Deanie MIlls

Location: Hermleigh, TX
My Story: I used to be one of those all-important Independent swing-voters you hear so much about. Even cast votes for the first Bush and for Reagan. Then came Newt Gingrich, the Republican congress, and the Clinton Crucifixion. I was so horrified by what I saw happening to our govt. that I swore I'd never vote for another Republican, even if his or her opponent was a child-molesting murderer. (OK, just kidding, but you get my drift.) Then came Karl Rove and the stolen elections of '00 and '04. Unbridled power like I never imagined in my worst nightmares--and I was writing thrillers for a living at the time. And then came the Iraq war. I was horrified at what I saw taking place in '02; deeply offended by such tactics as "Purple Heart band-aids" at the Republican convention of '04. The Iraq war, I knew, would be a debacle, but no one would listen to me because I live in a hundred miles from where Bush grew up; as red as red gets. Then my son and my nephew joined the Marine Corps. Between them, they did five bloody, deadly, and dangerous deployments to Iraq, and now, another nephew has deployed with the Army in the troop escalation Keep Republicans in Office scheme. I made up my mind I would fight with every fiber of my being to end this miserable war, and I have never, in a lifetime of watching politics, known of an election more crucial to this country and this planet than the election of '08. There's not much I can do out here in a rural area surrounded by people who still think Bush is doing a good job and we should "support the troops" by sending them off to die, but by God, I can write, and write is what I do. It is my weapon. I will be a word-warrior and I will fight for the fighters.
Birth Date: June 28th
Issues: Civil Liberties; Civil Rights; Economic Growth; Energy Policy; Environment; Good Government; Healthcare; Military Issues; National Security; Retirement Security
Registered to Vote: Yes
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Political Identification: Progressive

"When tomorrow calls today into account, some of us want to be able to say we stood up. We called out. We were not silent." Leonard Pitts, Jr., Baltimore Sun, March 19, 2006