Posted on 08/10/2005 5:26:36 PM PDT by kristinn
In her fifth day quietly camping out on a road near President Bush's ranch, a grieving mother protesting the war that took her son's life has captured the nation's attention.
Cindy Sheehan's simple vigil has pulled at many people's heartstrings and stirred anger in others, symbolizing the country's divided opinion of the war in Iraq.
Dozens from across the country have started to camp out with her, pitching tents in muddy ditches and hanging anti-war banners; others have sent flowers. One activist called her "the Rosa Parks of the anti-war movement." Her name was among the most popular search topics Wednesday on Internet blogs.
The soft-spoken Sheehan, 48, of Vacaville, Calif., said she is surprised at the overwhelming response - most of it positive, she said - but that people upset over the war just want their voices heard.
"Before my son was killed, I used to think that one person could not make a difference," she said Wednesday under a tent where she has slept since arriving Saturday. "But one person that is surrounded and supported by millions of people can be heard."
But Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the Washington, D.C., chapter of FreeRepublic.com, which has held pro-troop rallies since Sept. 11 and counter-protests of anti-war demonstrations, said Sheehan's protest is misguided and is hurting troop morale.
"She has a political agenda that goes way beyond her son's death in combat," Taylor said.
On Saturday two high-level Bush administration officials, the national security adviser and deputy White House chief of staff, talked to Sheehan. But she called the 20-minute meeting "pointless" and still wants to talk to the president, vowing to remain until his stay at the ranch ends later this month.
Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in Sadr City, Iraq, in April 2004 just five days after he arrived. He was the oldest of four children. His two younger sisters and brother, ages 19 to 24, are devastated and miss his laid-back personality, humor and uncanny laugh, Sheehan said.
After his death, among his belongings she received was his unfinished letter, saying he was looking forward to a smooth year of service. He didn't agree with the war, Sheehan said.
"I begged him not to go," she said through tears. "I said, 'I'll take you to Canada' ... but he said, 'Mom, I have to go. It's my duty. My buddies are going.' "
She said she is upset that various government and independent commission reports have since disputed the Bush administration's claims that Saddam Hussein had mass-killing chemical and biological weapons - a main justification for the March 2003 invasion.
Sheehan, a former Catholic youth minister, formed a group called Gold Star Families For Peace earlier this year and has spoken out against the war across the nation and overseas. She usually stays and eats meals with those who organize her speeches, but she has been using her son's insurance money for living expenses.
Judith Young, national president of similarly named The American Gold Star Mothers of America, Inc., said she is concerned that the public will mistake her 76-year-old Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization with Sheehan's group.
Young's group, commonly known as Gold Star Moms, arranges for mothers whose children died in the line of duty to volunteer in veterans' hospitals and programs. Members are all mothers, mostly between 60 and 80 years old, and they don't do advocacy work, Young said.
At Sheehan's makeshift camp off the two-lane, winding road leading to Bush's ranch, she has spent the past several days in the rain talking to scores of reporters, hugging fellow protesters and taking brief breaks to eat sandwiches and fruit brought by supporters.
Many decided to go to Crawford because of rumors that Sheehan would be arrested this week. But no protesters will be arrested unless they trespass on private property or block the road, said Capt. Kenneth Vanek of the McLennan County Sheriff's Office.
Trucker Craig Delaney, 53, was in Georgia on Monday when he heard numerous radio shows discussing Sheehan - some criticizing her. He altered his route to California, heading for Texas, and got to Sheehan's site Wednesday morning.
"I felt compelled to come and tell her I support her," said Delaney, a self-described hippie from Sly Park, Calif. "The way they were badmouthing a mother whose son was killed in the war is un-American."
Nearly 40 Democratic members of Congress have asked Bush to talk to Sheehan. And on Wednesday, a coalition of anti-war groups in Washington called on Bush to speak with Sheehan, who they say has helped to unify the peace movement.
"Cindy Sheehan has become the Rosa Parks of the anti-war movement," said Rev. Lennox Yearwood, leader of the Hip Hop Caucus, an activist group. "She's tired, fed up and she's not going to take it anymore, and so now we stand with her."
Thank you, Kristinn.
Oh please! Rosa Parks was a brave woman and not suffering from a breakdown. Big difference. Watching this woman rant is like watching the media film a slow motion fatal traffic accident. They love the blood, gore, guts and loss of human life.
Hey---its August and Congress is on recess....
WE Freepers need entertainment also....I will admit that I have payed a lot more attention to this than I would if the Senate were in session...or there was something else...
AND, actually, I have been much more interested today in the new revelations about what the intelligence community had during Clinton's Administration regarding al-queda..
therefore, I am spending less time on this...
I AM GUILTY...I confess, of paying too much attention, BUT, it is still better than Natalee Aruba, doncha think?
God works in mysterious ways, it's been storming and raining like crazy for the past week and Cindy is more than likely a drowned rat or should be.
Sleeping outside in the summertime in Texas is not a good idea. After a few days the chiggar bites will start to itch. The itching won't stop for a couple of weeks. When the fire ants bite you are aware of that right away. It's so hot, even at night, that you can hardly breathe. I give her another couple of days before she gives it up and goes home. If she breaks the law they need to put her butt in jail.
" Bill O'Reilly had her clone on tonight, and she made me just as mad as La Sheehan has!!!!"
Me, too.
The spectacle that these mothers are making of themselves is unseemly.
They spend most of their time trashing President Bush and very little discussing and honoring their sons.
They never say how proud they were of their sons or even come close to choking up or shedding a tear.
They insinuate that their sons were duped into joining the military , which further dishonors their memory.
O'Reilly's guest tonight ( who wasted part of her segment trashing her ex husband and his present wife for taking up " her " time at the condolence meeting ) thought that Saddam should have been removed during the first Gulf War.
But, since we missed the window, Saddam should have gotten a pass this time around.
I guess that's like saying since we didn't get Osama in the 90's, we shouldn't get him now.
She came close to accusing President Bush of assaulting her when she was alone with him in " the booth," as she sneeringly described it, but, O'R called her on that.
The sons deserve to be remembered with dignity and honor , it's sad that these two mothers are acting like nothing more than political hacks.
" Bill O'Reilly had her clone on tonight, and she made me just as mad as La Sheehan has!!!!"
Me, too.
The spectacle that these mothers are making of themselves is unseemly.
They spend most of their time trashing President Bush and very little discussing and honoring their sons.
They never say how proud they were of their sons or even come close to choking up or shedding a tear.
They insinuate that their sons were duped into joining the military , which further dishonors their memory.
O'Reilly's guest tonight ( who wasted part of her segment trashing her ex husband and his present wife for taking up " her " time at the condolence meeting ) thought that Saddam should have been removed during the first Gulf War.
But, since we missed the window, Saddam should have gotten a pass this time around.
I guess that's like saying since we didn't get Osama in the 90's, we shouldn't get him now.
She came close to accusing President Bush of assaulting her when she was alone with him in " the booth," as she sneeringly described it, but, O'R called her on that.
The sons deserve to be remembered with dignity and honor , it's sad that these two mothers are acting like nothing more than political hacks.
Thank you!
I'll take you to Canada?
I feel sorry for her. She's lost it.
Her son volunteered
:-)
Sheehan reminds me of Rachael Corrie.
President has sneaked out of Crawford before. It would chap the Libs to no end if he did so now and went to Kennebunkport.
Or if he went to Baghdad again. Wouldn't that frost Miz Cindy's cookies!
LOL! Now that would be funny!
What an insult to Miss Rosa Parks to be compared to this witless twit Sheehan!
Way to go Kristinn. Next we'll have to get a secret handshake...or buttshake. LOL
Ummmm....that analogy....
Soros wouldn't put her up? She should have stayed at a Holiday Inn. Not as much media shock value, I guess...
BTW, what's the progress on the hunger strike?
Thanks for your service...tell the rest I said so as well.
"...quietly?"
As in what? She's not setting off grenades?
The media exploitation by her and of her has been unavoidable!
Quietly? Like hell.
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