Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor Democracy on Life-Support Reading Matthew Rothschild's excellent commentary "Iran in the Cross Hairs" (Comment, April issue), I thought that there was something missing. He...
...I went from being a fan to being someone who is almost willing to send Coleman a contribution if it would keep Franken from showing up on the floor of the Senate to make a joke about global warming...
...Shorey H. Chapman San Francisco, California Candidate Clinton Those who think that Democrats have an advantage in 2008 should remember what Bobby Kennedy is supposed to have said: that there are certain progressives who love to lose because it makes them feel superior...
...The Clintons will fight back when the Karl Rove Republicans take out the razors...
...William Hairston Sulligent, Alabama Cindy Sheehan's screed in the April issue left me speechless...
...But anyone who knows anything about Hillary knows she is extremely qualified for the office of President, and restoring America's place in the world...
...Every single vote of approval for the invasion of Iraq made in Congress was also a vote to validate that doctrine...
...It was always about Franken...
...She could run for office, or at least have created a petition to stop Bush's war...
...The media should not marginalize him...
...If there is a better choice than Hillary who can win, fine...
...And how impossible...
...But I do not believe that this is about the possibility of nuclear arms in Iran...
...The nukes are just a handy excuse...
...It was an attempt at character assassination...
...How true...
...He rightly zeroes in on the BS in the media and among many high-level political candidates, and says it like it is...
...Bush used the doctrine of preemptive war as the theoretical foundation for his war...
...George Young Vancouver, Washington Bush No Nixon George Bush may be "no George Washington" (Editor's Note, April issue...
...Bush touted it, and it was right out there in the open for all to see...
...Kucinich would not kill other people's families, as Bush and these leading Dem contestants consider that fate for Iranians...
...Many people, like yourselves, apparently believe Sheehan has broad appeal among progressives, but unless she devotes herself to something concrete to end the war, she appears to be trying to extend her fifteen minutes of fame by bashing Democratic heavyweights...
...We entertain having a black President or a woman President...
...I was thrilled when Air America was launched and, as a Franken fan, I ran to get my satellite radio...
...No member of Congress who voted for the Iraq War can claim to have been lied to or deceived about the doctrine of preemptive war...
...Now, like many other liberals, I await the day when we have a liberal radio network that is about something other than egos...
...Congressman Kucinich is the peace candidate who doesn't take wads of dollars from large and important donors who then own their candidates...
...It is about the empire's determination to control the oil in Iran and keep that oil out of the hands of commercial rivals...
...I soon learned that Franken's show wasn't about ideas or solutions or current events or politics...
...Martin A. Wilke Boise, Idaho The First Vegan President Will Durst turns Congressman Dennis Kucinich into a joke ("Scouting Report," April issue...
...Carrying it a step further, I won't vote for any nominee who, as a member of Congress, voted to invade Iraq...
...This evil doctrine of preemptive war is still on the books...
...We're through with him...
...That's all...
...Franken would ask interesting questions to his guests, only to interrupt them with a cheap attempt at humor followed by that honking, braying, horselaugh...
...And not for that reason alone...
...Lynn Rudmin Chong Sanbornton, New Hampshire The editors welcome correspondence from readers on all topics, but prefer to publish letters that comment directly on material previously published in The Progressive...
...I've had enough of weak and submissive Democratic candidates...
...It has been hijacked by power junkies, abetted by sophisticated advisers who use fear and clever lies to manipulate voters...
...And he won't be able to allow the election debate to be about Coleman's ideas or lack thereof...
...And try though I might, I could never hear the guests' answers...
...Bart Coleman Boise, Idaho Send Franken Back to Minnesota Ruth Conniff quotes Jeff Blodgett as saying that the focus of the Minnesota race has to be on Norm Coleman's record and not on Al Frankens ("Al Franken Gets Serious," April issue...
...But calling Venezuela a democracy is really a stretch...
...If Sheehan wants to end the war so badly, she should put her money where her mouth is and do something concrete to stop this war...
...They knew about it, they voted for it, and they can't explain it away...
...This after accurately delineating the treasonous behavior of the Administration, the "pathetic performance of the Democrats in failing to cut off the purse strings for Bush's war in Iraq," and the admirable but ultimately impotent demonstrations of so many groups and individuals, then asking, "Will any of this be enough...
...Nancy Churchill Normal, Illinois Cindy Sheehan's article was both moving and persuasive...
...But if we are looking for someone diplomacy-savvy and different from bellicose Clinton-Obama-Edwards, Kucinich fits the bill...
...All letters may be edited for clarity and conciseness, and may appear either in the magazine or on its web page...
...The most depressing demonstration has to be the emergence of Hugo Ch?vez (duly elected, by a large majority) as the only chief executive in the world who is willing and able to stand up to the power junkies and represent those who need help the most...
...Let us also seriously consider a boyish-looking President who's thoughtfully a vegan...
...His policies and dealings remind me of three other past Presidents: Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, and Richard Nixon...
...I was very disappointed...
...Jerry Rosco New York, New York If your intention in giving Cindy Sheehan a Hillary-bashing forum was to influence me not to vote for Clinton, it backfired...
...I like Cindy Sheehan's activism, but her anti-Hillary advice reminds me of Ralph Nader spending the entire 2000 campaign attacking Al Gore, and getting 95,000 progressive votes in Florida, thereby setting back America half a century ("Why Hillary Is Not the One," April issue...
...It did cause this World War II vet to reaffirm my dedication to do all possible to assure the election of Clinton to the Presidency...
...I began to listen to Franken less and less and then not at all...
...Jordan Bishop Ottawa, Ontario, Canada I have to take issue with the last paragraph of your Comment: "If Bush and Cheney launch such a war against Iran, you can put to rest any illusion that America is a democracy...
...To the people of Minnesota, I say: You can have him back now...
...As far as I can tell, democracy itself is already on life-support, both here and around the world...
...Why does Sheehan feel compelled to first take on Dianne Feinstein, and now Hillary Clinton...
...When I suggested these possible historical parallels to my wife, she told me I may need to apologize to the Hardings, Hoovers, and Nixons...
...Letters may be e-mailed to: editorial@progressive.org Please include your city and state...
...I practically live in my car, and I've heard hundreds of hours of Franken...
...My initial reaction was that it must have been ghostwritten by a conservative zealot...
...It will be about Franken...
...Dennis Kucinich deserves good Progressive magazine exposure...
...I'm with Cindy: If Hillary Clinton is nominated, I won't vote for her, either...
...Sheehan seems to think that she's gained such rock star status that the futures of Democratic candidates will rise and fall on her word...
Vol. 71 • June 2007 • No. 6
