But Will Congress Listen?

On Wednesday in Washington DC, peace activists interrupted a press conference by Rahm Emanuel, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus. After failing to regain control, the Dems cut short the event, and Cindy Sheehan took over the microphone. From Democracy Now!:

Cindy Sheehan: "Our leaders who get us into these messes are the ones who need to be held accountable. And if that happens then maybe my grandchildren won't have to be fighting in an illegal and immoral war."

Sheehan's other comments, from the New York Times:

She called for a greater role for the peace movement in the new Democratic majority, which she said is ignoring the people who put them in power. She called for an end to financing the war.

"And these are not requests," said Ms. Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq. "These are demands."

The Raw Story has the transcript of the aborted press conference, including the protesters' chants: "De-escalate, investigate, troops home now!"

Sheehan later told Amy Goodman:

We wanted the Democrats to know that we're not going away, that we are going to hold their feet to the fire as much as we did the Republicans, and that the most important item on an agenda for our country is to bring the troops home.

George Bush is going to set out a plan in a few days ... and we know that it's going to be a bad plan. Everything single thing he's done since the invasion -- well, and including the invasion -- have been disorder. ... It's been wrong for America. My son is dead because of it. And the Democrats should not be waiting for George Bush to articulate his plan, because they know it's going to be a bad plan, and they know it's probably going to include an escalation of troops.

The Democrats need to have a plan. They need to have the courage and the strength and the integrity to know that George Bush cannot fix this mess that he has gotten our country into. The Democratic congress is going to have to be the ones to fix the mess. ... They have to know that the peace movement is solidly behind them, almost three-quarters of the country are behind them, and that we need a higher minimum wage, we need universal healthcare, we need lower interest rates on college loans.

And that will help my family. Everybody in my family will benefit from the Democrats' social plan, but where are they coming up with the money? Our country is spending $10 million an hour in Iraq. We can't afford to borrow any more money from China. We can't afford it. My great-grandchildren will be paying this debt off.

Amen, sister.