Cindy Sheehan "is dishonoring her son"

Showing no interest in Cindy Sheehan's "Impeachment Tour" as the dinner hour approaches, Tiny and Baby focus, trancelike, listening for the magic incantation: "Want your suppers?"

"She clearly doesn't understand that it was her son's choice to enlist and to serve, and her current behavior is dishonoring her son," writes Ann Althouse reader Joan of Oasis of Sanity -- in the comments to Ann's Cindy Sheehan post -- putting her finger on exactly what's wrong at the twisted heart of this sad tale. Cindy's the "mother of a fallen U.S. soldier" who set up a "quiet roadside peace vigil" near the vacationing GW's Crawford ranch, "drawing supporters from across the nation" . . . "the Rosa Parks of the anti-war movement," hyperventilated one fan. Can you hear the violins?  The purple prose,* plucked from the AP story this morning, exemplifies the MSM's apparent lack of curiosity about the story behind the story of Cindy's "Impeachment Tour." She "says she was surprised at the response," the credulous AP reporter dutifully noted, accepting her words at face value.

Unless you've had your ear pressed to the rail of the blogosphere for the last period of time, you'd never know that old Cindy's been mixing it up with the pathological wing of the anti-Bush "peace" movement for some time now.  She "testified" -- together with serial liar Joseph C. Wilson IV -- in Rep. John Conyers's fake Downing Street Memo hearings last June. Self-proclaimed "far left" blogger Shakespeare's Sister eagerly emailed members of The Big Brass Alliance earlier this week alerting them that this was their big chance -- at last! -- to finally "get" Bush:

I've been asked by several members of the alliance to request a blogswarm, to bring attention to Cindy's attempts to meet with the president while he vacations in Crawford, and I believe that Cindy's goal of calling attention to holding the president accountable is exactly in line with our intent, so I'm asking that anyone who has the time please write about Cindy's efforts.

Then MoveOn, picking up the scent of rotting meat, flew in, lining up a two-page spread to bash the President this Sunday in the local paper. An email from "Tom, MoveOn moms Carrie, Marika, and Joan and the entire MoveOn.org Political Action Team" outlined their strategy:

We're asking moms (and dads, siblings, spouses and kids) from all across America to help send a message by signing our letter of support to Cindy.

If we can help Cindy capture the focus of the country for even a couple of days we will sear into the memory of the public the image of the grieving mother -- morally pure reminder of the ultimate reason to end the war: the lost sons and daughters of moms everywhere.

"After yesterday's blog posts, the word is spreading," chimed in former Dean internet guru Joe Trippi:

The Washington Post and the LA Times both ran articles on Cindy today, each of them mentioning the conference call that took place yesterday. The LA Times article even notes that, thanks to all of our blog posts, "Cindy Sheehan was the top ranked search term on Technorati.com.” [Knocked down to #2 as of this posting by something fishy called "Bush Indictment" --ed]

"I want him to quit using my son's death to justify more killing. The only way he can honor my son's death is to bring the troops home," says the bereaved mother, blinded -- by grief? by the need to be the center of attention? -- to both the fact that her son chose to serve his country and the likelihood articulated early and often by the Administration that withdrawing troops now "would send a terrible signal to the enemy," as the President reiterated in response to a reporter's question this afternoon. Fortunately, there are some level heads in the media who understand what this story is really about.  John O'Sullivan of The National Interest on Your World with Neil Cavuto on FOXNews this afternoon:

Eventually the left-wing caravan will move on. Whenever a soldier dies, some will say the war isn't worth it. Others will say the sacrifice must not be thrown away. You must decide whether to continue fighting based upon other grounds.

The rest of the Sheehan family, apparently recognizing a loose canon in their midst, sent an email to Matt Drudge [via Mitch of Shot In The Dark] this afternoon expressing their anguish:

She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect.

Amen.

*Purple prose: Writing that employs certain rhetorical effects such as exaggerated sentiment or pathos in an attempt to manipulate a reader's response.

Update: Animals now boarding the Friday Ark at Modulator.

Comments

[goomp]

If I may sort of paraphrase Mr.Churchill in his statement that democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others, all wars are wrong except not fighting evil is worse. This is realized by the Sheehan family except for the disturbed Cindy.

[Al]

Is she really dishonoring her son? It seems that people know more about Casey than its mother herself that is quite strange for me. Casey was its son, is people realizing what it is? It seems not.

[Donna B.]

Al,
She's using her son, his service, and his death to bring attention to herself.

Even if he thought the war was wrong, her behavior dishonors him and the uniform he chose to wear. It also dishonors every other American in uniform.

I feel very sorry for the rest of the Sheehan family.

[dolphin]

I just don't understand the right's need to attack poor woman. Ok so she doesn't like your God President. She lost her son, and while you might not care one bit about him, you can be sure that she's going through a hard time. IT'S HER SON. I don't understand why that's so difficult for the right to to understand.

All this "Support the troops" lipservice that comes from the right is nonsense if you watch actions. I guess it's "support the troops and run their grieving families through the dirt."

Grow a heart.

[Sissy Willis]

It's the left's cynical manipulation of the grieving mother that bothers me, dolphin. To use your phrase, I would say to them -- both anti-Bush activists and their media fellow travelers -- "Grow a heart."

[Wake Up America]

Amendment I to the Constitution guarantees her right to peaceably assemble and to petition the government with her grievances. Assuming she is being manipulated by the far left is just that, an assumption. Perhaps her assertions should be taken at face value. Accusing her of dishonoring her son or using his death to accelerate a political agenda are disingenuous arguments that can be heard on any far right radio program. By that standard, Megan's Law or the Amber Alert are the exploitation of tragic deaths to further a political agenda. His death is political. The war is political. Tha maniacal rantings on both sides are political. Please tell me what noble cause Dear Leader is promoting as justification this week. Anyone fomenting negative opinion of Ms. Shhehan is also using politics to their advantage. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle. Does anyone else wonder why the magnetic ribbons found on cars throughout this great country state the admonition, "Support the Troops", instead of "I Support the Troops"? Who among us, unlike Ms. Sheehan, her son, and their peers, has had to sacrifice anything for this war? Carpal tunnel syndrome does not count.

[Beth]

I see some of Dan's trolls have found their way over here, OUTRAGED! that someone might actually give Miss Fifteen Minutes something less than zombie-like adulation. How amusing!

Wake up, WUA; I don't suppose you have the same fawning love for the grieving mothers who support the war in Iraq, do you? I suppose those mothers are...chickenhawks? Following orders of "Dear Leader"? Look in the mirror, fool.

[Sissy Willis]

Thanks, Beth. I needed that. :)

[frightwig]

Her "family members" are not in line against Cindy Sheehan. One of the in-law aunts, whom Cindy says barely knew Casey, wrote the letter to Drudge. What a shock, a member of her extended family doesn't share her views! Who ever heard of such a thing?

Cindy is exercising her right as an American citizen to peaceably assemble, and all she cares to do is to hold the President accountable for his statements and actions. Isn't that what all Americans should want from a government that is "for the people and by the people?"

The rest of what you write about MoveOn and the "Dean internet guru..." is just a calculated smokescreen to get rightwingers all riled up by pushing their hot buttons. I'm only surprised you forgot to work in Michael Moore's name somewhere. Maybe you save him only for those choice times when you want the far right to get *really* outraged and donating money.

Right now, there is a woman camping in a ditch in Texas who just wants some straight answers about why her son had to die and where the President intends to lead our country. On the other hand, we have a President who won't meet with her, because he's afraid of facing her or so arrogant that he believes he shouldn't have to listen to citizens with dissenting views. Across the road from Cindy Sheehan and her supporters, which includes military veterans and active servicemembers, there is a handful of people shouting at this mother of a fallen US soldier: "WE DON'T CARE! WE DON'T CARE!"

Are you so sure you know just who is supporting or dishonoring our troops and the ideals of our nation? Between those who want an accountable government and those shouting, "WE DON'T CARE!" which side really appeals to our better human nature?

[Brian]

Cindy Sheehan is a raging lunatic and an avowed anti-semite, a woman who favors the death of millions of Israelis at the hands of Palestinian terrorists.

She and the people who support her are giving willing support to the terrorists who believe that if they just kill enough Americans, the U.S. will cut and run from this fight.

I am an American serviceman, and I have two words for Mother Sheehan - GO AWAY.

[andophiroxia]

It seems that Sheehan and the others in the left don't realize: These people are not kids when they enlist, they do so freely, and they have full knowledge that it is a dangerous job. They just seem hell-bent bleating that we send 'kids' off to war, and they have all but said that the American soldiers are too stupid to make the right choice. They have made their choice. Deal with it!