Liberal Senators Give Tacit Approval as Berkeley Bashes Marines
Pam Meister

There was a showdown this week between military supporters and the floridly attired anti-military group Code Pink. The place? Berkeley, California, where the liberal atmosphere is so thick you could cut it with the proverbial knife. And liberal members of the Senate, by their actions (never words, mind you, that can actually go on record), gave the military bashers a hearty slap on the back in fellowship.

A little background: In 2007, the Marines opened up a recruiting center in downtown Berkeley. I can’t imagine how many potential recruits the Marines actually expected to come waltzing through their doors in this liberal Mecca, but you never know: some kids rebel against conservative parents by becoming radicals. Who knows how kids of liberal parentage revolt?

In any case, the idea of having a military recruiter in their midst was simply too much for the good citizens of Berkeley. All that patriotism and pride of service for country must have been a boon to local pharmacies selling Pepto Bismol and Kaopectate. Code Pink moved in on the Marines much like a pack of lionesses move in on a zebra. (At least the lionesses have a valid reason for their attack.) These women who supposedly promote peace and harmony staged weekly protests outside the center, harassing those who sought to enter and generally making nuisances of themselves. Ironically, it is the existence of our military that grants these brazen broads their right to protest, but irony (in addition to civics) is obviously not their strong point.

Then Berkeley’s City Council, displaying the shallow depth of its wisdom, gave Code Pink a weekly parking permit in front of the Marine recruiting center and a noise permit to make a matched set. In addition, they sent the Marine Corps a letter stating that it “is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders.â€