Elizabeth Edwards offers her support to Cindy Sheehan

[ultraist]

Excerpts from an email from Elizabeth Edwards:


"Casey Sheehan was born on May 29, 1979, the first born child of Cindy and Pat Sheehan. It was a long labor. Fifty one days after Casey was born, our first child, Wade was born, also after a long labor. They started school the same year, played the same games, watched the same television shows, loved the same country. On April 4, 1996, three weeks after going to Washington as a winner in a national contest about what America meant to him, Wade died in an automobile accident. On April 4, 2004, eight years later to the day, Casey, who loved his country enough to wear the uniform, died in Iraq. Cindy and Pat's hearts broke, as ours had.

We teach our children right from wrong. We teach them compassion and honor. We teach them the dignity of each life. And then, sometimes, the lessons we are taught, are turned on their heads. Cindy Sheehan is asking a very simple thing of her government, and she and her family, most particularly Casey, have paid a very dear price for the right to ask this.

Cindy wants Casey's death to have meant as much as his life--lived fully--might have meant. I know this, as does every mother who has ever stood where we stand. And the President says he knows enough, doesn't need to hear from Casey's mother, doesn't need to assure her that Casey's death is not one small death in a long and seemingly never ending drip of deaths, that there is a plan here that will bring our sons and daughters home. He does not need to hear from her, he says. He claims he understands how some people feel about the deaths in Iraq.

The President is wrong.

Whether you agree or disagree with every part, or any part, of what Cindy wants to say, you know it is better that the President hear different opinions, particularly from those with such a deep and personal interest in the decisions of government. Today, another voice would be helpful.

Cindy Sheehan can be that voice. She has earned the right to be that voice.

Please join me in supporting Cindy's right to be heard.
http://ga3.org/campaign/speakout

CON'T

[Mr_Spock]

1. I love EE

I hope she's doing well. Glad to hear her making statements again.

[formerrepuke]

2. Wow- both sons were the same age..Elizabeth knows the pain...

[Roxy66]

3. Fantastic...I love Elizabeth

I was hoping we would hear from she and her husband

[Spazito]

4. Wow, beautiful e-mail

Thank you, Mrs. Edwards.

[fooj]

5. Done.

PEACE.

[OhioChick]

6. Great letter........

I hope this day finds Elizabeth Edwards feeling much better.

[NewJeffCT]

very good letter

why can't more top Democrats be like her?

[shaniqua6392]

7. That was a beautiful letter from Mrs. Edwards.

She was very eloquent and I signed the petition right away. Thank you so much for posting it!!

[funkybutt]

8. I didn't get the email

is there anywhere i can view it in it's entirety?

[RamboLiberal]

17. Here's the entire email

I don't think there's any problem about posting an entire email. I was struck that Casey and Elizabeth and John's son Wade died the same day, April 4th - just different years. Elizabeth and John certainly do know the pain Cindy suffers and I think a Kerry/Edwards WH would've handled this far differently.

Dear Friend,

Casey Sheehan was born May 29, 1979, the first born child of Cindy and Pat Sheehan. It was a long labor. Fifty-one days after Casey was born, our first child, Wade was born, also after a long labor. They started school the same year, played the same games, watched the same television shows, loved the same country. On April 4, 1996, three weeks after going to Washington as a winner in a national contest about what America meant to him, Wade died in an automobile accident. On April 4, 2004, eight years later to the day, Casey, who loved his country enough to wear its uniform, died in Iraq. Cindy and Pat's hearts broke, as had ours.

We teach our children right from wrong. We teach them compassion and honor. We teach them the dignity of each life. And then, sometimes, the lessons we taught are turned on their heads. Cindy Sheehan is asking a very simple thing of her government, and she and her family, and most particularly Casey, have paid a very dear price for the right to ask this.

Cindy wants Casey's death to have meant as much as his life - lived fully - might have meant. I know this, as does every mother who has ever stood where we stand. And the President says he knows enough, doesn't need to hear from Casey's mother, doesn't need to assure her that Casey's is not one small death in a long and seemingly never-ending drip of deaths, that there is a plan here that will bring our sons and daughters home. He doesn't need to hear from her, he says. He claims he understands how some people feel about the deaths in Iraq.

The President is wrong.

Whether you agree or disagree with every part, or any part, of what Cindy wants to say, you know it is better that the President hear different opinions, particularly from those with such a deep and personal interest in the decisions of our government. Today, another voice would be helpful.

Cindy Sheehan can be that voice. She has earned the right to be that voice.

Please join me in supporting Cindy's right to be heard.

I grew up in a military family. My father and my grandfather were career Navy pilots. I saw what it meant to live a life every single day when the possibility of an honorable death is always there, at the dinner table, on the playground, at the base school. Will someone's father not come home tonight? And I didn't just feel the possibility, I saw the real thing, and, believe me, it stays with you, it changes you.

I also saw, then and more recently as I campaigned across this country and spent time with courageous military mothers and wives, how little attention is paid to the needs and the voices of military families. It has to change. The sacrifices that our military men and women make assure us that we have the strongest military in the world, but the sacrifices that their families make are too often ignored. The President's cavalier dismissal of Cindy Sheehan is emblematic of a greater problem. This is a mother who raised her son to love his country enough to serve. This is a mother who lived the impossible life of a mother of a soldier serving in Iraq, unable to sleep when he sleeps, unable to sleep when he is on duty, unable to watch the television, unable to stop watching the television.

And when the worst does happen, when the world comes crashing down and she puts the boy she bore, the boy she taught, the boy she loved in the ground, what does that government say to her? It says we'll do the talking; we don't need to hear from you. If we are decent and compassionate, if we know the lessons we taught our children, or if, selfishly, all we want is the long line of the brave to protect us in the future, we should listen to the mothers now.

Listen to Cindy.

Join me so Cindy knows we believe she has earned the right to be heard.

Elizabeth Edwards

[ultraist]

23. Thank you for posting that!

:patriot:

[funkybutt]

25. thank you

very compelling...I love Elizabeth!

[scarlett1]

37. My favorite line from her letter

The President's CAVALIER dismissal of Cindy Sheehan is emblematic of a greater problem.

That one line says it all.

Thank you EE. We love you.

[KingFlorez]

9. I like her

It's good to see people standing with this cause. Elizabeth Edwards knows what it's like to lose a child.

[greekspeak]

10. Heartwarming, knowing good people like Mrs. Edwards are out there

[ultraist]

14. I agree. Elizabeth speaks from the heart.

I wouldn't be surprised if she has talked with Cindy on the phone and given Cindy her support and let her know about her petition.

They do have a strong commonality. Elizabeth grew up in a military family and both have suffered the loss of their sons. Both, are strong women who speak to the truth.

I'm so pleased that Elizabeth is standing with Cindy!

[jsamuel]

11. done

[Sapphire Blue]

12. Thank you, Elizabeth Edwards... for this letter & the opportunity to sign

... your beautiful statement of support.

[wicket]

13. Ok, I'm bawling now

Beautiful email from a beautiful person.

:patriot:

[Beaverhausen]

16. Me too!

I hope she and John stay involved in public life for a looooooong time.

:loveya:

[Spazito]

15. Kick for a message that needs to be read!

*

[Sapphire Blue]

19. ... and signed on to!

http://ga3.org/campaign/speakout

[blm]

18. Great letter....thankyou Elizabeth.

.

[Inspired]

20. The voice of reason!

I love Elizabeth Edwards and I am very fond of her husband, too! Good for them both!

Edwards/Edwards 2008! Wouldn't it be great!

[ronnykmarshall]

21. Good for Elizabeth!

I wish she'd post here more.

[Generic Other]

22. She KNOWS what Cindy's going through

It hurts.

And I love her for caring.

:hug:

[TheUnspeakable]

24. Signed-Elizabeth, you are MY vice-pres' wife(whatever the term is)

[mzmolly]

26. EE has an amazing gift with words. Signed

thanks for posting.

[lonestarnot]

27. Thank you Elizabeth!

[AuntPatsy]

28. Thank ou Elizabeth, we need such strong voices in such times.

[mmonk]

29. .

:thumbsup:

[Chicago1]

30. The OFFICIAL 2nd Lady of the United States...

AGAIN has graced us with her OUTSTANDING words of compassion and REASON (unlike the other bunch). I can't wait until Team Kerry/Edwards gets sworn in.

[myrna minx]

31. Thank you Elizabeth. You are such an inspiration.

:loveya:

[Sapphire Blue]

32. kick to the top

[Seedersandleechers]

34. Oh why, oh why couldn't she have been our vice-presidents

wife?

[Sapphire Blue]

35. There's always the possibility that she'll be our next PRESIDENT'S wife!

[Booster]

33. Done and with pleasure. Nice article. Classy lady. I love EE.

[SharonRB]

36. Great letter.

Freaky how Wade and Casey both died on April 4. Elizabeth must feel a real connection to Cindy, although Wade's death wasn't related to war.

[NCSTATER3]

38. ELIZABETH EDWARDS IS SIMPLY THE BEST!

Good afternoon.

I have always been of the mind hat no one says it better than Mrs. Edwards. She has always been a class act and a thoughtful, intelligent human being. I urge all Americans to join her in this noble cause.

Mrs. Sheehan has been, is, and will continue to be in the wifes and my prayers. She has suffered the ultimate loss at the hands of this inept, dictator president and she deserves the support of each and every American.

Thank you for your consideration.

J.R. Sims
Durham, NC

P.S. For anyone who may be interested, my wife and I along with many other area activists have found a reasonably priced site for Edwards merchandise (www.cafepress.com\edwards_stuff) if you ever happen to be in the market.

[ultraist]

40. Welcome to DU, NCStater!

:hi:

Are you going to the Durham Peace vigil on Wed pm at Brightleaf square?

[lildreamer316]

41. Hello from Jamestown.

Welcome to DU! Make sure you check in at the NC fourm too; we are having vigils at different places if you are interested.
Good to have you!:hi:

[FreedomAngel82]

39. Nice letter

:)

[Supersedeas]

42. well done Mrs. Edwards!!!

[Sapphire Blue]

43. kick

:kick:

[stepnw1f]

44. The Whole Damned Democratic Party should be Rallying around Her

Then again it would become a political issue... oh poo poo to you too. You are damned if you do and damned if you don't. Stay true to your convictions is all that's important.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

45. Beautifully said

She is a wonderful spokesperson for the cause.

[in_cog_ni_to]

46. What a wonderful woman. I adore her.

I hope she's doing well? I haven't heard lately. Thank you, Elizabeth!:loveya:

[earth mom]

47. Elizabeth Edwards Rocks!

Mrs Vice President: :yourock:

[Karenina]

48. We are Mothers

and have NO INTEREST in having our Mother planet and offspring die at the behest of ever-masturbating, self-appointed Übermenschen who think the game is all about GELD.

WE are PRO-LIFE. *THEY are hell-bent on MURDERING US living, breathing, walking, creative sentient beings.

[ultraist]

49. Kick for the night crowd!

If you don't read the entire letter, please at least read this:


"I also saw, then and more recently as I campaigned across this country and spent time with courageous military mothers and wives, how little attention is paid to the needs and the voices of military families. It has to change. The sacrifices that our military men and women make assure us that we have the strongest military in the world, but the sacrifices that their families make are too often ignored. The President's cavalier dismissal of Cindy Sheehan is emblematic of a greater problem. This is a mother who raised her son to love his country enough to serve. This is a mother who lived the impossible life of a mother of a soldier serving in Iraq, unable to sleep when he sleeps, unable to sleep when he is on duty, unable to watch the television, unable to stop watching the television.

And when the worst does happen, when the world comes crashing down and she puts the boy she bore, the boy she taught, the boy she loved in the ground, what does that government say to her? It says we'll do the talking; we don't need to hear from you. If we are decent and compassionate, if we know the lessons we taught our children, or if, selfishly, all we want is the long line of the brave to protect us in the future, we should listen to the mothers now.

Listen to Cindy.

Join me so Cindy knows we believe she has earned the right to be heard.

Elizabeth Edwards "

[David Zephyr]

50. Thanks, Elizabeth!

I am with you.

[journalist3072]

51. Such a beautiful person!!

God bless Elizabeth.

[AmBlue]

52. Elizabeth is so awesome

She had the wisdom during the campaign to gather together a group of military moms (wives, too, I think) and showed that she cared about them by giving them a voice and a platform. She obviously had a special passion for what they were going through. I thought that was so insightful and so caring of her. What a special lady.

[oasis]

53. Elizabeth Edwards is class personified.

:yourock:

[spuddonna]

54. Elizabeth Edwards - One Classy Lady!

"And when the worst does happen, when the world comes crashing down and she puts the boy she bore, the boy she taught, the boy she loved in the ground, what does that government say to her? It says we'll do the talking; we don't need to hear from you."

Elizabeth Edwards is absolutely right - Cindy has earned the right to scream all day long at that man in the White House.

BOSSHOG posted something awesome earlier about how Clinton met with a grieving father who'd lost his son in Somalia. The father railed at Clinton, and Clinton took it, because it was his JOB.

Do your job, Bush, and go talk to Cindy!

[evolvenow]

55. We Love You, Cindy and Elizabeth! You are brave, compassionate and wise,

the world will be a much more intelligent place when your voices are heard.

Thank you!



kick for the TRUTH and the END of WAR

[liberalnurse]

56. She is such a dynamic Democrat..

Thank you Elizabeth. Once again, you lead the way during turbulent times.