Say Anything Blog

AP - Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier in Iraq who reinvigorated the anti-war movement, was arrested and removed from the House gallery Tuesday night just before President Bush's State of the Union address, a police spokeswoman said.

Sheehan, who had been invited to attend the speech by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., was charged with demonstrating in the Capitol building, a misdemeanor, said Capitol Police Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. Sheehan was taken in handcuffs to police headquarters a few blocks away and her case was processed as Bush spoke.

Schneider said Sheehan had worn a T-shirt with an anti-war slogan to the speech and covered it up until she took her seat. Police warned her that such displays were not allowed, but she did not respond, the spokeswoman said.

Police handcuffed Sheehan and removed her from the gallery before Bush arrived. Sheehan was to be released on her own recognizance, Schneider said.

"I'm proud that Cindy's my guest tonight," Woolsey said in an interview before the speech. "She has made a difference in the debate to bring our troops home from Iraq."

Had it been up to me I'm not sure I would even have let her in. This woman was just down in Venezuela kissing a man who is not a friend to this country. She stood next to that man and called our President an illegitimate leader and a terrorist. This woman was no spectator, she was a security threat.

Of course, now she'll be martyred. Her apologists will cripe about the "crushing of dissent" and the violation of her free speech rights. Which is total nonsense, of course. Cindy Sheehan gets plenty of opportunities to speak her mind. She's been in the headlines for months now. Tonight was not her night to make a statement. Tonight was the President's turn, and she had no right to be disruptive.

And shame on Rep. Woolsey for giving Cindy Sheehan the invite.  Clearly this was a stunt aimed at disrupting the President's speech, and it certainly isn't the first time Democrats have employed this sort of tactic.  It is bad enough that Rep. Woolsey would lend credence to the kind of vile, vicious rhetroric spewed by Cindy Sheehan but to invite such a loose cannon into a Presidential speech with the clear intent on disrupting it is beyond the pale.

Get in touch with Rep. Woolsey here and tell her what you think about members of Congress who can't show at least a modicum of respect for the President.