Texas town braces for dueling rallies

CRAWFORD, Texas – This one-stoplight town of 700 residents near President Bush’s ranch braced for thousands of visitors Saturday, most in a cross-country caravan for a pro-Bush rally and others to support Cindy Sheehan’s anti-war demonstration.

More than 3,000 people were expected at the school football stadium for a pro-Bush rally, the culmination of the “You don’t speak for me, Cindy!” tour that started last week in California.

It would be the largest counter protest since Sheehan started camping out off the road leading to Bush’s ranch on Aug. 6, soon after his Texas vacation began. She vowed to remain unless he talked to her about the war with Iraq that claimed the lives of her son Casey and more than 1,870 other U.S. soldiers.

The pro-Bush caravan was coordinated by Move America Forward, led by former Republican California Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian and Sal Russo, who in 2003 launched one of the two simultaneous efforts to recall California’s then-governor, Democrat Gray Davis.

Meanwhile, hundreds were expected at Sheehan’s camp for a somber Saturday ceremony honoring soldiers serving in Iraq. The protest, which has swelled from dozens on weekdays to about 1,000 the past two weekends, will end Wednesday.