"Sunshine Patriotism" from Cindy Sheehan

"These are the times that try (wo)men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine (m)patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but (s)he that stands now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

Thomas Paine

May 2, 2009

Dear Friend,

It is so hard for me to ask for help.

My campaign for Congress against Nancy Pelosi may have been a naïve attempt to buck the fraudulent "two" party system and to get someone from SF8 in the House of Representatives that was actually from and for the people, but it was an honest attempt made with the best of intentions and the purest progressive platform from any of the candidates.

We did so many things right and I achieved ballot access against all of the odds, but the system is stacked against challengers or independent/3rd party candidates. If you don't have a trust fund, a political machine behind you or a wealthy husband, getting a place at our nation's political table is nearly impossible.

Since my son died, contrary to what people on the political right, or center have said, I have not done anything to benefit myself. I have not "used Casey's death" to enrich myself. Any money I received in insurance benefits from his death, or any money I earned from book fees or speaking engagements were almost all invested back into the movement for peace and justice, except for my minimal living expenses.

I find myself now in a financial jam along with many of you. During the campaign I went for about 9 months without a paycheck and my speaking agent dumped me because she was afraid of federal retribution. Campaigning is a full-time job, anyway, so a paying job is just not practical. I scrimped and used all of my savings and ran up my visa to the limit to be able to survive until I was able to be paid by the campaign beginning in August after I achieved ballot and oficial candidate status.

However, unbeknownst to me, I was supposed to stop getting a paycheck from the campaign as soon as the election happened (On November, as if the work ends on that day!) but my campaign committee kept paying me, now according to the FEC (Federal Elections Commission), I owe the campaign almost 10,000.00 or will be faced with civil/criminal penalties if I don't pay that money back.

I don't even have an extra 10.00 to give back to the campaign.

My book tour has been great at helping me pay my minimal personal expenses and I am still working really hard for peace and justice (I am writing from Madison, Wi, today). I have been working about 18 hours per day writing, traveling, speaking, doing clerical tasks, and trying to build the communities that we need to strengthen ourselves to be able to survive and thrive through these Robber Class nightmares

For the rest of the summer, I will be visiting about 24 more cities on my Myth America book tour and that tour is paying for itself from generous donations along the way. A seed was planted here in Madison yesterday to have some kind of mass protest in Dallas on August 6 (Hiroshima day and the first day I went to Crawford in 2005) to gather in front of the Bush's new place and try to "citizen's arrest" George Bush.

I cannot pay back the campaign myself, and I can't afford the fines the FEC will levy against me (am already dealing with a 10,000 fine levied against the campaign this week), nor do I want to go to Federal prison (for this), so I am reluctantly and with humility asking for your help. This nightmare has been personal, but the struggle is communal. Ironically, if I am able to pay the campaign back for my salary, which the FEC deems, "Personal use," I will be able to pay the 10,000 fine levied against the campaign.

I have given so much to this country, my son, my health, my money, my relationships, and I don't ask for much back.

Notwithstanding the exclusivity of the 18th Century language of the above quote from Thomas Paine, I am not a "Sunshine Patriot" and I am committed to doing everything in my capacity to fight for and with my fellow humans in this struggle to attain peace, justice, economic equality, environmental sustainability, and security for all, not just the Robber Class.

My personal paypal account is:

Cindy@CindySheehansSoapbox.com

And my home/office address is:

55 Chumasero Dr. Apt 5D

SF, Ca 94132

Thank you,

Love & Peace

Cindy