Veterans Slam Tea Party Politicians For Hijacking Protest Against War Memorial Closures
BY AVIVA SHEN ON OCTOBER 14, 2013 AT 9:06 AM
After driving the GOP’s efforts to shut down the government over Obamacare, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) headlined a march on Sunday to protest the closure of national parks and war memorials. Cruz and Lee shared the stage with former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin at the Million Veterans March. The Tea Party was out in full force, with attendees waving giant Confederate flags in front of the White House and speakers calling for President Obama to “put down the Quran” and “come out with his hands up.” One man was arrested at the World War II memorial with a rifle and ammunition.
Apparently, the original organizers of the veterans’ march are displeased with the Tea Party’s co-opting of their protest. On the Million Vet March homepage, the organizers suggest a local organizer invited Tea Party and birther groups against the wishes of the veterans:
The political agenda put forth by a local organizer in Washington DC was not in alignment with our message. We feel disheartened that some would seek to hijack the narrative for political gain. The core principle is about all Americans honoring Veterans in a peaceful and apolitical manner.
The organizers say they are simply calling for war memorials to stay open at all times and disowned the “disheartening acts of a few powerful Washington elite and political extremists jumping on the opportunity to make money.” On their Facebook page, they blamed “certain groups that have piggy-backed off our grassroots efforts” for obscuring their message. “We made the mistake of trying to partner with some Washington insiders that thwarted many of our genuine concerns for keeping this apolitical and grassroots. While we support many of those groups common causes for Veterans, we do not support the manner in which they go about it. We chose instead to not incite or create panic.”
Ironically, Palin promised during her speech that she and other conservative public figures would “not be timid in calling out any who would use our military, our vets, as pawns in a political game.”
Radical lawmakers and the Republican National Committee have tried to use veteran protesters to shift blame for the shutdown onto Obama. So far, this strategy doesn’t seem to be working. Polls show most Americans blame Republicans for the shutdown, and both the GOP and the Tea Party’s popularity are at all-time lows.
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Ugly rebel yell in front of the White House
BY JONATHAN CAPEHARTOctober 14 at 1:17 pm
Michael Ashmore of Hooks, Tex. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)
If you want to curdle the blood of an African American and send a message of menace without resorting to burning a cross on the lawn or marching around in white sheets all one need do is wave the Confederate flag. So imagine my revulsion at the sight of one outside the front gates of the White House.
Michael Ashmore of Hooks, Tex., was among the many who converged on Washington for the “Million Vet March on the Memorials” to protest the government shutdown. This was the event where former half-term governor reality television star and best-selling author turned conservative gadfly Sarah Palin said, “Our vets have proven that they have not been timid, so we will not be timid in calling out any who would use our military, our vets, as pawns in a political game.” Applauding her self-awareness would be the height of irony — and sarcasm.
The protest and some of the barricades placed at the World War II Memorial then moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. And it was there that Ashmore waved his Confederate flag. A symbol of Southern resistance and white supremacy unfurled in front of the home of the first black president of the United States. As Jeffrey Goldberg of Bloomberg View and the Atlantic correctly said on Twitter yesterday, “In many parts of America, waving a Confederate flag outside the home of a black family would be considered a very hostile act.”
Ashmore’s reprehensible rebel yell wasn’t the only offensive thing to happen yesterday. In front of the World War II Memorial, Freedom Watch founder Larry Klayman said, “I call upon all of you to wage a second American nonviolent revolution, to use civil disobedience, and to demand that this president leave town, to get up, to put the Quran down, to get up off his knees, and to figuratively come out with his hands up.”
Ashmore’s actions and Klayman’s words are just the latest in a series of displays of disrespect directed at President Obama. For more than four years, the president’s detractors have said they “want our country back.” But they never say from whom. They continue to say he should be impeached. But they never say what his “crimes” or, if they do, said “crimes” are not grounded in any kind of reality.
For those of you who would push back by saying we’re overreacting, that the Confederate flag is nothing more than a symbol of regional pride, save it. That flag you revere so much is no better than a Swastika, a threatening symbol of hate that has no place in American political discourse.
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