The wheels have been coming off the right wing noise machine lately. Enraged and embarrassed by their inability to turn public opinion their way during the wretched Terri Schiavo debacle, over the past several weeks they've focused their pent-up ire on anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan.
The minions of the right have worked hard to discredit Cindy. One of the attempts to "undermine" her, a post on Chrenkoff's blog listing parents who lost children in Iraq who nevertheless continue to support the war, got me thinking.
What do you think is the likelihood that the anti-war forces will now call these parents warmongers, who support the administration's efforts in Iraq because they want other parents' children to die? After all, Bill O'Reilly said many fallen soldiers' families believe Cindy Sheehan's behavior "borders on treasonous", a claim that's particularly outrageous because O'Reilly actually made it. What are the chances that MoveOn.org, Air America and other liberal activists and organizations will start googling the names and doing Nexis searches on these grieving parents, hoping to uncover some "incriminating" personal or financial detail about them, in order to "undermine" their pro-war position? How likely is it that a liberal radio host will go on the air and proclaim that the parents are "faking" their stories, as Rush Limbaugh accused Cindy Sheehan of doing? Why haven't I heard one person accuse any of the pro-war parents of being controlled by extreme right wing forces? After all, didn't the right infantilize Cindy Sheehan by accusing her of being a stooge and puppet of "extremist" left wing interests?
I'll take a wild guess. The chances of any of the above happening is hovering around zero, because we on the left actually sympathize with these parents and care about their grief. We're heartbroken at the loss of so many young people in a war started under false pretenses. I would be ashamed to be associated with any group that would attack grieving parents for their personal political beliefs. Would that the other side would feel the same way.