What is Peaceful, or Motherly, About the 'Peace Mom'?

When your son’s death is your claim to fame, then at the very least red flags should start going up. When you gain your popularity through ardent opposition of what your son gave his life fighting for, then it is no longer simply a flag – it is a blatant insult and an abuse of a hero’s memory.

Not many people are capable of disrespecting their son’s sacrifices like Cindy Sheehan has. Surely many members of the over 2,000 families that have suffered losses in Iraq have strong reservations about the war in that country, but they do not utilize the blood of their relatives to author books, speak to the cameras or gain national attention. Cindy Sheehan is not an example of a soldier’s mom, or even that of a “peace mom”. She is the exception.

Cindy Sheehan is not peaceful, and only arguably a mother. Labeling the savages that killed her son and that continue to slaughter Iraqi children “freedom fighters,” she has lost any credibility she had with any reasonable American that once sympathized with her over the death of her son Casey. Her words come in addition to her repeated arrests at increasingly aggressive demonstrations she has starred in, after a supposedly peaceful start outside President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas.

In her most recent publicity stunt, Sheehan exposed a t-shirt with a blatant anti-war message on it as she sat in the House gallery while waiting for President Bush’s State of the Union address. Not surprisingly, she had been invited as a guest by California Democrat Representative Lynn Woolsey, who has called for the creation of a Department of Peace. (Somehow, I have a hard time believing that this is the type of Department that would have won us World War I, World War II or the Gulf War, but it would have made us friends with multicultural dictators everywhere!)

As a result of what seemed to be a violation of a law forbidding such behavior on Capitol grounds, Capitol forces appropriately asked Sheehan to cover up the shirt, which she explicitly refused to do. Only then was she taken out and held for a few hours on minor charges. Interestingly, or rather, asininely, Beverly Young, wife of veteran Florida Republican Congressman Bill Young, was also ejected from the House Gallery for wearing a shirt that offensively read, you guessed it, “Support the Troops.” If these three words are truly considered a political statement these days, then we have a very serious problem on our hands.

One might argue, “But, her son died in that war. Does she not have the moral right to protest its continuation?” The answer is, of course she does. She is completely wrong about withdrawing U.S. troops in the region, and she would be putting the world in severe danger, yet she surely has the right to express her opinion. While they detract from her message and raise suspicions about her motives, illegal actions and shameless self-promotion are ones we can temporarily endure, however barely.

But clearly, Sheehan has demonstrated that the Iraq War and her son’s memory are not exactly the main objects on her mind. On a visit to Venezuela sponsored by the country’s foreign ministry, Casey’s mother noted she admires anti-American Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez “for his resolve against my government and its meddling.” She later stood by Chavez as he proudly declared, “Enough already with the imperialist aggression. Down with the U.S. regime.”

Before leaving Venezuela, Sheehan made sure to invite Chavez to pitch a protest tent with her in front of President Bush’s residence in Texas. It has become clear that this woman’s objective no longer revolves around preventing the deaths of Americans like her son. Instead, she is utilizing a family tragedy as an incredibly effective political vehicle – effective, at least, until it became obvious that she was not the “peace mom” she has attempted to portray herself as.

If so, why would she take a position, as she did, on the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court? How does her call for President Bush’s impeachment over the NSA’s wiretaps of suspected terrorists lead to the protection of her son’s fellow soldiers? As if these were not strong indicators that Sheehan has joined and championed the politics of the far Left in the country, one need only watch as she seriously considers whether she will electorally challenge liberal California Senator and Bush opponent Dianne Feinstein for supposedly being out of touch with her constituents on the Iraq War.

Interestingly, Sheehan put forth the idea while in Venezuela, in the middle of an anti-globalization demonstration. After she came back from that trip, she began sounding increasingly like Chavez, who recently asserted that President Bush is worse than Hitler. Oh, right, Sheehan only suggested that Bush is 10 times worse than Osama Bin Laden. Whew.

What is Casey, watching from Heaven, thinking about his mother’s actions? It’s apparent that she has forgotten about him and the cause that has gotten her international attention in the first place, and he might have become desensitized to that. But Sheehan is doing ever more serious damage by standing next to anti-American Hugo Chavez, calling terrorists in Iraq “freedom fighters,” and alleging that the U.S. Commander-in-Chief is worse than Bin Laden. Is this really going to help the survival of our troops putting their lives on the line every day?

Sheehan’s actions demoralize our men and women, and embolden terrorists. So much for contributing peace through victory, and you can say goodbye to the “peace” label, Cindy. As for your status as a mother, well, it is up to Casey to determine whether he is still proud to call you “mom.” I know I wouldn’t be.