Patterico's Pontifications

8/20/2005

Power Line on Cindy Sheehan

Filed under: Current Events,Sheehan,War — Patterico @ 12:05 am



Power Line’s John Hinderaker says of Cindy Sheehan:

As time goes by, and people learn more about Sheehan–e.g., her anti-Americanism, and the fact that she was so fervently anti-war BEFORE her son enlisted that she vowed to run him down with her car if he joined up–her ratings will no doubt slide further.

Does anyone have any idea what he’s talking about? I have e-mailed him to ask . . .

UPDATE: Thanks to commenter Jeff, who points to this link, which quotes Cindy Sheehan as follows:

I begged Casey not to go. I told him I would take him to Canada. I told him I would run over him with a car, anything to get him not to go to that immoral war. And he said, “Mom, I wish I didn’t have to, but I have to go.”

I think it’s a mistake for Hinderaker to highlight this quote, which — though it does express her view that the war is immoral — would nevertheless arouse only sympathy among most Americans. It sounds like a mom terrified for her son’s life.

19 Responses to “Power Line on Cindy Sheehan”

  1. I have seen references to this too but I am not sure of the source. Apparently she said she would send him to Canada to not enlist or go to war, but also said she would run him over with the car so he would be medically unfit to serve. Something to that effect.

    jeff (88f11e)

  2. Try this:

    http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/29/1434216

    “I told him I would take him to Canada. I told him I would run over him with a car, anything to get him not to go to that immoral war.”

    Sorry, I am new to this and not sure how to make it a hot link.

    jeff (88f11e)

  3. This would appear to have occurred before his deployment, not before he enlisted.

    Ace had a riff on this too.

    jeff (88f11e)

  4. 1. Cindy Sheehan is the gift that keeps giving. Give her the microphone. Make her an anchoress at CNN Mon-Wed-Fri, and MSNBC on Tue-Thursday. What the heck, she can do the weekend shows on Air America.

    2. Send your favorite Senator a one-way ticket to “Camp Casey” for a photo-op with Sheehan. Then sit back and watch their poll numbers plummet.

    3.
    “Court Restrained Cindy Sheehan From Camping Outside Her Home During Divorce (Part 1)”

    Her husband checked out the “Political Insanity” [box] as the reason for the divorce. Poor man.

    4.
    “Cindy Sheehan To Assess Zionist Doctors And Pres. Bush’s Reckless Health Care Policies (Part 2)”

    While visiting her mom at the hospital, the woman needs to be checked out for mental illness or use of hallucinogens.

    5. Sheehan turned one Democratic blogger – Scott Randolph into a Repuclian.


    “Cindy Sealed The Deal”

    I meant to say one honest blogger who admitted!

    My site is workplace friendly. (smile)

    David (03f14c)

  5. Hinderaker screwed up. His entry links to the same Democracy Now entry that Jeff linked to. It’s clear this was a desperate offer to keep Casey out of Iraq, not a threat to keep him from enlisting (or re-enlisting) in the first (or second) place

    Xrlq (ca1ad5)

  6. it’s none of our business what she claims her conversation was with her kid…we need to replace the news anchors with grief counselors if the sponsors are going to continue to buy airtime during these emotional pornography sessions…

    Stan (00c113)

  7. I don’t know, I’m a mother, and that quote doesn’t make me sympathetic. She’s talking to her 24 year old adult son, one who did not enlist in the first place until he was 21, and who recently reenlisted, and she’s saying things like “I’ll *take* you to Canada?” Like if he wanted to, he couldn’t go for himself? “I’ll hit you with the car?” She sounds like she’s talking to a child, a child she may love but does not have much respect for. She sounds demeaning.
    But then, I’ve been thinking for a few days that the person she’s really furious with is her son Casey, for growing up and going off without her permission.

    DeputyHeadmistress (e71725)

  8. It seems to me that all the quote from Cindy reveals is (1) her love of her son and (2) her hatred of the war. Clearly she is passionate about both, and the death of her son not only increased her hatred of the war but possibly has also stalled out the normal process of grieving.

    David Chiriboga (8c9613)

  9. I think that’s right, David.

    Patterico (756436)

  10. begged Casey not to go. I told him I would take him to Canada. I told him I would run over him with a car, anything to get him not to go to that immoral war. And he said, “Mom, I wish I didn’t have to, but I have to go.”

    I think it’s a mistake for Hinderaker to highlight this quote, which — though it does express her view that the war is immoral — would nevertheless arouse only sympathy among most Americans. It sounds like a mom terrified for her son’s life.

    I don’t think its a mistake at all! Its a very revealing insight. “I told him I would take him to Canada”.? Run him over with a car to give him a debilitating injury? These are things that Viet Nam era anti war protesters used to do to get out of the DRAFT! There is no draft. Cindy is psychologically “stuck in the sixties”. Casey’s saying, ” mom I have to go” was a moral imperative he felt. He was trying to make his self centered, infantile, mom understand. The heroic young man enlisted in the Army, did his hitch and reenlisted. He chose to go to Iraq and chose to fight because he knew it was right. Contrast Casey’s moral imperative with his mom’s, avoid service any way you can. The contrast couldn’t be more stark. Also contrast how the left picks her as the “hero” and vilifies Casey’s choice to serve, while the right truly understands Casey is the hero directly because of his choice. This quote should appear on Fox, and Rush.

    bob stowell (adfac7)

  11. He chose to go to Iraq and chose to fight because he knew it was right.

    Perhaps, although Cindy Sheehan disputes that, and says it was out of loyalty to his buddies. I haven’t served in the military, but from what I’ve read, such feelings of loyalty are very important, and often take precedence over feelings about whether the overall fight is worth it.

    Patterico (756436)

  12. I think this says it all:

    From the Conference Call Transcript:

    http://www.kansascity.com/multimedia/kansascity/archive/opinion/Sheehan_transcript.pdf

    “And we’re not going to stop until our troops are brought home from Iraq. And we’re not going to stop their either. We’re going to join force and we’re going to make this country — we’re going to just transform this country from a country that always supports war and killing to a country that is at peace.

    And we’re going to have a peaceful paradigm in this country. Because we are a good country and we should be leading the world in peace making not killing. You know the other day George Bush said that we’re goint to stay in Iraq to spread Peace.

    Well I have news for him you don’t spread peace by killing people — you spread more violence. And you — and you — you recruit more terrorists and that’s got to stop. And we’re going to make sure that it does stop. And this is just the beginning — like I said.

    … [Responding to Ron Brownstein of the LAT question on Dem bills withdrawing at a later date would be sufficient for her, she responds no and adds]

    This is going to be an eternal war of the imperialism fought in the Middle East. And our unborn babies — Melanie’s little boy could be fighting this war. And we want it to stop now.

    Paul Mulshein of the Star Ledger of New Jersey: I know your son was
    killed by members of a militia loyal to Moqtada Al Sadir, the Shiite
    fundamentalist. And he know seems to be quite happy about the way things
    are turning out. He seems to be happy that the Shiites are essentially going to
    prosper under the new constitution.

    So in light of all this talk about terrorists attacking us, how do you feel that
    your son, having been killed by a group that is now going to ascend to power
    courtesy of the Bush administration?

    Cindy Sheehan: Well I believe that my son was killed by the policies of George Bush, you know, that none of those kids should be in Iraq at all. You know, we shouldn’t have been there in the first place. We shouldn’t be staying there. And I feel like we have been, you know, we’re over there and we need to come home.
    We need to let the people of Iraq handle their own business. We need to let
    them rebuild (unintelligible). We do not need a military presence in there to
    continue that at all.

    The person who killed my son, I have no animosity for that person at all. You
    know, I many Iraqi mothers who have been destroyed by our invasion and
    occupation which is illegal and immoral what we are doing over there. I have
    no animosity towards that person. I don’t believe that we should be
    (unintelligible).

    Mulshein: And how about the Al Sadir, personally the fact that he sort of is now part of the group that’s more or less being supported after having attacked the US?

    Sheehan: Well, you know, a lot of very awful things are happening in Iraq. And I have to tell you for the past 10 or 12 days I have not been up on events that are
    going on. So I really can’t speak to that right now. I’d have to really look at it
    and research that to really find out what you’re talking about.

    Jim Rockford (e09923)

  13. I’d say it sounds like an over-protective moonbat who won’t let her kids make their own choices…

    Leigh (3af625)

  14. I’m a conservative, and I’ve opposed the Iraq war, both as an initial proposition and as to the manner in which the war has been prosecuted.

    However, I would never align myself with Mrs. Sheehan, her “arguments,” or those who exploit her.

    Foreign policy is not set by emotion, no matter how genuine or heartfelt. It is presumably set by reason, the collective good, and national self-interest.

    How many grieving mothers are there who have survived the losses of the Cole attack, or the African embassy bombings, or the Khobar towers attack, or the Beirut barracks attack, or the attack on the Pentagon, or the 1993 WTC attack, or the attack on the World Trade Center, or Flight 93?

    And how much media time have these mothers received?

    The transparency and shamelessness of the manipulation of Mrs. Sheehan and her “case” is stunning. The willingness of Mrs. Sheehan to be manipulated and exploited is, I think, irrelevant.

    But, given what I know, and the track record of public discourse in this country, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

    But I always am.

    Mark D (0f4734)

  15. One footnote:

    It seems that, in the eyes of our media masters, one does not fully qualify as a “grieving mother,” worthy of time on our airwaves, unless …………..

    You fill in the blank.

    Also keep in mind who does NOT qualify. For example, a grieving mother who supported her child’s decision of a military career and supports our nation’s effort in Iraq is INVISIBLE. Such mothers don’t exist. Our media simply doesn’t see them.

    Mark D (0f4734)

  16. I’m starting to see a son who enlisted and then re-enlisted to get away from a mother who had an unhealthy desire to keep him tied to her apron like three-year-old.

    homebru (e9c247)

  17. ‘And he said, “Mom, I wish I didn’t have to, but I have to go.”’

    hadn’t heard this one before.

    actus (a5f574)

  18. Alright so no chemical or biological weapons have been found so far, that does not change the fact that Saddam had used them in the past on Iran and his own people. My opinion as a soldier is that saddam consistently snubbed his nose at the U.N. ignored declaration after declaration and has the distinction of being the world’s worst polluter. So there were no weapons of mass destruction lets not forget about the mass graves that were filled with victims of his reign. I hardly think that the invasion of Iraq can be considered as immoral. Appeasement can only result in more suffering; history has shown the results of appeasement.
    The case Sheehan makes about her son is a flawed one and it is doubtful that Spc. Sheehan felt the invasion of Iraq was unjust many of the statements she has made are filled with half truths and omissions such as he had re-enlisted in the military, and had also volunteered for Deployment? Perhaps she couldn’t find her car keys. Any mother who would harm her child over politics is in dire need of counseling. Why couldn’t she stop him from enlisting Twice? What could possibly have motivated him to do that? What did he tell her about the war when she spoke with him? Was he in reality against the entire establishment as claimed by his mother or is it something all together different, well? The actions of Spc. Sheehan paint a different picture instead of an anti-establishment protestor he was in reality a soldier who put the needs of the army and his nation above his own. The warrior Ethos compels soldiers to fight through any and all conditions to victory no matter how much effort is required. It is the soldier’s selfless commitment to the nation, mission, unit, and fellow soldiers. It is the professional attitude that inspires every American soldier. Warrior Ethos is grounded in refusal to accept failure. It is developed and sustained through discipline, commitment to the Army values, and pride in the Army’s heritage. But this is just one soldiers opinion.

    Thomas Bourland (2b3643)


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