The Million Vet March, held yesterday at Washington, D.C.’s national monuments and landmarks, including the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial, was hijacked by Sarah Palin, Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, and the Tea Party, according to the March’s founders. A few hundred veterans and non-veterans Tea Partiers, some waving Confederate flags in front of the White House vandalized the nation’s monuments, piling high the barricades (“barricades”) used to protect the priceless tributes to our nation’s vets and history after the Tea party successfully shut down the federal government, furloughing most Park Police who ordinarily would be assigned to protest the nation’s landmarks.
PHOTOS: Palin And Confederate Flag Rally Tea Party Vandals Piling ‘Barrycades’ At White House
Complaining on their website that the “political agenda put forth by a local organizer in Washington DC was not in alignment with our message,” Brats for Veterans Advocacy Group — the group that created the Million Vet March — write:
We feel disheartened that some would seek to hijack the narrative for political gain. The core principle is about all Americans honoring Veterans in a peaceful and apolitical manner.
During the March yesterday, Sarah Palin delivered an embarrassing speech full of words like “tyranny” and phrases like “lack of valor.”
“Vets, We the People have learned from you! We know America will only remain the “Home of the Free” so long as we are the “Home of the Brave!”
So, as we honor you, U.S. Military, know that our gratitude will not sleep! We will be brave! You were not timid, so we shall not be timid in calling out ANY who heart-wrenchingly would use you as pawns in a political game.
Yes, Palin decried “ANY who heart-wrenchingly would use” veterans “as pawns in a political game,” while using veterans as pawns in a political game.
But this is typical Sarah Palin — co-opting someone else’s work. Remember that the former governor of Alaska is being sued for using an iconic copyrighted photo on 9/11.
Senators Cruz and Lee also delivered embarrassing speeches, attacking the Obama administration and Obamacare.
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The Tea Party members who vandalized the memorials, piling high barricades and trampling on history, also had a few unkind words for the federal government’s park police, called out in riot gear after the Tea Partyiers did their damage.
John Aravosis at AmericaBlog notes some protestors called the Park Police “Brownshirts,” a reference to Hitler’s original SS, and claimed they looked “like something out of Kenya,” a birther slur against President BaracK Obama.
The Million Vet March organizers on their website posted a few Rally Guidelines, “we do not condone, advocate or support the following during the gatherings,” all of which were sadly ignored:
- Inappropriate language while attending any and all gatherings
- Racial comments
- Political rhetoric veering away from our core message as stated on our website.
- Disrespecting our National Monuments through defacing, littering, tagging or any other act that leaves them in less than perfect condition.
- Disrespecting of others
- Venturing into areas blocked off through barricades
- The mistreatment of people in authority – including park, city, county, state and DC officers.
- Disregard for sanitation
- The threat of harm against public officials or fellow rally attendees.
- Solicitations for donations
- Retail sales (including, but not limited to beverages, snacks, branded merchandise, etc)
- Protest signs that do not convey the core message contained within our pages
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Photo: More from the #ImpeachObama â€#MillionVetMarch to the White House today. Hey, seven is the new million: pic.twitter.com/zD4WjHnDOC
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) October 13, 2013
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GOP shutdown the government; and the #MillionVetMarch response? Bring a Confederate flag to the Black POTUS’s home. pic.twitter.com/aegEo9bpAd
— Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) October 13, 2013
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Leave it to Palin and her “Patriots” to be the real “ugly Americans.”
Hat tip: Think Progress
Image, top, by Ted Cruz via Twitter