Gestapo tactics or just theatrics?

Some bloggers have suggested that Cindy Sheehan's removal from the House of Representatives gallery during the State of the Union speech last night (because she was wearing a shirt that carried an anti-Iraq War message) signifies the death of free speech in America. However, it's important to remember that the wife of Florida congressman Bill Young (R) was also removed because she wore a shirt that carried a pro-war message. The State of the Union is, like our own Speech from the Throne, a time to listen rather than score political points.

Also, as San Francisco Chronicle writer Debra Saunders pointed out tonight on the Factor, Sheehan and friends were apparently trying to hide the shirt until she got into the gallery so as to prevent being barred upon entry. I don't know if that's true or not, but what IS probably true is that the Dem congresswomen from the Bay Area which invited Sheehan were doing it in the hope that a situation just like this one would arise so that they can continue to accuse Bush of silencing his critics and quashing dissent, making it all the more easy to use the obligatory Nazi references (TM). Now, I know some folks will say that because this columnist (Saunders) dared appear on Bill O'Reilly's show, she obviously is a lunatic (who needs more proof than that, right?) but I think she has a point.

I'm sure that Saunders will pen a column on this in the coming days and when she does I'll link to it. (Indeed she has, here.)

POSTSCRIPT: Good fun here. A post titled "Cindy Sheehan Unveils 'Americans Suck' Campaign Theme for Senate Run":

In her potential bid to unseat Democrat Diane Feinstein in the California Senate primaries this June, anti-war protester and budding Marxist Cindy Sheehan has chosen “Americans Suck” as her campaign platform. The slogan is already being inscribed on buttons and posters, as the Peace Mom readies herself for what will likely be a closely contested primary.

The decision to use “Americans Suck” came after a good deal of extended debate among Sheehan and her inner circle, which includes Harry Bellafonte, Hugo Chavez, Jesse Jackson, and Sheehan’s friend Julie, described as her “traveling companion” (but more likely a frequent diner at the Sheehan “Y”, if you get our drift). “Americans Suck” rose to the top after careful consideration of several options:

Bring The Soldiers Home and Put Them in Jail!
U.S.A Out of Iraq, New Orleans and Canada Now!
Free Saddam Hussein!
This Country’s Not Worth Dying For!
Vote for Me or I’ll Camp on Your Lawn!

Sheehan said that she will run because Feinstein has not supported calls to bring home the U.S. troops in Iraq right away, in effect supporting the policies of the Bush Administration.

The comments sent the Feinstein camp scrambling.

“Hey, wait just a second,” said Feintein’s campaign manager Kam Kuwata. “We hate Bush too. Just the other day, Senator Feinstein said to me, ‘Man, is Bush dumb as a stump, or what?’ And, like Mrs. Sheehan, we believe George Bush is a war-mongering filth-spewing terrorist. In fact, Senator Feinstein wishes George Bush would die right now. I don’t think you’ll get THAT sort of commitment from Mrs. Sheehan.”

Although this is satire, what's as serious as erectile dysfunction is the fact that two of the three national parties in Canada ran their recent election campaign on basically an "Americans Suck" platform. I think that sucks.