May 30, 2007
Cindy & Rosie: Exit Stage Left
It seems like old news by now, but let us stop and reflect upon the dual departures this week of vocal war critics Cindy Sheehan and Rosie O'Donnell.
Both women made dramatic exits from the national spotlight over the Memorial Day weekend after weathering what they felt were personal attacks based on their anti-war stances.
Sheehan, a peace activist and mother of a slain U.S. soldier, "resigned" on Monday from her public role in the anti-war movement, citing disillusionment with those who had once supported her cause. In an emotional post on the liberal blog Daily Kos, Sheehan drew several "heartbreaking conclusions" from her experience, including the realization that her son, Casey, "did indeed die for nothing." She also blasted her detractors on both the right and the left for failing to bring the war to an end.
For many, Sheehan became the "face" of the anti-war movement following her much-publicized vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, nearly two years ago. Now, Sheehan says she is selling the five acres of land she purchased there last year. "I am getting out before it totally consumes me or anymore people that I love and the rest of my resources," she wrote.
In an open letter to Congress three days prior, Sheehan announced she was leaving the Democratic Party over its support for the war funding bill.
O'Donnell's role in the anti-war movement is arguably less prominent, but for the past year she has been daytime television's most notorious Bush critic. "The View" co-host was set to leave the show in mid-June after just one year of sparring with the three other regular co-hosts on everything from terrorist threats to the best cure for diaper rash. But last Friday, the comedian who had helped boost the show's sagging ratings announced she would not return after getting into a heated exchange with resident conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck over their positions on the war.
The spat between O'Donnell and Hasselbeck has been chronicled extensively in the mainstream press and on O'Donnell's blog. The two had sparred over the issue for months, with their exchanges getting increasingly aggressive and, in the eyes of O'Donnell, too personal for comfort. The straw that apparently broke the camel's back can be viewed here.
So do Sheehan's and O'Donnell's departures signal a victory for the pro-war camp and doom for the peace movement? Probably not. With large umbrella groups like Americans Against Escalation In Iraq scheduling regular rallies, advertising heavily and carrying a big lobbying stick, it's safe to say the movement no longer has just one or two "faces."
