Shelley Sekula-Gibbs Has an Opinion on the Iraq War? Maybe.

I almost gave up.

I scoured the internet and kept turning a complete blank.

My simple question: Where does Texas CD-22 write-in candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (aka The Pink One) stand on the War in Iraq? I simply didn’t know. And it's not like it isn't in the uppermost mind of the voters.

Why?

Well for one thing, I’ve never heard her speak. Maybe she only talks about Iraq when she speaks.

But reporters are there when she speaks (except when she stands them up). Shouldn’t they write something down? Do they ignore the issue because it’s such a boring topic? Well, I doubt it. I think I don’t know her position on the War in Iraq because she won’t say or write a single thing about it. If you look at the “Platform” and “Talking Points” pages on her campaign website, she doesn’t even mention the fact that our country has men and women fighting and dying on foreign soil.

The issue came to a head with me in reading a recent article in FortBendNow on her candidacy with another write-in candidate, past the Secretary of State’s deadline. It was all about Shelley and Don Richardson and the write-in race, but you could see what was on the mind of the voters in the comments: Iraq.

Heck, if you go to Joe Reasbeck’s myspace campaign website (yes he has a myspace campaign website – how cute is that?), you find out that he definitely has ideas about Iraq – ideas that would make Don Rumsfeld look perfectly dovish.

But nothing from Shelley.

Nothing?

The woman is full of issues. She wants to clear the streets of immigrants, sometimes. She thinks tort reform is a great idea (heck, what doctor doesn’t?), is anti-abortion and anti stem cell research (sanctity of life), and hates gays (marriage is only between a man and a woman).

But not a peep about the ONE ISSUE that has a majority of Americans (and Texans, by the way) up in arms: our troops fighting in a protracted sectarian conflict where one of the issues in the conflict is our soldiers’ very presence.

And then it happened. I found it in the Dallas Morning Times in an article way back in August. Here's what she said:

"I have heard from the base that it is critical we support the war on terror and we protect our country from acts of violence against our citizens," she said. So supporting the president's war on terror is extremely important to me"

But do you notice something? She didn't say "War in Iraq". She said "War on Terror". Arguably the two are not one and the same (argued now by George W. himself, but not Dick "Die Hard" Cheney). So, really, we still don't know.

So, Shel, what is it? Timetable? Get Iraqis to stand up? Or is it "Stay the course"?

People really want to know.

By the way, as an aside, muse has a song contest on over at the muse site. Write a Shelley song. No prize, no money, just some fun. Think one up. I put my miserable song together. Thing is, the melody is known to so many, but the lyrics to so few. Back in the 60’s the FBI made a huge study of trying to figure out the words to the song.

No lie.

Speaking of lie, one last thing and I’ll shut up.

Do you see the panel here on the right? Lifted from the Shelster’s campaign website. Don’t you just love the “Vote Twice” thing? Here’s my issue: no one should vote for Shelley because she LIES TWICE.

Lie Number 1: “The Republican Candidate in the Special Election”. THE Republican? Last time I looked, Shelley was running in a field of FIVE Republicans in the special election. There will be no “REP” next to her name on the ballot. It’s nonpartisan.

Lie Number 2: “The Write-In Republican Candidate in the Special Election” Same thing, but this, too: there will be no Republican candidate in the general election. To claim this is so is in violation of a ruling by Judge Samuel Sparks in his Federal District Court, a ruling upheld by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals AND Justice Antonin Scalia of the US Supreme Court.

Lies, pure and simple. And how appropriate.