Saturday, August 13, 2005

The face of the right-wing

This is another one of those moments when I wish more actual right-wingers read this blog. Because, I'd like to be able to ask someone...seriously...how can you possibly sit still for this?













That's a picture of conservative radio host Mike Gallagher, who has four sons of military age, none of whom are serving. He's leading a counter-protest against Cindy Sheehan. Just to refresh your memory as to who that is, and why she's doing what she's doing, here are a few words from Ms. Sheehan herself:

People have asked what it is I want to say to President Bush. Well, my message is a simple one. He’s said that my son—and the other children we’ve lost—died for a noble cause. I want to find out what that noble cause is. And I want to ask him: “If it’s such a noble cause, have you asked your daughters to enlist? Have you encouraged them to go take the place of soldiers who are on their third tour of duty?” I also want him to stop using my son’s name to justify the war. The idea that we have to “complete the mission” in Iraq to honor Casey’s sacrifice is, to me, a sacrilege to my son’s name. Besides, does the president any longer even know what “the mission” really is over there?

Casey knew that the war was wrong from the beginning. But he felt it was his duty to go, that his buddies were going, and that he had no choice. The people who send our young, honorable, brave soldiers to die in this war, have no skin in the game. They don’t have any loved ones in harm’s way. As for people like O’Reilly and Hannity and Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh and all the others who are attacking me and parroting the administration line that we must complete the mission there—they don’t have one thing at stake. They don’t suffer through sleepless nights worrying about their loved ones.



Mike Gallagher and his group or right-wing goons are chanting "we don't care" at this woman.

Let me make that absolutely clear. A group of conservative republicans are mocking a mother who lost her son in war. I want just one person to look me in the eye and tell me that is defensible on any level whatsoever.

1 comment:

Ben Varkentine said...

There's an episode of The West Wing in which one of the staffers (Josh) is debating gay mrriage with a congressman...who happens to be gay himself. It contains a line that I'm sure all Democrats have wanted to ask their republican friends at some time: "How can you be a member of this party?"

It is getting harder and harder for me to understand how even people who agree with the "traditional" conservative ideas can stay with the modern republican party.

My friend Moya, who was a Republican, has recently changed her registration because she just can't take it any more...