Oddly, the biggest news of the SOTU address wasn’t what did happen but, presumably, what didn’t. Full-time demonstrator Cindy Sheehan was first invited to the State of the Union address and then removed by Capitol Police:
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 think that this matter was handled hamhandedly and cynically by everyone concerned.
It was churlish for Rep. Woolsey to extend an invitation to Ms. Sheehan: you don’t invite the guest of honor’s ex to be your date for a tribute dinner. There’s a time and place for everything and the State of the Union address is neither the time nor the place to which to invite someone who’s exclusively known as a protestor.
But, once she had been invited, it was also churlish for the Capitol Police to remove Ms. Sheehan on a pretext.
IMO the problem wasn’t Ms. Sheehan’s. It was Ms. Woolsey’s.
Is there a protocol for issuing invitations to the SOTU address? Was it followed? If so, laissez les bonnes temps roulez. If not, chastise Rep. Woolsey. Don’t embarrass Ms. Sheehan, the president, and the nation.
Many others have expressed opinions on this subject including the eminently sensible, the partisan left, and the partisan right.
Eminently sensible?
How dare you smear me like that!
No, there’s a protocol for the house in general. Such displays are NEVER allowed there. Sheehan, being Sheehan can be excused for her act once she’s removed form the place… she’s an idiot. Woolsey, OTOH knows better, and should pay the price for her actions.
The tee shirt in question merely stated the number of GIs killed in Iraq. A protest only when taken in context with the person wearing it. GWB himself could have been wearing an identical tee shirt in support of a totally contrary view. This was idiocy, pure and simple.