One of the reasons I like the Booman Tribune is that I know I can type this diary without getting completely flamed, like I would at the other board. Just in case, I am putting on my fire retardant suit.
We blew it! Not Cindy Sheehan. Us. WE blew it.
On the Daily Kos, there were issues of framing “Mother Sheehan” and comparisons to Rosa Parks. The right wing noted Cindy on Michael Moore’s website, and guess what. Cindy got framed in the same light as Michael Moore. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Michael Moore, and believe in what he is espousing, but the right wing thinks of him in the same way we think of Rush Limbaugh.
And we diminished Cindy in the process.
(more below the flip)
Think of this. What was Cindy’s original protest?
“What noble cause did my son die for?”
Instead of appealing to people as a mother, she has started to appeal as a lefty idealogue parroting lefty talking points. American could have fallen in love with her if she had maintained that voice, talked about her son, pleaded with Bush to answer her rhetorical questions. She should have kept it personal, about her son, made it about the senselessness of her loss, not partisan politics. She could have been a riveting symbol that crossed party lines. But now?
…her open public associations with controversial partisan people and groups have hurt her credibility with many of the people who otherwise might have listened to her. She gave her critics the exact ammo they were looking for to make her seem like a tool. I just wish she could have remained independent and above the partisan fray.
Cindy Sheehan is no political analyst, she wasn’t a creation of the Left. Anti-war groups naturally supported her. Unfortunately she doesn’t seem to know how the PR game is played, however, all the organizations who are supporting her could have handled the situation a whole lot better– they do know better.
The Gold Star Mothers for Peace ad (which I thought was very powerful) also diluted the message. It focused on Bush and his lies, (preaching to the choir), rather than focusing on the people concerned about the war, but aren’t really thinking about it. Instead of “What is this Noble Cause my son died for?” it became “Bush Lied, and My Son Died.” The “noble cause” question, while mentioned, was lost in the accusatory tone.
And somewhere in the process, on the daily kos diaries, and in the MSM, it became about Cindy. Not about the reasons we are in Iraq.
When the freepers came out to counter protest, they were organized, even kicking out the guy with the “bitch in the ditch” poster. They (with the MSM’s help) turned it into a “he said, she said” argument that the media loves so well (which ignored the main point). There were some efforts to cross that, with the prayer vigil attended by both sides, but that left little airplay with the hurricane approaching.
The Washington Post did a survey, that shows no real change in positions. In essence, we had a feel good moment this summer. Our own little Woodstock. But what about afterwards?
Slightly more than half of the country says President Bush should meet with Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed last year in Iraq, who is leading a protest against the war outside Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Tex., according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll…
The survey also suggests, however, that Sheehan’s anti-war vigil has failed to mobilize large numbers of Americans against the war. If anything, her opposition has done as much to drive up support for the war as ignite opponents, the survey found.
Eight in 10 Americans–including overwhelming majorities of Democrats, Republicans and political independents–say Sheehan’s protest has had no impact on their attitudes toward Iraq. While one in 10 say she has made them less likely to support the war, the same proportion say she has made them more likely to back the conflict.
What does this mean? From the Demagogue blog
Early Suspicions Confirmed
As I stated before, Sheehan symbolizes an incredible waste of an opportunity, and she has become a caricature of the anti-war movement itself. It looks like she is not going to be the galvanizing force we’re all looking for, she does not represent the tipping point. However, fortunately, it looks like we don’t really need one, as support for Bush and his war is as low as it has ever been– with or without Cindy Sheehan.
Now New Orleans is a disaster area, and Cindy is off the front page. Bush will have his press conferences and look all commander in chiefy and his approval ratings will rise about five points, possibly 10, before resuming their inevitable decline, albeit from a higher level.
And Cindy will get on with her life. With all her energy no longer focused on the protests, she can hopefully get on with her grieving process. And that is truly when she will need our support the most, when it is truly about her, and not just us.
