldn't be supported -- even if it's Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Cindy Sheehan says she met with Clinton in Washington last month to discuss the war. She says the senator told her that she wanted to be sure that the troops who were killed "didn't die in vain." Sheehan calls that "a totally Republican talking point."

Clinton voted in 2002 for the congressional resolution authorizing the president to use military force in Iraq. And she has supported troop-level expansions, even while criticizing the president's handling of the war.

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Here's what the democrats.org blog says about the controversy:

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But others will talk. Here's what Progressive Pulpit says:

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It's hard to resist the allure of a Hillary Clinton candidacy in 2008. But I am committed to standing firm on principle, lest the country will not really be lead out of the nasty hole Bush has dumped it in.

Hillary is a more shrewd, disciplined and possibly more savvy campaigner than our 2004 nominee John Kerry. Yet they share the commitment to clinging to the center, aka not taking a principled position, that I just can't tolerate. What will I do if it's Hillary vs. McCain or Guiliani or Allen or whomever? I'm not sure. If there's a third party candidate I believe in, that person will likely get my vote.

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This is probably a shock to the baby seal clubbers who think that the Clintons are Mr. and Mrs. Karl Marx, but they came to national prominence by challenging the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Remember Sister Souljah?

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[C]andidate Bill Clinton seized a golden opportunity to reassure moderate and independent voters that he was not beholden to his party's far-left voter base. That controversial move, dubbed "the Sister Souljah moment" helped Clinton defeat a sitting President....

In June of 1992, Sister Souljah, a rapper and writer, was quoted by the Washington Post about the Los Angeles riots, "If black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?"

"If you took the words 'white' and 'black' and you reversed them, you might think David Duke was giving that speech," Clinton responded later at the National Rainbow Coalition Convention, much to the annoyance of Jesse Jackson, who had earlier spoken much more favorably of the racist remark. Some people on Clinton's left flank, including Jackson, weren't happy. Jackson denounced Clinton’s comment as Machiavellian and accused Clinton of pandering to conservative whites.

But when it came to peeling centrists and moderates away from Bush in 1992, such annoyance from the left was a small price for Clinton to pay. The media loved the flap and the stunt helped convince voters Clinton was the centrist he claimed to be. Jackson eventually had no choice but to back up Clinton, as jumping to the Republican side or the Perot camp was not an option for the activist.

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And whatever happened to her? She makes her living as a campus lecturer today. Here's her pitch:

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Sister Souljah, hip-hop generation author, activist, recording artist,
and film producer, is the most powerful and meaningful person speaking
to youth and students today. Her intelligence is unselfish. She shines as she offers cultural, spiritual, political, economical, practical analysis and constructive solutions with the precision of a surgeon. Souljah’s words, thoughts, lessons, and books are transforming the next generation. Once you have heard her speak, it’s impossible for you to remain the same. You’ll change the way you think, love and live.

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From the Ontario Empoblog (Latest OVVA news here)