Backlash

In reading some of the obviously manufactured and ginned up commentary supporting the unwilling American Cindy Sheehan, a pattern is becoming clear…The over the top defense of the woman by every leftist that can draw breath is getting a response they didn’t expect:

Backlash.

Everywhere you turn, both Sheenan and her defenders are being seriously challenged by Joe Everyman. This weekend as an example, there’s a large number of supporters of President Bush, and the war in Iraq, headed to Crawford Texas to counter the ‘peace movement’ camped along the roads there.

This backlash, of course, is exactly the opposite of the intended effect.  However, as time goes on it becomes increasingly clear that rather than raising support for their ostensibly antiwar causes they are instead causing something they didn’t expect; a tidal wave of support for the President and our actions in the middle east.

You can feel the confusion pouring off these people like sweat in the hot Texas sun..  The hundreds of the pro war protesters that showed up down and Crawford has until now gone under reported in the mainstream press.  But clearly they are attracting the attention of Bloggers, Talk shows, and in the ultimate sense the man on the street. And now, this weekend their numbers are set to increase.

This fact alone it seems is understandably causing great concern with Sheenan and her followers. Questions from Mr. Bush’s supporters, such as… “What about gold star mothers who support the war? Shouldn’t they have always has been heard? ” …while seemingly mild and unchallenging questions do in fact, to the heart of the matter for Saint Cindy and company. A lot of other people have lost sons and daughters in this war too. But Ms. Sheehan’s reaction was singularly bad…. at least it was once MOVEON got a hold of her.

Yes, it’s true, there are claims that Sheehan’s “cause” has been taken over by radical elements of the left.  Yet, I don’t see her going to any great lengths to distance herself from their spouting. Indeed, the people who have supposedly taken over her cause at Crawford, and elsewhere, are singing exactly the same song as she herself did, for years, before her son became a statistic.

Perhaps, just perhaps, her desire for this separation is because she’s begun to see the intellectual dishonesty inherent in her position, by virtue of the nature of support she’s picked up.  Not that she’d ever admit it, mind you, but I suspect that the desire for separation of Ms. Sheehan from her supporters is a mere public relations ploy.

Saint Cindy now finds herself in a position where her family and friends are backing off of her like one with a suicide bomber, even her husband divorced her, because of her actions, her mother suffered a stroke just recently… one can easily aver that the cause was the stress brought on by her idiot daughter… she now finds herself in the position of her only supporters are people which she doesn’t like very much.  She’s noted that they’re hurting her (recently) stated cause on the national stage.

The odd part is, and I say recently, because it’s been until very recently she has been very vocal about her positions being directly in line with those radical leftists who she now seeks to separate herself from. She’s been singing their tune for over a decade, now.  One can only surmise that the reason for the recent desire for separation is because Saint Cindy is now finding out just how unpopular those positions have always been.

Do not misunderstand my comments.  The woman has lost a son.  That can never be easy.  However: she games no moral authority from this incident.  Indeed her handling of that lessens her moral stature.  Her mishandling is clearly driven by her misbegotten politics.  In the end, Casey Sheehan but he was doing the right thing, and thought his sacrifice worth it. I will not debate his wisdom here. Put another way I will not call him a dummy, as his mother seems willing to do. That constitutes a flat disrespect not only for her son’s sacrifice, but also what he sacrificed for… namely, this country.  My sympathy for her and her plight ends precisely at the transition. My sympathy disappears further still when it is so blatantly obvious that she is taking cues from animals who were loudly calling her son a murderer just for being in Iraq in uniform before his death. One can only assume given her a long history of fighting for radical leftist causes, that her son’s death is being used to provide her a larger stage from which to preach. This is not a grieving mother being unhinged by sadness and loss. This is a grasping, greedy, opportunistic woman disgracing her son and his sacrifice and in so doing disgracing herself.

Sheenan has since her meeting with the move on people and the DNC reps has been trumpeting loud and long about the sacrifice that she has made. The fact is, the woman has made no sacrifice whatsoever. Consider the meeting of the word “sacrifice”.

sac·ri·fice n.1.1. The act of offering something to a deity in propitiation or homage, especially the ritual slaughter of an animal or a person.2. A victim offered in this way.2.1. Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

A sacrifice, then, by its very definition, is an offering given willingly, and freely. Clearly, by her post MOVEON changed reaction, what Sheehan did, became nothing of the sort. Was this a willing gift, thanking her would be needful. The current situation, however, is that there is only one person to thank; Her son.And, thinking on it, her son particularly is deserving of thanks… Think; It’s not often that a son, growing up under such a mother will be mature enough to make such a choice. A rare one, this, and worthy of an added level of respect, I think.

I do not question Ms Sheehan’s right to speak as she will. By the same token I and all other Americans have the right to call her a blithering idiot, a trader to her country and to her son’s memory.

I for one, will continue to exercise that right to the fullest.

Update:
Feeds from Crawford from CNS Free Republic Protest Warrior and I’m sure more before this post hits the wire.