Traitorpalooza IV: A New Dope

Byron York has the goods on the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy's support of Sheehan:

The Sheehan vigil, officially sponsored by MoveOn.org, along with the liberal groups TrueMajority and Democracy for America, was part of a nationwide series of protests Wednesday night. According to MoveOn, there were 1,627 such meetings, with a total attendance of at least 50,000 people. The Birmingham crowd — in the heart of one of the nation's reddest states, where George W. Bush defeated John Kerry 63 percent to 37 percent last year — was significantly larger than the attendance at Douglass' usual vigils. Although 50 people had signed up to come, it appeared that the crowd actually numbered between 60 and 75.

On its website, MoveOn offered protesters what amounted to a pre-fab vigil kit, including talking points, a "sample media advisory," and pre-designed signs — placards that read MOMS FOR PEACE and MEET WITH CINDY and, apparently for pet lovers, DOGS FOR CINDY. But the Birmingham protest appeared a bit more homegrown. People carried signs that said WE ARE ALL SISTERS AND BROTHERS: LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. And as they stood around — there were no speeches — they expressed opposition not just to the controversial war in Iraq, but also to the war in Afghanistan, which polls indicate was overwhelmingly supported by the American people.

Several felt that in the days after September 11, the United States went too far by attacking Afghanistan. "It was the Taliban and Osama bin Laden," said one woman. "So why didn't we just go after him? Why did we attack the whole country?"

"I didn't like us doing that," said another woman.

"I'm opposed to war generally," added a third woman. "I believe that both of those wars [Afghanistan and Iraq], but Iraq especially, are wrong."

Their statements echoed the words of Cindy Sheehan herself, who on Monday was asked by MSNBC's Chris Matthews, "If your son had been killed in Afghanistan, would you have a different feeling?" Sheehan answered, "I don't think so, Chris, because I believe that Afghanistan is almost the same thing."

"But Afghanistan was harboring the Taliban, was harboring al Qaeda, which is the group that attacked us on 9/11," Matthews said.

"Well, then we should have gone after al Qaeda and maybe not the country of Afghanistan," Sheehan said.

Sheehan's words, in turn, echoed statements made by the leaders of MoveOn opposing the war in Afghanistan. What that suggests is that the vigils across the country last night were only partly about the war in Iraq. Yes, that is the focus of the protesters' passions today. And yes, they support Cindy Sheehan. But the antiwar movement is also about opposition to the very foundation of the war on terror — the war in Afghanistan and the U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks. Last night, the signs and the slogans were about Cindy Sheehan. But the protest was about much more than that.

Where was the LWM when Cindy Sheehan was accusing Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright of murdering innocent civilians?

Lileks has a brilliant take:

The hard left in America needs to realize a bald, cruel fact: Anyone who sees no moral distinction between Israel and the mullahs of Iran, or sees the U.S. attempt to set up a constitutional republic in Iraq as equivalent to the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, suffers from incurable moral cretinism. The more the fervent anti-war base embraces these ideas, the more they ensure that no one will trust the left with national security. Ever.

Will they learn the lesson? Even money says Sheehan will be sitting in the Michael Moore seat next to Jimmy Carter at the '08 Democratic convention.

Better than even money. The Democrat convention has become the greatest gathering of anti-American agitators since the UN General Assembly.