Grieving Mom or Far-Left Extremist?

Cindy Sheehan still has my sympathy for the loss of her son Casey. Nothing she says can change that. As a mother, as a human being, I am sorry for the pain she is experiencing because Casey was killed. I grieve for her as I do for all the parents who have lost children in the war.

However--

Sheehan is looking less like a grieving mom and more like a partisan shill.

She's on board with Michael Moore.

She is Code Pink's poster child.

Byron York gives a glimpse into the depth of Sheehan's extremism.

"This is something that can't be ignored," Sheehan said during a conference call with bloggers representing sites like democrats.com, codepink4peace.org, and crooksandliars.com. "They can't ignore us, and they can't put us down. Thank God for the Internet, or we wouldn't know anything, and we would already be a fascist state."

"Our government is run by one party, every level," Sheehan continued, "and the mainstream media is a propaganda tool for the government." Sheehan also called the 2004 presidential election "the election, quote-unquote, that happened in November."

The conference call was moderated by Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, who managed former Vermont governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign in 2003 and 2004. It was also organized by another Democratic strategist, Bob Fertik of democrats.com. (During the conference, Fertik said that for the purposes of the call, he was representing yet another website, the antiwar site afterdowningstreet.com.) Finally, Jodie Evans of the anti-war group Code Pink also took part in running the sometimes-chaotic call. Trippi has posted a recording of the call on his own website, joetrippi.com

Also taking part in the call was Illinois Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a frequent participant in progressive political conferences and anti-war events. Schakowsky took part in an unofficial Democratic hearing on the Downing Street Memo conducted last June in Washington. Sheehan testified at that hearing, giving a painful and moving account of seeing her son in his coffin.

Now, Sheehan has a TV ad to promote herself and her protest, paid for by Gold Star Families for Peace.

It plans to air the ad on Crawford cable channels and in places Bush visits during his WORKING vacation. The total ad buy is currently $15,000.

Raw Story provides a transcript. (All grammatical and spelling errors are their responsibility.)

AD TRANSCRIPT:

:60

Cindy Sheehan speaking to President Bush

Mr. President, My name is Cindy Sheehan. On April 24, 2004 my son was killed in Iraq.

He was only 24 and he died in his best friend’s arms. Casey was so good and so honest why can’t you be honest with us?

You were wrong about the weapons of mass destruction-you were wrong about the link between Iraq and Al Queda—you lied to us and because of your lies my son died.

Mr. President I want to tell you face to face how much this hurts. I love my country, but how many more of our loved ones need to die in this senseless war? How many more soldiers have to die before we say enough?

I know you can’t bring Casey back, but it’s time to admit mistakes and bring out troops home now.

I agree with Cherie Quarterolo, Casey Sheehan's aunt and godmother. Cindy Sheehan "appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the the expense of her son's good name and reputation."

Cindy Sheehan said, "Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel."

Her statements are becoming more and more rabid. This comment gets awfully close to being anti-Semitic.

Sheehan appears drunk from all the media attention she has lapped up. She seems to be feeding off of the radical Leftist groups that are cheering her on. She seems to be making controversial statements for the sake of controversy.

I wonder what Casey would think?

Although earlier I had said it would be a smart move for the President to speak to her to end this media circus in Crawford, I've changed my mind. It would be a mistake. Bush met with her in 2004. The United States National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and deputy White House chief of staff Joe Hagin met with her last Saturday.

The President's time would be better spent meeting with other parents of the fallen.

I have also said that the media was exploiting Sheehan. While I still think that's the case, I now believe that she is using the media for her own aggrandizement.

The really sad thing is that while Sheehan is disgracing herself, she is disgracing Casey and our troops by belittling their noble mission.

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

--Abraham Lincoln