Sheehan criticized for hunger strike

Posted by Jennifer Fox at 9:33 AM on July 6, 2006.

MSNBC must have been feeling particularly venomous toward war protestor Cindy Sheehan. Sheehan appeared on Hardball to talk about the two-month hunger strike she has just started to protest the war.

Norah O'Donnell, substituting for Chris Matthews, relentlessly attacks Sheehan for 'trashing' President Bush, and bullies her with leading questions like 'Isn't this really just more of a publicity stunt?'

Although Sheehan says that her hunger strike is a 'moral reaction to an immoral war' the teaser at the bottom of the screen continues to read 'Starving for Attention.'

Earlier in the interview, O'Donnell mentions that Sheehan may not be speaking for America--just the fringe. However, Sheehan points out that polls indicate that two-thirds of American citizens oppose the Iraq War, which clearly makes for a rather large fringe.

Sheehan's open-ended hunger strike, 'Troops Home Fast' began on July 4 outside the White House. In a statement on her Web site, Sheehan wrote, "We hope the fast will galvanize public attention, invigorate the peace movement, build pressure on elected officials, and get our troops back home!"

Celebrity activists who have already signed on to join Sheehan include Willie Nelson, Danny Glover, Dick Gregory and Dolores Huerta. In mid-August, Sheehan and her fellow protestors will leave the White House and return to 'Camp Casey,' the base Sheehan set up outside Bush's Texas ranch.

Jennnifer Fox is an AlterNet intern.