Surprise

The Washington Post actually mentions the Gathering of Eagles counter-protest yesterday in Washington. They make the folks who attended seem like they were just being nasty to the anti-war protesters, but I'm frankly surprised as all heck that they even mention that the demonstration occurred at all.

As war protesters marched toward Arlington Memorial Bridge en route to the Pentagon yesterday, they were flanked by long lines of military veterans and others who stood in solidarity with U.S. troops and the Bush administration's cause in Iraq. Many booed loudly as the protesters passed, turned their backs to them or yelled, "If you don't like America, get out!"

Several thousand vets, some of whom came by bus from New Jersey, car caravans from California or flights from Seattle or Michigan, lined the route from the bridge and down 23rd Street, waving signs such as "War There Or War Here." Their lines snaked around the corner and down several blocks of Constitution Avenue in what organizers called the largest gathering of pro-administration counter-demonstrators since the war began four years ago.

The vets turned both sides of Constitution into a bitter, charged gantlet for the war protesters. "Jihadists!" some vets screamed. "You're brain-dead!" Others chanted, "Workers World traitors must hang!" — a reference to the Communist newspaper. Some broke into "The Star-Spangled Banner" as war protesters sought to hand out pamphlets.

"Bunch of hooligans in motorcycle jackets!" one war protester shot back.

As opposed to the thoughtful and enlightened screeching from the folks who try to break through police lines like this, I suppose. Bunch of thugs in Birkenstocks? Seriously, I think the strength of the Gathering of Eagle actually shocked the media. Those that are not actually hiding that it occurred at all (read New York Times) are having a hard time dealing with the fact that their imposed narrative on the war and how the public must feel about it is not working with a very large segment of the population. The Democrats who are betting the farm on an American defeat might want to take a very hard look at this. This indicates that the imparted wisdom of the press and the polls may not be a good indicator of how the nation really feels. I still maintain that the Democrats are making a serious mistake with their behavior toward the war. They were not given a mandate by voters to lose a war. The sharp turn to the left that the Dems are making will hurt them in the long run.

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  By syn, Sunday, 18 March , 2007 @ 8:29 am

  I flew down for the day from NYC but unfortuantely my plane was delayed by a couple of hours so I missed the beginning. However, when I arrived there were so many flags, so many veterans and vet supporter spread out all over the place that I knew the message was clear.

  Fortunately the new media was able to capture much of waht MSM is determined to hide and I’ll be spending the day vewing and reading about the moments I had missed.

  One more thing, a friend of mine from NYC was on another airline and was able to arrive earlier than I but she did not have all the info as to where to go. On her way down she meet eleven vets on the plane also going to the event and they took her under their wings as though she were a lifelong friend. Both my friend and I were honored and priviledged to hang out with so many fine people.

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  By TC@LeatherPenguin, Sunday, 18 March , 2007 @ 9:05 am

  “Bunch of hooligans in motorcycle jackets!”
  Mom?

Other Links to this Post

1. Pirate's Cove — Sunday, 18 March , 2007 @ 8:01 am