Dialogue or Diatribe?

When we first started seeing the image of Cindy Sheehan setting up camp in Texas sun, like many other Americans, went out to her. Her was a grieving mother who was just wanting to talk to the President. It sounded so innocent that you couldn't help but agree. People felt inclined not to criticize her, and those who did were considered callous. Maybe her vigil would open a much needed debate into how we should be conducting this war and when to pull out.

And then Ms. Sheehan started opening her mouth.

The more that you hear from the California woman, the more shrill she sounds. She talks about having the President "listen" to her and then calls the man a murderer and a terrorist. She says the President killed her son forgetting that her son chose to be in the Army and put himself in harm's way.

Just before Ms. Sheehan headed to Crawford, she addressed the

Veterans for Peace at a meeting in Dallas. It's an interesting portrait of what Ms. Sheehan thinks. Here are a few excerpts:

But do you guys remember back in March when we were having our 2nd year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq which was pre-empted by Terry Schiavo, so that's all that was on the news, not 5,000 of us in Fayetteville, Wolf Blitzer said it was insignificant, but they put Terry Schiavo on, and I wrote something then called The Amazing Hypocrites and I asked why does she deserve life more than my son, and the Iraqi people? And more than the other people that this war has killed.

But do you think George Bush will interrupt his vacation and go visit the families of those 20 marines that have died in Ohio this week? No, because he doesn't care, he doesn't have a heart. That's not enough to stop his little playing cowboy' game in Crawford for 5 weeks.

Doesn't sound like a woman that wants to "talk" to the President.

So, as many of you have heard, and I didn't mean to cause any problems with the convention, but I was writing an email to everybody, and I was so mad, like I said, and I just had this brainstorm, I'm going to Dallas, I don't know where Crawford is. I've been in Texas, Casey was stationed at Fort Hood. I drove from northern California to Fort Hood one time, it took like, 30 hours. And I thought, I could be driving for days to get from Dallas to Crawford!

But I don't care, I'm goin'. And I'm gonna tell them, "You get that evil maniac out here, cuz a Gold Star Mother, somebody who's blood is on his hands, has some questions for him."

And I'm gonna say, "OK, listen here, George. #1, you quit, and I demand, every time you get out there and say you're going to continue the killing in Iraq to honor the fallen heroes by continuing the mission; you say, except Casey Sheehan.'"

"And you say except for all the members of Goldstar Families for Peace' cuz we think not one drop of blood should be spilled in our families' names. You quit doing that. You don't have my permission."

And I'm gonna say, "And you tell me, what the noble cause is that my son died for." And if he even starts to say freedom and democracy' I'm gonna say, bullshit.

You tell me the truth. You tell me that my son died for oil. You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich. You tell me my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East. You tell me that, you don't tell me my son died for freedom and democracy.'

Cuz, we're not freer. You're taking away our freedoms. The Iraqi people aren't freer, they're much worse off than before you meddled in their country.

You get America out of Iraq, you get Israel out of Palestine.

If this was for oil, I don't think we'd all be paying close to $3 a gallon.

Sheehan presented herself as a mainstream Mom, but in reality, she is part of the far left that has as disturbing a world view as the far right.


We need a good discussion about how to deal with Iraq, but Ms. Sheehan's remarks do nothing to move this discussion forward. The scene in Crawford with Ms. Sheehan and her supporters on one side and Bush supporters on the other is just more of the same: the extremes yelling at each other and not coming up with any ideas to solve this problem.

Ms. Sheehan could have helped us all talk about how we can help Iraq and also set a time table for a withdrawl. We are not having that discussion right now. I want that discussion. Instead, she has joined the voices of the shrill. You lost me, Ms. Sheehan and maybe many others.

Charging RINO has an excellent post on the same topic.