Maria Cantwell vs. Her conscience: Demonstrators screw up ideal photo-op for pro-war Democrat on Iraq War anniversary

author : Doug Nielson topic : Iran | Iraq occupation

by Doug Nielson

On Saturday March 18th Maria Cantwell and Barack Obama made a campaign appearance at Garfield High School in Seattle. Stand Up! Seattle made an appearance also displaying a banner that read, "MARIA CANT. SAY NO TO WAR" and "DON'T BARACK O BOMB IRAN." Our primary purpose was to expose Senator Cantwell for the unrepentent war criminal that she is.

We started by passing out leaflets outside the event but were told by security guards that the Cantwell campaign had rented the school grounds and was therefore able to throw us out. They said the fact that one of our members had a small "Impeach Bush" sign on his backpack and another member was holding a "No Iraq War" sign was evidence that we were protesters and that Cantwell was not allowing protesters. We were reminded of the last Democratic Party National Convention where delegates to the convention were thrown out for the smallest displays of anti-war sentiment.

As recently as January, the unrepentant war criminal Democrat Cantwell said of the Iraq war, "No, I don't think it was a mistake."

We decided that rather than be arrested for displaying our banner outside, we should keep it hidden, go inside, and wait for Cantwell to take the stage. We unfurled it at the beginning of her speech while reading aloud the names of Iraqi children killed in the war. Maria responded with a dismissive shrug. After about a minute we were surrounded by security guards and escorted out by the police.

We weren't the only people who protested this event. Several individuals stood with anti-war signs near the entrance to the gymnasium as people were filing in, until they were told to leave. We saw four different anti-war fliers being passed out before the event and inside the gymnasium.

A few minutes into Cantwell's speech, our banner was torn down, but other anti-war protesters held anti-war placards aloft for the remainder of her talk. Thanks to everyone who participated in this semi-spontaneous protest.

Cantwell tried to use Barack Obama and the historically Black Garfield High School as cover to slip into town at precisely the same time a large anti-war protest was happening downtown. She didn't pull it off. All the news articles and broadscasts that came out after the event mentioned our protest and the fact that Cantwell was avoiding the issue of the war. For example, King 5 TV began their segment on Cantwell with video of our banner and focused more on the protest against her than

they did on her speech.

The Stranger began their coverage this way: "It was supposed to be a pep rally, an election-year excuse for getting Washington State's junior senator, Maria Cantwell, on stage with one of the Democrats' most popular figures, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. The advance press materials said the topic of the day was education, but for a few tense minutes on Saturday, the otherwise well-scripted Cantwell campaign event was upended by an antiwar ambush."

In 2004 George Bush did not once try to make a campaign stop inside Seattle city limits. Some of us like to think our early and aggressive protest is what kept him at bay. Wouldn't it be great if war supporter Maria Cantwell were also to decide the only way to campaign here was through the TV set?