No Sense of Decency

Edward R. Murrow is often credited with turning public opinion against Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin with his famous See It Now broadcast in March 1954. In reality, the senator's downfall actually began a month later, during the famous Army-McCarthy hearings, televised nationally by ABC.

In the most famous exchange of the hearings (which lasted more than a month) McCarthy badgered Army counsel Joseph Welch about a young attorney in his Boston firm who belonged to the National Lawyer's Guild, an organization with alleged communist ties. Fed up with McCarthy's bullying, Welch finally asked, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last have you left no sense of decency?"

After last night's "display" in the House Gallery, the same question might be posed to the moonbat left, and their chums in Congress. As you probably know, radical icon Cindy Sheehan was arrested in the gallery by Capitol Police shortly before President Bush's State of the Union Address, for wearing a T-shirt with an anti-war slogan. Sheehan was given a ticket for the event by California Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, who said she was "proud" that Ms. Sheehan was her guest.

Personally, I'm proud that few people--and apparently, no TV cameras--showed up for an earlier Sheehan event, held outside the White House. And, judging from press coverage, last night's "bag a pot against Bush" appears to have been a bust as well. In Chicago, a couple of dozen protestors milled around Daley Plaza, according to Andrew Marcus. At least one moonbat was wearing "Abu Ghraib garb," despite temperatures in the 20s. With little public support, the anti-war left had to do something to re-energize its cause, so Cindy scored a seat in the House Gallery, thanks to her good friend Lynn Woolsey.

Free speech is one thing, but trying to turn the State of the Union address into a cheap protest stunt is something else. Could you imagine the outcry if a Republican member of Congress had invited Paula Jones or Kathleen Willey to attend one of Bill Clinton's State of the Union speeches? The outcry would have been deafening, with the MSM leading the charge.

Which brings us back to Mr. Welch and his question about simple, common decency on the stage of American democracy. Cindy Sheehan and her ilk abandoned any attempt at decency a long time ago, but Congresswoman Woolsey is another story. By helping orchestrate last night's stunt, Ms. Woolsey also surrendered any pretense of decorum and decency, and she needs to be held accountable. Censure is certainly in order, although Ms. Woolsey would probably wear that as a badge of honor.

If you think Ms. Woolsey should be censured for her stunt, let Speaker of the House Denny Hastert know. Here's the address/phone number for his office in D.C.:

235 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515-1314
Phone: (202) 225-2976

And for those of you who'd like to give Ms. Woolsey an earful, here's how she can be reached:

2263 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-0506
Phone: (202) 225-5161

Here's hoping that Ms. Woolsey gets a flood of angry phone calls and letters in the coming days. She deserves nothing less.