Bush Supporters Face Off With War Protesters

CRAWFORD, Texas - More than 100 supporters of President Bush held a rally Friday night across the road from the makeshift campsite of anti-war demonstrators, but authorities kept the groups separated and there was little confrontation.

Many of the Bush supporters rode on a bus from Dallas in a trip organized by nationally syndicated conservative radio talk show host Mike Gallagher. They said they wanted to counter the war protest, started last weekend by a grieving mother who set up camp on the road leading to Bush's ranch.

At first, the 100 or so war protesters held a 40-foot banner that read "Support our troops; bring them home now!" Then they sang "God Bless America."

But as Gallagher rallied his spirited, flag-waving group over a bullhorn - and the Bush supporters chanted "USA!" and "Go George go!" - the protesters put down the banner and for the most part ignored the other side. Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, Calif., who started the peace vigil, was not present during the counter-rally. She was resting at the Crawford Peace House.

Robert Pinson, who served in Vietnam in the Army, said he took the three-hour bus ride to Crawford because he believes Bush is protecting the nation and that the troops are heroes.

"I just wanted to show support for my country, since I served and would serve again if I could," said Pinson, 67.

Before the Bush supporters boarded the bus about 30 minutes later, they placed their flags beside rows of white crosses with names of fallen U.S. soldiers. The war protesters erected the crosses, which stretch about two-tenths of a mile down the road.

Sue Niederer, whose son Seth Dvorin died in Iraq last year, said she and other war protesters were glad there were no major confrontations. She said she was touched by one Bush supporter who looked at her, then asked if he could hug her.

"It was a beautiful, beautiful thing," she said. "Even though he may have been a Republican, it didn't matter."

There were a few tense words between the opposing sides in the beginning, as sheriff's deputies steered the Bush supporters in a sunny ditch on - appropriately enough - the right side of the road. The protesters' camp was in the shade, but authorities said the pro-Bush group shouldn't mingle with the other side.

A few Bush supporters arrived on their own earlier Friday and stood at the edge of the site, initially enduring some ridicule by the war opponents.

"Over the last two or three days Cindy Sheehan has been talking about how our president is a murderer and how the war is for no good reason, and I disagree with her," said Thomas F. Zapp, 52, of Richmond, whose 20-year-old son T.J. was killed in Iraq last fall.

Before noon Friday, Bush's motorcade sped by the protesters en route to a fundraiser, but it didn't stop.

It's unclear if Bush, riding in a black Suburban with tinted windows, looked at the demonstrators. One woman said first lady Laura Bush looked out the window at them.

Sheehan held a sign that read: "Why do you make time for donors and not for me?"

Law enforcement agencies blocked two intersecting roads where the protesters have camped out and required them to stand behind yellow tape about 10-15 feet from the main road. No one was asked to leave.

Bush passed the group to and from his neighbor's ranch, where he met about 230 donors at a lunchtime barbecue that was expected to raise at least $2 million for the Republican National Committee.

In the last week, dozens have joined Sheehan, 48, whose 24-year-old son Casey died in Iraq last year. From their makeshift campsite of tents and anti-war banners, they vow to remain until Bush meets with grieving parents or until his monthlong ranch visit ends.

Bush has said that he sympathizes with Sheehan but did not say if he will talk to her. Bush has met with about 900 relatives of 272 U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Sheehan said she wants to hold the president accountable for faulty prewar intelligence that she says led to an unnecessary war.

"I don't want comfort from him," Sheehan said. "I want answers. I want the truth."

On Friday, she released a 60-second television ad running on cable channels in the Crawford area the rest of the month. The $15,000 cost was paid for by Gold Star Families, a group Sheehan co-founded.

Updates from The Lonestar Iconoclast

7:50 p.m. Report — PRO-BUSH GROUP ARRIVES AT CAMP CASEY
Iconoclast's Nathan Diebenow reporting from Camp Casey:
PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF THIS SECTION

A group of about 50 pro-Bush demonstrators from the Metroplex armed with various sizes of American flags, as well as banners and posters, arrived directly across from Camp Casey on county right-of-way around 6:30 p.m. Radio personality Mike Gallagher, who organized the event, led the group in patriotic songs, a prayer, pro-Bush rhetoric, and thankfulness that they could openly express their beliefs in America.

The group, which traveled in a charter bus and several cars, stayed about 30 minutes and departed for Pirate Field in Crawford to see about another rally. There was no suggestion that they were going to camp the night.

The group was comprised of young and old, from elementary-school-age children to World War II veterans. The only time the group had much contact with the supporters of Cindy Sheehan was when it crossed a line of McLennan County Sheriff's Department vehicles to place American flags beside the crosses that were earlier placed in the ground by supporters of Veterans for Peace.

Sheehan's group held up a banner that said, "Support Our Troops, Bring Them Home Now," sang a song, but remained quiet and respectful during all the time Gallagher's people were there.

I asked Mike Gallagher if he was going to place a flag in front of Casey Sheehan's cross at Camp Casey. He said, "We wanted to. But the police said don't go over there, so we are placing flags over by the white crosses."

Lisa Fithian of the United Peace and Justice Organization said,"We're not going to stop it, you know. If they want to bring American flags, they can place American flags.They're honoring those that have died."

Chief Deputy Randy Plemons, after conversing with a supervisor, said, "No one was stopped or told not to go over there and place any flags or anything like that. That was not the case here today."

There were Secret Service present with Sheriff's Department deputies. As I am leaving, there are still at least 50 pro-Sheehan people out here. There are bouquets of flowers beside about 50 of the crosses and there's a ton of crosses lining the side of the road for about a quarter of a mile.

FATHER AND SON PRAY AT PRO-BUSH RALLY — World War II Veteran Bob Rogers of Branson, Mo. and his son, Scott, of Arlington, Texas, pray Friday evening at a pro-Bush, pro-U.S. soldiers rally across Prairie Chapel Road from Camp Casey, a few miles from President Bush’s ranch.
— Iconoclast Photo By Nathan Diebenow

BEATING DALLAS TRAFFIC on a charter bus, nationally syndicated radio talk show host Mike Gallagher (right, carrying the bullhorn) led over 50 people at a pro-Bush rally Friday evening for about 30 minutes near Camp Casey, the site where Cindy Sheehan has held a vigil for the past six days in order to meet with President Bush about the war in Iraq.
— Iconoclast Photo By Nathan Diebenow

MIKE GALLAGHER, a nationally syndicated radio talk show host who reportedly has 3.25 million weekly listeners, said during a pro-Bush rally near Crawford that he would have liked to place a flag in remembrance of Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, the late son of Cindy Sheehan who died in Iraq, but the police suggested he not do so. A spokesman for the McLennan County Sheriff’s Deparment said that no such suggestion was made and that each member of Gallagher’s group had access to every memorial cross in the area.
— Iconoclast Photo By Nathan Diebenow

OVER 50 SUPPORTERS OF PRESIDENT BUSH came out Friday evening from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex across from Camp Casey, the site where Cindy Sheehan has held a vigil for the past six days in order to meet with President Bush about the war in Iraq.
— Iconoclast Photo By Nathan Diebenow

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.