Memorial Day Weekend is the annual Rolling Thunder weekend. Thousands of veterans on motorcycles come roaring in to the Washington, DC to let America know that they have not forgotten those who didn’t come home–first from Vietnam and now from other more recent wars. Crowds line the streets to cheer these warriors on.
Sarah Palin has ann0unced that she will be joining Rolling Thunder.
Tell me its not true. The Rolling Thunder website makes no mention of a Palin appearance.
This year, the annual bike tour – a Memorial Day weekend staple – will welcome Sarah Palin, who will use the event to kick off a Northeast bus tour, the New York Times reports.
It’s unclear whether or not Palin – the former governor of Alaska and vice-presidential candidate – will speak at the event.
Keep an eye out for her bus; it’s hard to miss. A blue monstrosity, it features the Constitution and the words “One Nation” on the side. A geographic interpretation of the United States in on the back of the bus (pretty much to scale, give or take Hawaii’s rather cozy relationshipwith California), with Palin information mixed in. On the bright side, it’s a step up from her last bus, which was really just a giant Sarah Palin billboard with wheels.
How dare she! In the first place, what does she have to do with Rolling Thunder? She obviously isn’t a Vietnam Vet. Was she invited to join them or did she intrude? For the rest of her trip, Palin won’t share where she is going or when she will be there. Why the secrecy?
Saints preserve us. Is this how she will ride into town?
All of this fanfare must be for only one reason–Presidential Run.
Is it ego or blind ambition or money that is motivating this woman?
Now where is that big blue monstrosity? It gets better. One Nation bus?
Everyone is free to ride with those showing support, so get a grip. It’s still a free country, or at least it was. Hell, if it was Obama everyone would be praising his action, and he’s never even been in the military.
I doubt seriously if EVERYone would be happy if Obama rode with them. Of course anyone can ride with them. However, if Palin does it, it seems rather opportunistic. She was an infant and a pre-schooler during the Vietnam War. Palin has never been in the military either.
I LOVE Rolling Thunder. If Sara Palin wants to ride, that is awesome, good for her, but that she has to announce for press appeal is pathetic.
It hit me as intrusion. I don’t think it is awesome. I hate to think an apolitical organization now is going to become one.
Plus, I selfishly think of Rolling Thunder as MY generation.
She is not doing this to support the troops. Politicians that are veterans don’t attend to ensure that this a apolitical. This is about Sarah Palin and her goofy husband. Did he serve in the military? Oh yea, he wanted to have Alaska succeed from the Union. Very Patriotic.
Both Palins are way too young to have had anything to do with Vietnam. It is purely a political stunt.
It angers me. So much of Vietnam was political. Rolling Thunder is so apolitical. It has nothing to do with how any of us felt about the war. It has focus and direction. There is just no room for anyone’s politics. I hope the crowd turns their backs on her if she rides in in a blaze of glory.
Local Rolling Thunder organizers said that Sarah Palin could ride but she would not speak from the stage. He had no idea how she ended up there. The EMCE of this year’s event and a board member of one of the chapters confessed that he had invited her to ride.
The local man interviewed on TV said he just didn’t want it to become political. I agree.
The more the merrier. Heck, most of the Vietnam vets are getting so long in the tooth that the day will soon come when they won’t be able to mount those hogs and race down the highway. More fresh faces are needed, or Rolling Thunder could become history. How about “Sons of Rolling Thunder”? “Grandsons of Rolling Thunder”?
Palin’s son came back recently from serving an Army tour in Iraq. You might opine that the family “gave” in a sense — more than many Americans can say these days about either Iraq or Afghanistan.
@Wolverine
If she rides and then goes on her merry way without fan-fare, that’s one thing. Anyone can ride with them, vet or not according to their rules.
When has Sarah Palin ever done anything that wasn’t political?
This story keeps changing. I like that about Palin–self serving and attention seeking behavior. She is a blog mistress’s best friend. 😈
I won’t post it here but…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDGZm9ALBUs&feature=player_embedded
I like the opening grizzly roar. Sort of a take off on MGM. My favorite part is the gift of enduring truth succession. From Washington to Lincoln to Reagan to YOU.
It sure skipped a lot of people.
What would Washington have thought of Lincoln? I suspect about what his wife’s prodigy thought of Lincoln.
In the spirit of change: From Ben Smith Washington Post:
@Moon-howler
Oh, that voice! It could shatter glass!
This woman is totally shameless.
Wonder whether she has ever delivered Meals on Wheels? Or via snow mobile?
As a veteran myself, I think it would be more trying to support a child in the military than to actually be in the military. Sarah Palin is the mother of a combat veteran, and so she has the “chops” to participate in Rolling Thunder. I think you should give her a break until she actually does something objectionable during the event.
Kelly, do you think Rolling Thunder should be a platform for political candidates?
I do not.
If she weren’t contemplating running for office and if she did nothing to call attention to herself (no announcements, etc) perhaps I might agree. It is very easy to camouflage one’s self in the middle of thousands of cyclists. Were she to ride without singing about it, more power to her.
But alas, such is not the case.
I would have to see the actual announcement from Palin to see exactly what she said about Rolling Thunder. Her web site states that her bus tour starts this weekend in Washington,DC, but it made no explicit mention of Rolling Thunder. I did a google search of “Rolling Thunder” and “Sarah Palin.” There were lots of hits from news organizations and blog entries that refer to her web announcement, but I could not find the actual web announcement. Do you have a link to it?
@Kelly, no I don’ see an actual announcement either. Most of my information came from the WaPo and TV.
This is where I got the latest.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/following-sarah-palins-bus-tour/2011/05/27/AGspXwCH_blog.html?hpid=z9
I side with Wolverine….the more the merrier. Rolling Thunder may have started as simply Vietnam Vets, but has expanded to more inclusive for anyone who believes “We Will Not Forget”.
As for Palin, she is the first politician I know of to ride…and regardless of the media hype around her, more of the yahoos ought to ride. She sweated out the nights worried over her son, so I give her that. As for being apolitical? This is one of the largest and most active advocacy groups out there – have gotten several pieces of legislation moving to help Veterans and clean up that latrine known as the Veterans Administration. So more power to her if she uses the ride to get the message out.
@Raymond, I should have said partisan. Rolling Thunder wasn’t about the politics of the Vietnam War. To me, an advocacy group isn’t necessarily ‘political’ outside its goals.
I hope the stage isn’t going to open to political speeches from anyone. I have no problem with a president or vice president greeting a group but no speeches about politics from anyone.
P.S. – Palin was invited by Alaskan Veteran Group….and she accepted.
@Raymond, that Alaskan guy should have cleared it and told the main organizers and also made it clear that there were not to be political speeches.
I don’t wish to cast aspersions onthe service of Palin’s son. But what did he do in Iraq? Some may thinkshe has the “chops” to do this, but keep it mind, it has absolutely nothing to do with Memorial Day–it is purely a political gambit of the worst sort.
@GEorge
That is exactly how I feel. It sickens me.
George, Tracker Palin was with the 1st Stryker Brigade which if I recall right is with the 25th Infantry Division. Believe he was a driver for those great little 8-wheeled armored vehicles. Anyway you look at it, makes him part of the “muddy boot” Army and holding an 11-Series Infantry Military Occupational Specialty. For those not familiar, the 11-Series MOS is all Infantry. The 1st Styker went into Diyala in Iraq, which was a bad arse area.
As the news stories unravelled, it seems the Parlimentarian for Rolling Thunder was contacted, and the caveat being she would not be on the stage to make a speech. Haven’t caught up with the rest of the news of what actually happened yet. If she spoke and poked at the mistreatment of Veterans and only that, more power to her.
Moon, Rolling Thunder had everything to do with the politics of the Vietnam War. The first ride back in ’88 was because the politicians were not focusing on accounting for the MIA & POWs. Keep in mind, those same politicians did not recognize anything to do with Agent Orange till 1986, eleven years after the official end date of the War. PTSD being recognized also took over a decade after the War. And there still is resistance as we Vietnam Era guys age to have the system admit additional health problems because of it…and the battle over the illnesses related to Gulf War I with the depleted uranium and oil fires is one being avoided too.
@Raymond,
To those of us who were college students during the heat of the Vietnam War, Rolling Thunder is not political. It is about doing what is right for those who served.
It is about not forgetting POWs and MIAs. It is about honoring those who have served in Vietnam. It is their parade.
It has nothing to do with body count or should we or should we not be in Vietnam. It makes a unified statement. It is a chance for ALL Americans to come out and do something that was never done when our boys came home either on foot, in a wheel chair, or in a body bag. There are more than 50,000 names of that wall. And what for? Somehow ‘domino theory,’ ‘ground war with China,’ ‘stopping communist agression,’ and all the other political sound bytes of the day seem to fall on deaf ears when one views that stark, cold wall.
Sarah Palin has every right to be there on the road as an American. So does anyone. However, I feel it is in horrible taste for her to be there at the event calling attention to herself. But Palin is no stranger to bad taste and yes, she did play the victim. I do hope she wasn’t allowed to speak under their mic.
I stand by the Memorial Day Rolling Thunder event being non partisan and apolitical. All I can do is contrast it today to the politics of the Vietnam War. Not even close.
History will not remember Mrs. Palin and her self serving stunts. History does, and will continue to remember the citizen soldiers that have served our great country so well. God bless all of our men and women serving in harm’s way and those who served before them.
Fabulous comment, Clueless!! I totally agree with your sentiments.
Mr. Lafayette saw the Palin bus rolling down Balls Ford Road Saturday.
Clueless,
Well said and I agree.
Palin’s participation in Rolling Thunder yesterday was fine. I am in favor of anyone who wants to remember our Nation’s POW-MIAs and KIAs to participate in Memorial Day events. Everyone assumes that Palin was involved for political reasons, but remember that very few would have known in advance about her appearance if the NY Times had not made an issue of it. If the event was politicized, it was the NY Times that did the politicizing.
@kelly3406
If it wallks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck………
Vets served as the backdrop for the launch of Palin’s “One Nation” tour. Ironic title given that she and Todd were union busters up in Alaska where they were involved in the Alaska Independence Party, a group founded with the central aim of making Alaska “one nation” and not part of the Union of the United States. Of course, her groupies seem to have no problem overlooking the blatant hypocrisy of her whole family value-patriotism facade.
@Moon-howler
If her video wasn’t an ad for sarapac and her big bus wasn’t part of it I believe I would enjoy it. It was well made and probably expensive.But the 1/2 term governor doesn’t do anything for nothing
The faux outrage at anything and everything Sarah Palin does never ceases to amaze me. She could cure cancer and she would be demonized for it. When is enough enough?
“How dare she!”…. you seem to hold the event as something very personnal to you because it was “your generation”. So tell me, what was your favorite memory the last time you participated in it?
Five of my uncles and my biological father all saw combat in Vietnam. My father was a tunnel rat and came back really messed up mentally. At their age and various levels of health none of them could participate if they wanted to. I don’t know if you have ever even been on a motorcycle but try riding in 90 degree plus heat in stop and go traffic for hours on end. Take it from me, it ain’t easy and takes a toll on you physically and mentally.
You would be surprised at how many riders were never in Vietnam or weren’t even old enough to be in Vietnam. They ride for those who can’t ride any longer. As time goes on the more younger people who decide to ride the better or else the tradition will go away in about 10 years all together.
I welcome Sarah riding in the event even if the only thing that comes out of it is the left bringing more and more attention to it.