Three Brave Souls From Denver Fight Bush's Suppression Of Free Speech!

[DistressedAmerican]

A friend of mine sent me this story and It seems to be getting some traction. I saw it on CNN yesterday under the title "Banned Over A Bumper sticker". Great work guys.

Can you guess the moral to the story?
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This piece appeared as a link on BuzzFlash, a twice-daily email I receive. The website is: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/3/29/113651/512



Suppressing free speech

by kos
Tue Mar 29th, 2005 at 08:36:51 PST

This is incredible:

Very rarely does the everyday public get a glimpse of what happens behind the scenes in a normally-secret Bush Administration.

But Monday, March 28, the Secret Service called three everyday people into their offices to discuss why we were kicked out of a presidential event in Denver last week where Bush promoted his plan to privatize Social Security. What they revealed to us and our lawyer was fascinating.

There we were - three people who had personally picked up tickets from Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez's office and went to a presidential event. But as we entered, we were told that we had been "ID'ed" and were warned that any disruption would get us arrested.

After being seated in the audience we were forcibly removed before the President arrived, even though we had not been disruptive. We were shocked when told that this presidential event was a "private event" and were commanded to leave.

More astonishingly, when the Secret Service was contacted the next day they agreed to meet with us this Monday, March 28 to discuss the circumstances surrounding our removal. We had two big questions going into this meeting:

1. How is the Bush Administration "ID'ing" citizens before presidential events?

2. Why was an official taxpayer-funded event called a "private event" - leading to citizens being kicked out?

Most shocking of all, we got answers to both questions.

The Secret Service revealed that we were "ID'ed" when local Republican staffers saw a bumper sticker on the car we drove which said "No More Blood For Oil." Evidently, the free speech expressed on one bumper sticker is cause enough to eject three citizens from a presidential event. (Similarly, someone was ejected from Bush's Social Security privatization event in Arizona the same day simply for wearing a Democratic t-shirt.)

The Secret Service also revealed that ticket distribution and staffing of the Social Security event was run by the local Republican Party. They wanted us to be clear that it was a Republican staffer - not the Secret Service - who kicked us out of the presidential event. But this revealed something else that should be startling to all Americans.

After allowing taxpayers to finance his privatization events (let's call them what they really are after all,) and after using the White House communications apparatus to set them up, Bush is privatizing the ticket distribution and security staffing at his events to the Republican Party. The losers are not just taxpayers, but anyone who values the First Amendment. Under the banner of a "private event" the Republican Party is excluding citizens from seeing their president because of the lone sin of expressing the wrong idea on a bumper sticker or t-shirt. The question for Americans is - will we allow our freedom to be privatized?

Karen Bauer, Leslie Weise. Alexander Young
Denver residents

I was emailed this account by the people involved, so it's straight from the horse's mouth. The AP did a story on this as well.

"They hadn't done anything wrong. They weren't dressed inappropriately, they didn't say anything inappropriate," Recht said. "They were kicked out of this venue and not allowed to hear what the president had to say based solely on this political bumper sticker.

"The very essence of the First Amendment is that you can't be punished for the speech you make, the statements you make," Recht said.

So to emphasize -- the White House uses taxpayer dollars to finance these propaganda events. THEN, in order to keep out anyone who might be critical, they "outsource" ticketing and security. That way they can label the events "private" and kick out anyone they want in violation of the First Amendment.

Who in Congress will step up and call for an investigation?
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Moral, do not let these thugs push you around. Stand up for yourself out there. We can frequently win as we are on the right side! Shove their hypocrisy right down their freaking throats!

[skylarmae]

1. this is really scarry stuff. What are we going to

do? This will only get worse unless we can take care of this and put an end to these tactics. The very fact that we allowed these 'loyalty oath' events to continue during the election cycle should be evidence that behaviors like this run rampant unless corrected...

[rodeodance]

5. and taxpayers are funding these events. like Air Force One jet fuel, etc

[ObaMania]

8. What are we gonna do? Same as always...

.. not one f%&king thing.

[DistressedAmerican]

2. One Clear Lesson: When Crashing This Party, Be As Nondiscript

As possible. Apparently the spying on you begins in the parking lot. Sneak in under the radar.

[bryant69]

3. Just goes to show how interested the Bushies are in open debate

Not at all.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[rodeodance]

4. so the WH was out of the loop on these policies??

As if the WH did not know of these policies! Stupid people will believe these excuses. That was a Reagan tactic!!

[bryant69]

6. I don't know if that's implied

I think they were trying to set a distinction between the Secret service and the Republican Party - it's easy enough to imagine a Secret Service guy being embarrassed at being used this way. But the President is not just the head of the Executive Branch, he's also the head of the Republican Party, and so is equally responsible.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[DistressedAmerican]

7. Yeah, he Secret Service Was Not Involved My Ass

It was just those bad local republicans. Shame on them. No mention of the Secret Service acting to stop these supposed corrupt local officials!

Nice Work (As Always) Agent Mike! Everyone Say Hi To Hardworking Agent Mike:hi:

[FreedomAngel82]

11. Yep

That shows to me he is a true hider with the facts and truth. And what's disgusting is these people didn't even have a chance to try anything if they did have anything planned (like that one guy did once with a SS "rally"). It's purely disgusting.

[EFerrari]

9. WTF -- we're funding Republican pep rallies.

That's baloney! I've been thinking about this ever since the story broke. We have to hit the phones again. What -- we can't afford SS, a program that does better than just about any other one, but we can afford Republican "Screw Your First Amendment" rallies?

Makes me so mad. :nuke:

Do you know if these guys have checked with the ACLU? It says they have "lawyers" in the OP.

[DistressedAmerican]

10. kicking!

:kick:

[DistressedAmerican]

12. Rocky Mountain News Has Picked Up The Story!

Link: URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3661120,00.html

-Snip-
GOP aide ousted three

At Bush speech, they were told man was with Secret Service

By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News
March 30, 2005

A Republican Party staffer dressed like a Secret Service agent forcibly removed three people from President Bush's speech in Denver last week after they arrived in a car with a "No more blood for oil" bumper sticker.

The man's identity as a Republican staffer was confirmed to the Rocky Mountain News on Tuesday by Denver Secret Service agent in charge Lon Garner, who investigated the incident. He declined to identify the man.

The three people said the man wore a lapel pin and an earpiece, and they were told he was with the Secret Service. And they and their attorney quoted agent Garner as saying the staffer admitted forcing them out solely due to the bumper sticker.

"I think this is appalling," said Alex Young, one of the three people evicted from the White House-sponsored event at the Wings over the Rockies museum, even though they had done nothing.

"In my mind, it's a clear First Amendment violation. They are being punished for the speech on their bumper sticker," said Dan Recht, an attorney representing Young, 25, Leslie Weise, 39, and Karen Bauer, 38.

White House spokesman Allen Abney said White House policy is: "If they come to an event to disrupt an event, they will be asked to leave."

He declined to say what action would get a person removed from a presidential appearance. He said there are places outside for protesters, adding "the president strongly believes in freedom of speech."
-End Snip-

Sure He Does! No one works to protect free speech like George Bush!