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."
Must have been raised by his father.
"but she has been using her son's insurance money for living expenses. "
She really is a vulture.
She is afterall, "riding on the back of the bus*". (* = Michael Moore)
Thank you for your support...I will tell the Wounded Warriors...I leave next week for 4 months to Ramstien Germany, to help bring them home. They are truly remarkable men, they have character that has been lost by many in our society. They have learned that freedom isn't free. I see much hope in these Heroes........
To my knowledge, neither moore nor fonda lost a child, so I do feel sorry for her for that and the fact that because she hasn't been able to deal with her grief, she has been able to be taken advantage of by the likes of moore and fonda. She just doesn't realize it, imo. These people have become her "new" family, while her true family is left behind. And, her "new" family will dump her when she is no longer useful to them and their agenda. It angers me that the more these new family members support her (for the moment), the more outrageous and unstable her statements are...and they egg her on. Not for her or her son, but for themselves.
Exactly! She thinks the media is supporting her. They just want some action, and if they have to tell her they support her to get her to crack on camera, they will.
The "Rosa Parks" of the peace movement? She wasn't at the back of the bus. She was already seen by the president. I hate to say it but she is rather becoming the Coretta Scott King of the peace movement, gaining and seeking to retain celebrity based on the death of a family member.
And if you don't believe her, just ask her, she'll tell you.
I guess AP "reporters" are pretty credulous...
"hundreds of thousands". That's what tipped her hand, finally.
Just as the MSM playing up the "Sheehan just wants to talk to President Bush" angle, while suppressing the fact that she's already taked to him, they're going to try to pin the pre-9/11 intelligence failure on the Bush Administration.
I've been out of the loop and have been only sneaking glances at the headlines, and this is the way it's being presented, even by FOXNews.
Their little games never end...
This woman is seriously mentally ill.
What I wouldn't give to get my picture taken in front of that ridiculous sign, wearing a Club Gitmo t-shirt.
I'm as sick of this woman as I am of the Jersey girls. Enough is enough. She has made this about her not her son. She is using the death of her son to promote her hate for President Bush and for her left wing political agenda. Besides the fact that she is a liar and associated with Michael Moore.
And then, of course, there's her personal agenda. As she wrote today: "Again, I did tons of interviews. It looks like I will be on the cover of People Magazine. Time Magazine, Vanity Fair and Oprah's magazine will be interviewing me also."
Kind of tells you all you need to know.
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