Wish I Could Be a Cindy Helper

[Paranoid Pessimist]

Sometimes I wish I had the means to get personally involved in the Cindy Sheehan antiwar thing, I mean, actually go there and do media spokesperson stuff. Some of it is being badly mishandled. One of the local stations here did a story on the “big money groups behind Cindy Sheehan” and it was the usual job. It tried to appear to be a balanced story, but there was definitely what I call “attitude spin.” The reporter’s tone of voice and facial expression was one of disapproval. His attitude implied that the Cindy Sheehan phenomenon was a put up job funded by secretive left wing groups. He did not name the groups (it’s primarily Moveon.org) and that lack of naming implied that sinister secretive forces were at work, “pulling the strings” on Cindy Sheehan.

Then they cut to the Crawford (I always want to say “Crawfish”) and they cornered some woman, not Cindy Sheehan, and asked if they could talk about the groups funding the protest. This woman tried to spin out of the situation, saying something like, “We don’t need to discuss that, it isn’t the issue” and she appeared, to me, to be guiltily trying to avoid the question.

Wrong, wrong, wrong! The answer I would have given would have been, “Yes, absolutely, and we are so thankful that these good, caring people are willing to use whatever they have at their disposal to support our cause. We appreciate their support and hope it continues and that others who think as we do contribute what they can.”

Progressives never seem to learn how good what is now being called “The Republican Slime Machine” is at putting their opponents on the defensive. They’ve done it to the entire Democratic party, and they’ll do their best to do it to the Cindy Sheehan movement.

Cindy Sheehan herself has said that she does not claim to speak for all family members of slain soldiers but that doesn’t stop these opposition demonstrations (which, of course, are funded and organized by Right Wing groups) of using “she doesn’t speak for us” as their propagandistically effective catch phrase.

The Bushistas and their Right Wing supporters are still better at media warfare, though Cindy herself holds her own quite well.

[thecrow]

1. Welcome to DU Paranoid Pessimist

I think you should go to Crawford then...or write letters to the editor, or write to congress people. Never forget the power of the pen! You can Donate!
There are many things you can do to help Cindy.
See the meetwithcindy.com webpage.