White House operatives passed out t-shirts to the crowd with Obama's new campaign logo, 'Together We Thrive.' The words were also taped to the seats in which mourners would sit during the service.
WireUpdate reported the following:
During Wednesday night’s memorial service of the fallen and wounded in the Arizona shooting tragedy attendees received a free t-shirt with a “Together We Thrive” logo emblazon on the front. Many conservatives were outraged that the President and university organizers politicized the event.
Conservative writer Michelle Malkin wrote, “President Obama used to preach that there was no “Red America” and no “Blue America,” just one America. But tonight at the memorial for the Tucson massacre victims, it will be a sea of blue as the White House unveils the “Together We Thrive” logo and slogan. Yes, the Tucson massacre is being branded.”
Televised records of the event depict a cheering crowd, not mournful spectators paying homage to the dead. An Indian invocation was offered at the beginning of the event, followed by cheers from a crowd that reacted more like the audience at a rock concert than a memorial service.
There were no Christian clergy present on the platform..
In conservative columnist Michelle Malkin's live-blog of the event, she refers to the gathering as a 'pep rally.'
Malkin also reports that buses from the University of Arizona at Tuscon flashed the Obama campaign theme prior to the event. When Obama entered the arena, the crowd wildly cheered and applauded as if they were doped pot heads at a Doobie Brothers concert. Hoots and shouts and cheers were heard each time a Leftwing speaker took the podium, such as Janet Napolitano and Eric Holder.
Said Malkin,
Obama enters stadium to wild applause. Opening music: Copeland’s Fanfare for the Common Man.
Native American gives rambling speech while holding a feather. His remarks are frequently interrupted by whoops and cheers. He gives a shout-out to his son serving in Afghanistan. Brags about his ethnic Mexican background. Babbles about two-legged and four-legged creatures and the feminine energy that comes from Mother Earth.
Mercy.
More whoops and hollers for the National Anthem singer.
More whoops and hollers for the University of Arizona president.
8:28pm Eastern: Intern Daniel Hernandez, who was by Rep. Giffords’ side on Saturday and acted courageously to stanch the bleeding from her head wound, gives an excellent speech paying tribute to the heroes.
Gov. Brewer takes the stage to polite applause and pays tribute to the victims. The shooting “pierced our sense of well-being.” Arizona’s hope “will not be shredded by one madman’s act of darkness.”
Brewer brings reverence and sobriety to the event, God bless her: We will go forward “in prayer, unbending and unbowed.”
And immediately, the sobriety is broken by massive whoops and hollers for Janet Napolitano.
Just. Gross.
Disgusting. This was no memorial event but a politicized pep rally similar to that of Paul Wellstone's infamous memorial in Minnesota during which Democrat operatives turned the event into a partisan political propaganda opportunity.
Families of the victims should be thoroughly disgusted.
Other conservatives on Twitter shared in the sentiment. Some have already speculated the shirts were paid for with taxpayer dollars.
Michelle Malkin had earlier raised a rukus about the event's logo on her blog.
"Isn't the churning of the instant messaging machine a bit, well, unseemly?" she wrote. "Can't the Democrat political stage managers give it a break just once?"
Right-wing media star Tammy Bruce had some of the harshest attacks on the event and the crowd here in Tucson. She likened the event to the 2002 funeral for Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN), which conservatives at the time claimed was unfairly turned into a political rally by Wellstone's supporters.
"Massacre Rally Theatre is a complete abomination. Absolutely obscene," Bruce tweeted Wednesday. "Clinton should be happy, no longer will 'Wellstone' be the benchmark."
An election for President and Commander in Chief of the Military must strive to be above reproach. Our public institutions must give the public confidence that a presidential candidate has complied with the election process that is prescribed by our Constitution and laws. It is only after a presidential candidate satisfies the rules of such a process that he/she can expect members of the public, regardless of their party affiliations, to give him/her the respect that the Office of President so much deserves.
Oh my freaking goodness. I actually came here agreeing with you, with the fact that the boisterous cheering was a bit over the top and disrespectful. But of course you paranoid wingnuts have to find some political meaning to it. First, you complain about the lack of a Christian clergy member? It wasn't enough for you that practically EVERY SINGLE SPEAKER quoted the Bible? I agree with you that the boisterous cheering was too much. They did it for everybody. Of course you want to find some sort of meaning in your paranoid belief that the cheers for your guy wasn't as loud as the cheers for the other guy. It's perfectly fine to criticize the overall tone and atmosphere of the event, but I just can't freaking comprehend that people are politicizing this already. That, to me, is far more disrespectful than the overly enthusiastic cheering that anybody in the crowd did.
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