The Heart of Pinkness

Throughout yesterday and today's hearings with General Petraeus you could see members of the anti-war freak* group Code Pink, all obviously costumed in pink T-shirts, some wearing crowns, plunked down in the galleries. During a few quiet moments between presentations members (one at a time) stood up, shouted stuff like "The American people don't believe you anymore!" and were dragged out. Rush Limbaugh thinks he knows how they got there.

Now, Code Pink just didn't walk in there and get tickets. They were all dressed up, and you couldn't miss these people. They looked like deranged jacks-in-the-box, totally deranged, miserable, unhappy, ugly fat women. Thank you. Thank you. They didn't get in there by accident. Democrat staffers no doubt arranged for them to get in there and cause this little protest to call Petraeus a liar.

All completely wrong. Official Democrats loathe Code Pink and didn't give them any favors. Why would they when Pinkers spend free afternoons occupying Democrats' offices or trashing Nancy Pelosi's yard? The less exciting, but true, explanation is that the Code Pink people got in line. They showed up early and filed in for places near the back of the room. (So did anti-war libertarian Adam Kokesh, more incognito in an "Iraq Veterans Against the War" T-shirt.) Capitol police could see that they belonged to an anti-war group and even odds were they'd burst out screaming at some point during the hearing. You can find them irritating (I do) but I don't know why the alternative—cops banning certain citizens from hearings based on their clothes and possible behavior—is so attractive to Limbaugh.

*freak in the Frank Zappa/Gilbert Shelton sense

Comments

[dhex]

because limbaugh is a fucking asshole?

this is my stock answer to most questions, but i think it’s actually right this time!

[TrickyVic]

“””The less exciting, but true, explanation is that the Code Pink people got in line. They showed up early and filed in for places near the back of the room.”””

That probably is true, but the right-wing media will never pass a chance to blame the Dems.

[Chris S.]

“…totally deranged, miserable, unhappy, ugly fat…”

Yup.

[carrick]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Rush needs to read the whole ammendment, not just the part he uses to its extreme conclusion.

[joe]

And the Chairman who had them kicked out?

Why, Ike Skelton (D-Mississippi), of course.

[ChicagoTom]

… banning certain citizens from hearings based on their clothes and possible behavior-is so attractive to Limbaugh.

Really? You really don’t see why this is attractive to people like Limbaugh?

[Happy Jack]

but I don’t know why the alternative-cops banning certain citizens from hearings based on their clothes and possible behavior-is so attractive to Limbaugh.

Seriously? Think hard, Dave.

[TLB]

Great reportage!

Of course, it forgets that SMB and friends were given tickets to at least one major function by at least one far-left Congperson; I believe it was one of the SOTUs.

[The Artist Formerly Know as Tr]

El Rushbo tell a lie???
WTF.

[Dave Weigel]

Of course, it forgets that SMB and friends were given tickets to at least one major function by at least one far-left Congperson; I believe it was one of the SOTUs.

You don’t get in the back of a hearing room with tickets. You get there by waiting in line. It’s entirely different from the SOTU.

[J sub D]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Rush needs to read the whole ammendment, not just the part he uses to its extreme conclusion.

A whole lot of pundits need to read the first admendment in it’s entirety, not just chubby boy.

[de stijl]

I don’t get why so many people claim Rush is misogynistic. It’s so clear in his pronouncements that he absolutely adores women.

What is “SMB and friends?”

[Aresen]

From the way they reflect on the anti-war movement, I would imagine that Limbaugh would want them front-and-center.

[madpad]

Every time I see one of these pieces about Rush & Co, I think of all those folks who post here about how conservatives believe in liberty.

[stereoagnostic]

Because Rush Limbaugh = fascist blow hard. But your question was probably rhetorical, wasn’t it?

[joe]

I was paid to stand in line for committee hearings, so the lawyers who bought my time could take my spot in line, when I went to GWU.

I can testify from personal experience that 1) the Capitol Hill Police, not Congressional staffer, control comings and goings in the Congressional buildings, and 2) the Capitol Hill Police will even let dirty, junky bike messengers in smelly, purple spandex unitards into the hearing rooms, if that’s who’s in line.

[tarran]

joe, there’s a world of difference between harmless blue spandex and dangerous pink outfits and you know it! 😉

[sage]

Caption Contest!

“Hey, I said to pull my finger, not my whole frickin’ arm!”

[joe]

tarran, either you’re with us, or you’re with the bike messengers.

[Rhywun]

I don’t know their BMIs, but the ones in the picture don’t look particularly fat.

From the way they reflect on the anti-war movement, I would imagine that Limbaugh would want them front-and-center.

They got our attention–that’s all the matters. I think it’s great. We need more cranks like these, stirring up stuffy public events.

[Rhywun]

“all THAT matters”

[TrickyVic]

“Caption Contest!”

The hot wings are over there idiot!!

[Drew W]

*freak in the Frank Zappa/Gilbert Shelton sense

I can’t say I’m too familiar with Gilbert Shelton’s political orientation — although I still have a stack of Fabulous Furry Freak Bros. comix stashed away somewhere — but anyone with more than a passing knowledge of Frank Zappa would never liken him, on any level, to a pathetic loser-lefty group like Code Pink. Just watch a minute or two of them at a Hillary Clinton appearance a few years back. I dare ya.

Peace, peace, peace, peace . . . Love each other as ourselves, for we are one . . .

Yeesh. I imagine that in the face of such pompous lefty self-righteousness (not to mention such a dreadful song), FZ’s response would have been mortifyingly sexist, ageist, looksist, patriarchal, scatological and disrespectful of their womyn-ly concerns. He would’ve made their pink t-shirts turn black.

[me]

Ike Skelton is right. These people should be prosecuted. Disturbing the peace or disorderly conduct re crimes they can be charged with and should be.

[rho]

Why, Ike Skelton (D-Mississippi), of course.

Ike ain’t from here. MS is Mississippi–Missouri is MO.

[ChrisO]

but anyone with more than a passing knowledge of Frank Zappa would never liken him, on any level, to a pathetic loser-lefty group like Code Pink.

Zappa was a Freak, not a lefty freak. Big difference.

[ed]

Zappa was also a control freak, but that’s another story.

[prolefeed]

“…totally deranged, miserable, unhappy, ugly fat…”

I so agree with Rush.

Oh, wait, Limbaugh was referring to the Code Pink folks with this, not himself. My bad.

[TLB]

SMB = SusanMedeaBenjamin

My SOTU comment above was meant to point out that not all Dem leaders oppose CP4P.

[wingnutx]

Politico’s Jonathan Martin has posted the Youtube clip of the chaos that ensued at the beginning of yesterday’s hearing, when Gen. Petraeus’s microphone failed.

Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), about halfway through the 8-minute clip, says quietly in front of a live mic that the disruption by Code Pink activists “really pisses me off.” He utters a few profanities and then converses casually with Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), who explains to him the group’s strategy:

HUNTER: Here’s their strategy. There’s about ten of them, so they’re going to sacrifice one about every five minutes. If they do that, I’d move the whole identifiable group out.

SKELTON: I can’t do that

HUNTER: Well because they’re all in the same group, the same dress. The pink people – they’re an association…

Skelton apparently decided that prosecution is a better solution than throwing out whole groups of people. (He also jokingly drops an f-bomb in the clip, if you keep watching.)

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0907/Heckuva_job_Code_Pink.html

[joe]

Thanks, rho. I thought he was from Mississippi.

The woman’s middle name is Medea? Who does that to their child? Or grandchild?

[BakedPenguin]

The woman’s middle name is Medea? Who does that to their child?

I think the question is – with that name, what do they do to their child?

[BakedPenguin]

Uh, in case my last post didn’t make sense

[ChrisO]

The woman’s middle name is Medea? Who does that to their child? Or grandchild?

She renamed herself from “Susan” to “Medea” at some point (’60s or ’70s). She’s a big playah in the nutty left.

[S.A. Miller]

Regardless of how they got in, I fail to understand why the members of Code Pink continue to be allowed in to these hearings…

I watched both yesterday’s and today’s hearings on C-SPAN. They showed the people entering the room, with the Code Pinkers making no effort whatsoever to disguise who they were. (Including wearing those silly tiaras.)

I am not saying that anyone of a particular political view should not be allowed to attend these hearings, but all Code Pink does is disrupt. It is their modus operandi. As Hunter pointed out, it is well known that they bring in multiple people and stager their tantrums as to cause as many problems as they can.

[Ashish George]

Behold the odd spectacle of libertarians irritated by an anti-war group whose main function is to make members of government uncomfortable.

[madpad]

Ashish has left me flat speechless…well done!

[Slap Maxwell]

Indeed…great call, Ashish. Good on Code Pink; anybody or any group who successfully rattles a bunch of worthless stuffed shirts up on the Hill deserves our eternal gratitude, regardless of their agenda. Most of the rest of the citizenry apparently can’t be bothered to make any attempt whatsoever….

Oh, and what is a Rush Limbaugh?

[joe]

annoyed is not the same as rattled.

[ArmySgt]

totally deranged, miserable, unhappy, ugly fat…”

Why is Rush Talking about himself so much……

Its always a Republican/Democrat game to some. To others like IVAW and CodePink its about what right.

[Slap Maxwell]

“annoyed is not the same as rattled.”

Close enough for government work….