Anti-War Rally in D.C.: Speakers Label Bush "War Criminal"; Call for Impeachment

More than 100,000 people converged on the ellipse under overcast skies just south of the White House in Washington, D.C. this morning for an anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-capitalist rally. The rally was sponsored by United for Peace and Justice and ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). ANSWER is believed to have strong ties to communist organizations.

Jesse Jackson's appearance on stage immediately preceded anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan (see picture, above), and he was easily the most moderate speaker. "There is a time for war," Jackson said, but this is a "war built on lies." He added that "We'll change the Congress in 2006 and change the White House in 2008," ending with the chant "Bring the troops home now."

Cindy Sheehan did not allow the large media presence to moderate her speech. She called for "checks and balances on this out-of-control criminal government."
Sheehan charged that "This is a government that condones torture." "Tell them that it's not okay to torture any person." Apparently Sheehan soaked up too much Texas sun during her famous vigil. President Bush made the United States position on torture very clear during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy on June 22, 2004: "We do not condone torture," Bush said. "I have never ordered torture. I will never order torture. The values of this country are such that torture is not a part of our soul and our being."

Sheehan demanded: "Don't invade countries that pose no threat to our country." The idea that Iraq posed no threat to the United States prior to the invasion is not in line with what the vast majority of government officials believed at the time. Sen. John F. Kerry on Jan. 23. 2003, said, "[T]he threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..." (More Democratic pre-war statements here.)

Sheehan ended her brief speech with the question "How many other people's children are you going to sacrifice for the lies?" and began the chant "Not one more."

Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) appeared earlier in the show and was the only member of Congress who spoke. Her comments were off the map in terms of reality. She lamented: "A cruel wind blows across America. . . . It blew disenfranchisement into Ohio and Florida. . . . We were forced to endure fraud in the elections of 2000 and 2004."

Eventually she got to the war part: "A war started over deliberately fraudulent evidence." And then she applied the Katrina smear: Federal officials responding to Hurricane Katrina were "criminally incompetent in providing our security." McKinney wasn't done yet, charging that the "ill wind" has a global impact, including Venezuela, Hati, and Africa. According to this Congresswoman, someone was guilty of "high crimes and more than misdemeanors."

More highlights:

< Someone from Community Labor United asked for an end to the "war against poor, black, uneducated people."

< The Raging Grannies riled against "corporate pigs" in a song they sang on stage.

< Rally co-sponsor United for Peace and Justice representative Leslie Cagan, who could not see over the podium, spoke of "that dangerous man that pretends to be the leader of this country." She added that the "co-conspirators upon on Capitol Hill need to hear from us."

< Nancy Woolforth, an executive council member of the supposedly-mainstream labor union AFL-CIO hurled invective against "FEMA creeps who would not rescue 150,000 black and poor people." She charged that "The Bush Administration does not give one damn about those people" and that "Halliburton is stealing Iraq and its resources."

< A man representing the Free Palestine Alliance, a subsidiary of ANSWER, yelled quite loudly throughout his speech and said "They cannot profit over our misery." He later led the crowd in the chant "Impeach George Bush."

< After handing her child to her husband, a National Lawyers Guild member spoke of the "criminals who occupy Congress."

In addition to the demogogues stirring emotions on stage, plenty of participants added their share of nasty rhetoric. One particularly amusing hand-written sign held by a college-age woman stated: "Impeach the theif." Apparently Bush stole her dictionary.

Everyday, police put their lives on the line for citizens, and this is what they get.

The communists were out in force: "Capitalism means mass murder-- Socialist Revolution is the only solution."

Other signs included a large one stating "The Bush Regime Engineered 9-11" as well as many yellow "Impeach Bush" signs. A large truck sign quoted Republican activist Grover Norquist alongside a picture of flooded New Orleans.

After an hour and a half, it was time for me to head home. The crowd still had a march and a rock concert ahead of it. I headed to Constitution Avenue and 15th Street before the speakers were finished. The streets were filled with so many people that it was difficult to walk through the crowd. If I was a far-left liberal, the event would have been a magnificent occasion, with plenty of opportunities to meet like-minded people from around the country.

The massive scale of the rally was an indication of how much angst there is in the country, as well as an indication of how much hatred there is of the Bush Administration with its approval ratings around 40 percent. A head-in-the sand response from Republicans is inadequate. The opposition is very motivated.