Does Cherie Quartarolo speak for Casey Sheehan? [View All]

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http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002306.html

Does Cherie Quartarolo speak for Casey Sheehan?

The right-wing slime machine won't quit. This afternoon, Matt Drudge -- who already caused one uproar this week by twisting Cindy Sheehan words about her meeting with George W. Bush in 2004 -- was at it again. Now, he is trumpeting a statement, received via email, supposedly on behalf of Sheehan's family. The only signer is a woman named "Cherie" who says that she's is the aunt and godmother of Casey Sheehan, Cindy's 24-year-old son killed in Iraq.

Under a huge banner that reads: FAMILY OF FALLEN SOLDIER PLEADS: PLEASE STOP, CINDY:

Our family has been so distressed by the recent activities of Cindy we are breaking our silence and we have collectively written a statement for release. Feel free to distribute it as you wish. Thanks Ð Cherie

In response to questions regarding the Cindy Sheehan/Crawford Texas issue: Sheehan Family Statement:

The Sheehan Family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect.

Sincerely,

Casey Sheehan's grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins.

The slime is spreading quickly. Rush Limbaugh paused to read the statement to his 20 million listeners shortly before his show ended at 3 p.m. Apparently, Limbaugh wasn't troubled -- as we were -- that other than "Cherie," none of the grandparents, uncles, or numerous cousins felt it necessary to attach their names to the statement.

According to this Web site, a woman named Cherie Quartarolo has confirmed the details of her statement. We've done some research., and there is a 53-year-old woman with that name living in Kelseyville, Calif. We know of nothing that disproves her claim that she's related to Casey Sheehan.

On the other hand, the powerful search engine we used to confirm her identity also tracks possible relatives, and Casey's parents, Cindy and Pat Sheehan, didn't come up, nor did any other known relatives of Casey Sheehan.

Also, to this date, despite all the extensive press coverage of Casey Sheehan's death and Cindy Sheehan's activism, there is nothing that mentions Quartarolo. The only Google hit for her is this geneology Web site.

The closest family members of Casey Sheehan are listed in this newspaper obituary in the L.A. Times from April 11, 2004 (from Nexis). Here's who is:

In addition to his parents, Sheehan also is survived by two sisters, Carly, 23, and Jane, 18; a brother, Andy, 20; his paternal grandparents, Frank and Jeanette Sheehan of Chino Hills; and his maternal grandmother, Shirley Miller of Bellflower.

Stating the obvious, none of these people signed the statement printed by Drudge.

The only woman who's been identified in print as Casey Sheehan's aunt, Dede Miller, couldn't be more AGAINST the war. In fact, she is said to be in Crawford with Cindy Sheehan right now. On April 15, 2004, she told the New York Times: "The insanity needs to stop."

Others close to Casey Sheehan have spoken out AGAINST the war, including his sister Carley, his high school sweetheart, even his Scoutmaster.

But even assuming that Quartarolo is a relative...so what? The only story here is the shocking depths that right-wing mud throwers are reaching in their pathetic efforts to tarnish Cindy Sheehan. That's because they can't argue with Cindy on the facts, the lies leading up to the war and the disastrous way that it's been executed so far.

As Casey Sheehan's one already established aunt said, "The insanity needs to stop."