Often I reflect back to the time I spent on Capitol Hill fighting for my son's life. I went there as a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. Yes with a big D. I had worked on Democratic campaigns for over 20 years and had just finished a job with the Democratic party in Missouri. The Democrat's where back in power riding on the tide of ending the occupation in Iraq so they were first on my list to visit.
I went to D.C., believing I was working for the "good guys." The Republicans and Bush were so obviously the "bad guys." I mean, wasn't it them that sent us to occupy two nations? Stripped away our civil liberties? warrentless wiretapping? Authorized, and through their silence, condoned torture? Wasn't it them that bungled Katrina?
If you asked me a question, I would give you the Democratic talking point backed with facts as to why this was the only possible point of view that made sense. Once, my step-mom, made a discouraging remark about how the democrats could be doing more, and I took it as a personal offence. She's a Democrat, how could she criticize them? She is just feeding into the Republican's talking points.
When my son received his deployment orders for a third tour in Iraq despite his honorable discharge, despite his PTSD and TBI, and despite his pending claims through the VA for over a year, I sought a course where I could use my knowledge of politics, my passion to end the occupations and my alliance with the Democratic party to stop his deployment.
My strategy was working in conjunction with Kathy Kelly's "Occupation Project". This is where we would go to congressional members office and refuse to leave until we spoke with the member of congress and request them to not authorize any more funds for war. It was simple. No money, no war. In reality, we all knew it wasn't that simple, but the mind set would get us on the path to withdrawing our troops.
Sleeping on couches, collecting donations and metro cards and wearing my suits gathered through years in the insurance and banking industry, I armed myself with a copy of my son's poem, a letter with a request for help, and a list of Democrats on the committee who authorizes war funds, the appropriation committee. Now most of the people I knew were appalled that I was "going after" Democrats. "Why not go after the Republicans, they started the war, " was a refrain I heard often. First, why on earth would I want to talk to people I had no middle ground to discuss objectives. The Democrats had just been swept into power on the promises of ending the war in Iraq. It seemed you would want to solidify your base before you went after the opposing party, politics 101. Right?
The second complaint I heard often from friends and lawmakers alike, "Why not talk to your own congress member. They are not your representative." To this question, the answer was easy. Their vote to send us to war or to continue the war crosses district and state lines. If my representative voted against the war, does that mean when my son is given deployment orders, he can just say, "my representative said the war was wrong and voted against it so I don't have to go." No. Every lawmaker's vote affects us all. Especially in the matter of war. David Sirota wrote an op-ed telling me to go back to Missouri and talk to my representative as I didn't understand how things work. The problem was not lack of understanding, but knowing how it actually works. The day I can tell the USMC or the Army, "Your wars don't apply in my district," is the day I stop questioning every lawmaker.
I think my first awakening was when I was sitting in a southern Dem's office quietly waiting for a reply to my request to meet with him. I was in my navy blue suit, hair properly pinned up, sitting alone in a corner chair. In walked some middle-aged men in suits asking about their appointment with the congressman. The receptionist told them he would be with them shortly. As I sat unnoticed in the corner, they started discussing their impending visit with the congressman. Discussions of how he would be able to align with the KKK and their agenda, how they had just helped in his re-election and what they expected of him apparently reflected on my expression. The receptionist hurried over to me and told me she would be getting back to me, but I needed to leave.
Well, I knew there were a few bad apples..... But a growing recognition of how deeply in trouble we are as citizens, began.
I continued to work my list. David Obey, as chair of the appropriations committee, was someone's office I visited often. When I saw him in the hallway, I was surprised. I walked away labeled as an "idiot liberal." That was the time I decided to divorce myself from the Democratic party. Any illusion of good versus bad guys, came into perspective. As waves of letters and phone calls from fellow Democrats came in with wishes of my death and my son's death, I fell further and further away.
I walked away from that experience realizing that I had limited myself to two sides of an argument. The Good vs Bad, the Democrats vs Republicans. From then on, I saw the Democrats excuses for ending the war as exactly that, excuses. The first week the democrats took power in 2007, Rep. Rangel who was a "friend" of ours, stated that, "it's different now, we're in power now." That resonated throughout Capitol Hill. They used peace activist to gain power, much like Obama, while having nothing but disdain for them, like Obama. The list of what Republican's and Bush supported, I can interchange with Obama and democrats, except Katrina. We can replace with BP....too little too late....just like Bush.
Walking through the halls of congress, standing in the elevator, eating in the cafeterias, or sitting in the smoke room, eavesdropping or spying, whatever you want to call it, I did it for 9 months. I dressed like them, I acted like them, I blended with them. And I overheard more than I ever wanted to know. I look at politicians now as people, not party. I suggest more people do it on both sides.
Only then can you see a problem from many sides, not just two.
Tina Richards,
Marine Mom
