Cindy Sheehan: I'll 'Cripple' Hillary Clinton
"Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan is predicting that Jonathan Tasini, the anti-war candidate she's backing in the New York Senate race, will either defeat Hillary Clinton or "cripple" the top Democrat's political prospects for future races.
"I think Jonathan has a really good chance of beating her," Sheehan told NY1 news on Tuesday, after endorsing Tasini's candidacy at a Manhattan rally earlier in the day.
Sheehan then added: "But if he doesn't beat her, I think he has a really good chance of crippling her to show the world that she is not a progressive."
Tasini was a virtual unknown until last week, when he forced New York State Democrats who had just nominated Mrs. Clinton for a second term at their convention in Buffalo to vote on a resolution condemning the Iraq war as "illegal."
It passed in a voice vote that sounded like a landslide. Tasini's primary challenge could give Mrs. Clinton more grief than most observers think.
A Zogby poll released last Tuesday found that New Yorkers of both parties are staunchly anti-war. In a contest between Mrs. Clinton and an unnamed anti-war candidate, the result was a near tie - with 38 percent backing Hillary and 32 percent lining up behind her opponent.
Numbers like that are fueling Tasini and Sheehan's optimism.
"How can it be that we have a Democratic senator who voted for the war, who's position is like Bush?" he asked NY1. "Democratic primary voters don't want that kind of senator."
With media magnet Sheehan by his side, Tasini will be even more difficult to ignore as he campaigns for the 15,000 signatures he needs to get on the ballot for the Sept. 12 primary.
