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Hungry Howie
by Frederic Pierce / Political Notebook
Syracuse Post-Standard |
This July 4, as candidates of every political stripe make the rounds of holiday hot-dog roasts and chicken barbecues, Howie Hawkins won't be sampling anything off the grill.
It's not some kind of Green Party vegetarian thing. He won't be eating any potato salad or strawberry shortcake either.
It's about the war.
Hawkins, who's challenging Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton as the Green Party candidate, plans to fast in solidarity with Cindy Sheehan and other peace activists from midnight to midnight on the Fourth of July.
Sheehan's Gold Star Families for Peace and the women's anti-war group Code Pink plan to begin an open-ended hunger strike called "Troops Home Fast".
Protesters plan to begin in front of the White House at 10 a.m. on Independence Day, and gather there every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. until Aug. 14.
After that, Sheehan and her supporters will move the protest to "Camp Casey", the nickname given to the anti-war encampment by President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, that Sheehan started in 2005. It was named in memory of her son, Spc. Casey Sheehan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004.
"We're trying to draw attention to the war and put pressure on them to withdraw," said Hawkins, who bills himself as the race's only peace candidate.
Clinton does not support an immediate withdrawal or a set deadline for withdrawal. Neither do either of her potential Republican opponents, former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer or former Reagan administration official Kathleen "KT" McFarland.
Although Sheehan's fast could go on for months, Hawkins and hundreds of other activists across the country are choosing to pursue much more limited hunger strikes.
"I'm only doing it for one day, that's a lot for me," said Hawkins, who will be working his graveyard shift unloading trucks at UPS when the fast begins. "With my job, I'd waste away pretty quick."
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 *Website by David Doonan, Labor Donated to Hawkins for Senate Campaign* |
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