I love, admire and respect Cindy Sheehan. But lately I have become a little concerned about Cindy.
More on the flip..........
First of all, there were reports on the blogs a few days ago that Cindy threatened Sen. Diane Feinstein that if she didn't support the filibuster that Cindy would challenge her for her Senate seat. I couldn't find any news stories to back up that claim. But I did find an article that says Cindy may challenge Sen. Feinstein because Cindy feels that the Senator supports George Bush and his war policies. Hey go for it Cindy. But Cindy's charges that Sen. Feinstein supports Bush and his war policies are totally inaccurate. An immediate withdrawal is just not possible. I believe we are all in agreement that we would like to see an immediate withdrawal, but realistically it's just not possible. It took time for our troops to get in, and it will take time to get the troops out.
I am not happy about the events surrounding Cindy last evening at the SOTU Address. I feel that she made a spectacle of herself and has hurt her cause somewhat because of the incident in the Capitol.
First of all, the t-shirt. Cindy, you had to have known that the shirt might have been a problem. Now let's suppose she didn't unbutton her jacket for a minute here. The TV cameras would have more than likely picked her out and focused on her briefly. I believe that Cindy just being there would have a sent a powerful message to her supporters and those who do not support the war in Iraq. I also imagine that it might have made Bush feel a little uncomfortable. But Cindy did unbutton her jacket and then the problems started.
Security forces in public places are trained to remove protestors from the area as quickly as possible. The officer here was doing his job. Security people do not know what a protestor is going to do, so they have to act quickly. Mike Weight was doing his job. That was what he was trained to do. The chamber was filled with a lot of very important people, security was tight for that reason. Security people don't have time to figure out if you're a peaceful protestor or a crazed lunatic looking to hurt someone. They don't know what a person might do, they only know what a person is capable of doing. Their job is to subdue the person and remove them as quickly as possible from the area. I do not believe that your First Amendment Rights were violated at all. I think you are being a little overly dramatic here.
Cindy, you should have listened to your inner voice and not have gone to the Capitol last evening. If something about what you are going to do feels uncomfortable, don't do it. Heed your inner voice.
There are some people on the blogs who feel you are maybe getting a little out of control lately, and that you are starting to hurt the cause a little bit. There are some who are thinking that maybe you are getting a little wacko with the fame and all. I think that maybe you don't have the right advisers around you Cindy. Get some smart advisers on your team and keep doing what you were doing, the protests. You have to be smart with the protests these days, to figure out what the best strategies are, what's going to win you more sympathy and further the cause. If you get sidetracked and ignore your inner voice, you'll be a has been in 6 months and people will think you are a nut job and you'll have hurt the cause. Stay true to the cause Cindy.
I know I'll probably get flamed and all that, but this is how I feel about this incident with Cindy.