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| Year in spotlight has changed life of Cindy Sheehan |
| 2006-08-06 |
| War protester has gained praise and criticism since son's death in Iraq. WASHINGTON — Cindy Sheehan looks tired as she sits down to lead a handful of demonstrators outside the Iraqi Embassy on a recent afternoon. It has been a long year for the anti-war activist who just completed a whirlwind tour of speaking engagements in Italy. Then the shouts of "U.S. out of Iraq!" begin, and her face brightens and swells with pride, like a mother who has given birth to a political movement. A few feet away, a flurry of activity offers a glimpse into how a once obscure Catholic youth minister has become the public face of the U.S. anti-war movement. "Cindy is protesting," one of her assistants says into a cell phone while clutching a thick yellow almanac of media contacts. "I can get you a minute." Step right up and see the Amazing Protesting Bimbo! Performances every hour on the half hour! Step right up! As Sheehan prepares to return to Crawford today, renewing a round of protests that thrust her into the national spotlight a year ago, the story of her rise to notoriety from a ditch outside President Bush's ranch is peppered with joy and pain. She's become a household name, yet her once strong family ties are in ruins. Her work has become a 24-hour-a-day obsession, generating praise from around the world, yet it also brought condemnation — even death threats — from opponents who suggest that her constant harangue has made her a bit of a political gadfly. Others say it has diluted her message. Opponents "have been trying to get me for a long time," says Sheehan, 49, reflecting on her work since the death of her son Casey while serving in Iraq two years ago. "I raised four kids in six years. If they think they are going to ruffle my feathers, they are mistaken." But there are signs Sheehan is not the same person who stumbled into the national limelight last year. In addition to having an aide who handles media, she has an agent who arranges paid lectures — most of them a platform to speak against the war. A blockbuster anti-war book is slated for release next month, and she recently bought 5 acres in Crawford, using some of her son's life insurance money, to ensure that protests outside Bush's ranch continue. Thanks, Casey! Sheehan turns circumspect when asked to share the financial details of her work, such as who pays for the dozens of hotel rooms, airline tickets and meals for her and sister Dede Miller, who often travels with her. "Supporters," she says. And, she pays for some of it. "My expenses are low," Sheehan adds. The "Skating on Casey's Bones Tour" rolls on! Still, her work has come with a costly emotional price tag. Sheehan's fiery rhetoric and inflammatory attacks on the president have sent once close friends running for cover. She has referred to Bush as a terrorist and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as an "angel of death." Sheehan's 28-year marriage is over. Family members have spoken out against her. "Out of everything, that hurt me the most," she said. "After 31 years of being in the family, I thought they would support me. They totally disowned me and chose George Bush over murder." John Tierney, author of the book "The Politics of Peace: What's behind the anti-war movement?" said Sheehan is not only an effective advocate for the anti-war cause, but she has also brought a mother's touch to a fight that tends to be difficult for average Americans to grasp. To those who view Sheehan's activism with suspicion, her mission is about feeding an insatiable appetite for public attention. "Cindy has a lot of hatred about her," former sister-in-law Cherie Quartarolo said. "Cindy has chosen to use her dead son's image to promote political causes. That's just inappropriate." But it is lucrative... |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #10 Agree Tony. Agreed. Can you imagine being one of her surviving children? "Yeah... Cindy Sheehan is my mom :(( " Or her husband? Hmmm a sad story from their side. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-08-06 17:11 |
| #9 Quite so TW, quite so. My only sympathy in this whole sorry episode is for this woman's family. She has abused them immensely and they've behaved with immese fortitude. |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-08-06 16:31 |
| #8 They [her family] totally disowned me and chose George Bush over murder." Amusingly revealing phrasing there, Ms. Sheehan. Soon enough your erstwhile supporters will move on to the next cause du jour, and you will die many years hence alone, unloved and unnoted. And it will be your son Casey who kicks your shrunken soul down the stairs to the depths of Hell. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-08-06 15:36 |
| #7 LOL |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-08-06 14:59 |
| #6 Hatred, anger, and wallowing in one's grief are no basis for a long and healthy life. Ms. Sheehan now looks like death warmed over. She's not long for this world, and on her current path, will die a very sad, pathetic and unhappy woman. I think Casey looks down with a mixture of sorrow, disgust and pity. I wish I could say the same. I have only disgust. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-08-06 14:53 |
| #5 "I raised four kids in six years. If they think they are going to ruffle my feathers, they are mistaken." "Yeah, only six years each is what I give'em. On their 6th birthday I drive 'em a couple a hundred miles out a town and drop 'em off at a gas station. Too young to remember where they live, see, and I ain't never had one of 'em come back. Toughens 'em up. God'll take care of 'em, if they'se good. Can't do nothing longer than six years at a stretch. 'Cept'n God's work and gettin' famous. I parents as good as I protests." |
| Posted by: Mother Sheehan 2006-08-06 14:44 |
| #4 "Year in spotlight has changed life of Cindy Sheehan" Yet she still won't SHUT UP. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-08-06 14:36 |
| #3 If you're into the math thing, explain how ending her 28 year marriage meant being thown out of the family after 31 years. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-06 14:32 |
| #2 "I raised four kids in six years. If they think they are going to ruffle my feathers, they are mistaken." That is a very strange statement. Does this mean she only spent 6 years raising 4 kids? As far as I know it takes 18 years minimum (and with some kids your entire life). A blockbuster anti-war book is slated for release next month, How can it be a blockbuster when it hasn't even been released yet? "They totally disowned me and chose George Bush over murder." Another strange statement. They chose George Bush over [instead of] murder. Apparently Cindy would have chose murder. Still a vampire trying to suck the last drops of blood out of her son's death. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-08-06 14:29 |
| #1 like her lies about getting that headstone for her son....Bitch. W is only spending 10 days at the ranch this summer - expect to see her sell the property. She bought it through someone else's name, and the original owner is furious, cuz he wouldn't sell it if he'd known it was going to her |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-08-06 14:00 |