Rosemary Palmer campaigns in Lakewood aboard her campaign bus, "The HopeMobile"

No doubt about it: If my son Augie hadn’t been killed in Iraq in 2005, I wouldn’t be running for Congress.

His death forced us to take a closer look at how the political decisions made in Washington, DC affect each of us. The Iraq war/occupation obviously is a “Made in DC” product. Ending it will also have to be decided there – with help from many Americans demanding action.

But the DC influence doesn’t stop there. It affects the economy, social services/policies, housing, crime, and other areas too numerous to mention.

We have people at home saying, “Look, don’t bother me with that. Politicians can’t change what’s happening in Cleveland.” Then we have the people in DC, whom we have trusted to represent us, so busy trying to make political points that they can’t make progress on much of anything.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich promised my husband and I that the Iraq War was going to be his first priority in this congressional session. But then, three weeks after the last election, the Democratic caucus chose a different plan than he wanted, so he stomped his feet (figuratively speaking) and said, OK then, I’m running for President to promote my plan.

Kucinich then began introducing legislation and voting with his eyes on the White House rather than on voters in Lakewood and the rest of his district. After 10 years in the House, he knew that Congress was not a solo act, but he began his arias anyway.

To be successful, a Congressman must work with others to change minds, to change policies. That doesn’t mean s/he has to give up her/his ideals, but keep the ball rolling forward. A progressive has to PROGRESS.

Moving toward goals and influencing the action have always been part of my style, but that became most obvious after our son’s loss.

The day afterwards, in August 2005, a television reporter was interviewing me. I said I had always opposed the war, so she stopped the camera and cautioned me that I might not want to say that because “the hawks will start calling your house to criticize you, and you don’t need that right now.”

“What’s worse than has already happened?” I asked. “I want to keep other families from going through this.”

After that, my husband and I appeared on a number of national TV news shows, saying that soldiers and Marines on the ground were reporting that the war was nothing but a perilous game of Whack-A-Mole, with no progress but many losses. We were working toward a national change of perspective on the Iraq situation.

To make our work more effective and far reaching, we formed Families of the Fallen for Change in November 2005. That nonprofit organization, now representing about 1600 members nationwide, includes some who have lost family members or friends in Iraq, many veterans, military families, some active military, and others who want to support our cause. We work on individual, group, and national levels.

Through Families of the Fallen, we have given presentations around Ohio and in several other states. Using our son’s story, we put a face on the war so people learn that it isn’t Rambo fighting over there, but the kid next door. People get caught up in his life story; so even though they know how it ends, we invariably hear gasps and see tears when the video shows his coffin.

We came up with our own plan to exit Iraq and began lobbying Congress. We had extensive dialogue with many members of the House and Senate including Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. We don’t claim our plan is perfect, but it starts discussion. Since entering this Congressional race, I have modified it, based on consultation with national foreign relations and military experts, to keep up with political developments in Iraq.

Seeing that our own Congressman is not progressing with the war and appears to be completely disinterested in working to cure the ailing local economy, I decided in June to challenge him in the March primary. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Even active supporters of Congressman Kucinich are offering words of encouragement.

In recent weeks, seeing blood in the water, three others jumped into the race. It will no doubt be an interesting sprint to the finish.

Others don’t agree. The power brokers and king makers are looking to take the vote out of the people’s hands. They feel they should be the ones to decide who gets to replace Kucinich – and many of them feel the only solution is to clear the field and replace one ambitious politician with another.

I disagree. I believe the people of Lakewood and the entire Tenth District want someone who has walked in their shoes. They want someone who knows what it’s like to work a sixty-hour workweek to provide for her family. They want someone who understands small business because she’s been there and made the sacrifices that come with it. They want someone who thinks creatively, never closes her door or her mind. And most of all, they want someone who makes decisions based on how it affects Ohio families, not how it affects their own political future.

I always assumed the powers that be would reject my candidacy. I’m not the first woman to be dismissed for not playing by the rules. I got in anyway because we needed a fresh start, and the same old political bosses wanted to give us the same old packages. Cleveland voters are tired of empty promises and unfulfilled dreams. I’m offering the courage to change. I’m offering voters in Lakewood a chance to reclaim hope.