Code Pink Tries to "Arrest" Karl Rove

Code Pink is one of those strange organizations that could not be considered plausible if it were to show up in a work of fiction. Its latest comic atrocity was to try to "arrest" Karl Rove at a meeting of San Francisco mortgage bankers.

Code Pink, which seems to be a group of women who wear pink (the name is a play on terrorism alert levels that range from Code Red to Code Blue) who like to garner publicity by disrupting public events and then getting arrested for doing the same. They tend to be bipartisan in selecting groups to irritate. In March, 2007 Code Pink protestors tried to take over the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in revenge for her failing to cut off funding for the Iraq War. During the Republican National Convention, a Code Pink operative tried to charge the stage as John McCain was making his acceptance speech. In both cases, law enforcement quickly put a stop to Code Pink's misbehavior.

The latest Code Pink action involved a woman named Janine Boneparth who tried to put handcuffs on Karl Rove, former political advisor to President George W. Bush and currently a political commentator, while he was making a speech to some mortgage bankers in San Francisco. The idea was to "arrest" Karl Rove for "treason." There was no word about where Ms. Boneparth intended to take Karl Rove had she succeeded. In any case, law enforcement officers grabbed the Code Pink activist and hustled her away.

It is rather questionable how these sort of madcap actions benefit the "peace movement." Most people, having read about this disruptions or seeing them on TV, have to conclude that the Code Pink women are either crazy or on some kind of ego trip that causes them to do bizarre things in hopes of getting on TV.

The whole idea of forcing a unilateral withdraw from Iraq is kind of a quaint one, seeing that American led coalition forces are on the brink of victory. Code Pink has also descended from mere silliness to ghoulishness. Some demonstrations in front of Walter Reed Hospital have featured the display of fake coffins, which must be a comfort to the wounded soldiers being treated there.

Besides, the spectacle of a group of pink clad, mainly unattractive women rising up to screech like harpies when one is trying to have a meeting is just a little bit off putting. The first thing one thinks when seeing this sort of thing is not, "Well, good for them! Glad to see that someone has the guts to lay on the line for peace."

No, the reaction is more likely to be, with some profanity laced in, "Get these hideous banshees out of here!" Code Pink really needs to learn how to get their message across in such a away that doesn't make even people who agree with them angry and upset.

Source: Protester in SF attempts to handcuff Karl Rove, AP, October 21st, 2008