"Kill him!"? Where was the effing Secret Service?

[TomInTib]

At an event such as that SS personnel are at saturation level in the crowd.

I have a friend whose husband is a SS pilot. He flies squads of SS to campaign events.

They have campaign event coverage down to a science.

Who instructed them to lay off?

[Rocknrule]

1. It's only a crime if it's a threat against a Republican

They don't consider Democrats Americans, or even people
:mad:

[RollWithIt]

33. That is completely false.... the Secret Service is doing a FANTASTIC JOB with Obama...

And I can bet you they had eyes on and questioned whoever made that stupid comment.

[dbmk]

2. They were perhaps doing their job?

Not sure yelling stuff like that in relation to Ayers is part of their turf.

[dflprincess]

7. It was reported that the shouted was yelling that about Obama

and that is part of their turf as threatening an elected official is illegal. I recall back when Bush I was in office, some poor guy in a bar said he'd like to punch Poppy in the nose and some asshole turned him in and he was convicted of making threats. At the time it struct me that the odds of this guy ever getting in nose punching distance of Poppy were pretty slim.

[dbmk]

14. Where was it reported?

The only report I have seen does not support that at all.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/06/in_fla_palin_goes_for_the_roug.html

"Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," Palin said.

"Boooo!" said the crowd.

"And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,'" she continued.

"Boooo!" the crowd repeated.

"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.
---

Feel free to argue that it was aimed at Obama. But don't complain the next time the McCains takes something and blow it out of bounds and proportions. Like a the lipstick comment.

I think McCain saying nothing against someone calling Obama, a colleague in the Senate, a terrorist, is much worse. Thats where the good case is. However ugly the other thing is.

[Honeycombe8]

18. "Kill him" being yelled at a political rally is hate speech, no matter the intended victim.

Any political leader who incites a crowd to violence is breaking the law, to my understanding.

The leader should've stopped and decried the horrific statement and calmed the crowd down.

McCain should've done the same, when someone in his crowd yelled "terrorist" about Obama.

And we all remember how he laughed when someone in one of his town hall meetings hatefully referred to Hillary Clinton as a bitch (she said it in a loud voice).

Who is John McCain? If his followers are any indication, I guess we can see. He and Palin should be arrested for inciting violence, if any of his followers leave one of their rallies and harm someone.

[dbmk]

27. What can I say? I totally agree with everything you just wrote.

I never tried to defend any of it. That was not my argument.

[Honeycombe8]

37. Oh. I see. Well......never mind. :) nt

[riderinthestorm]

19. Yeah, even ASSuming that the man was directing his comments towards Ayers

even THAT is bad enough. Didn't Palin have even a tiny bit of moral outrage to call that fucker out on his despicable threat??!!

[dbmk]

28. See my comment to indie_ana_500 above

I completely agree.

[dflprincess]

29. I heard it either on Tom Hartmann's show or Ron Kuby's

sorry I can't remember which one. But they did report that it was directed at the candidate. And, even if it was directed at Ayers, it was completely out of line and Palin should have called the person on it. This is way different than the lipstick comment - can you imagine what the Repukes would be doing if Biden had said something about McCain and Keating and someone yelled "kill him"? By the time they were done spinning they'd be claiming Biden had called for McCain's death.

[TomInTib]

8. Do you have an inside line?

So, it was all about Ayers, right?

Well, that's good to know.

[dbmk]

11. Do not claim to.

But the transcript is rather clear. There is no basis there to assume or argue that it was aimed at Obama.

Still rather telling, though.

[TomInTib]

15. If this had been directed at Bush, the guy would be in jail, without bail.

Count on it.

[dbmk]

16. Oh sure

I am not in anyway saying that it should not be acted upon. I was only arguing that it might actually fall outside the SS job description, if it was not directed at Obama or one of the other candidates/elected officials.

[TomInTib]

22. I gotcha. nt

[Empowerer]

36. If this had been directed at Bush and Bush was there, yes. But Obama was not there and in no danger

There was no need to throw the man in jail for shouting something at a rally. The appropriate action is to investigate him, which I'm sure is being done.

[mopinko]

31. bill ayers is a fucking hero, god damn it.

man, i have been sticking up for bill ayers in all the many incarnations this has taken around here. he is a fucking hero, who risked his life for peace. how many more would have died in viet nam if people had protested politely in the free speech zones?
regardless, he is a credit to his community now. a tireless advocate for kids, and a fine professor.
he should be a hero to every person on this board. damn, i am getting tired of saying this shit.

[hasssan1]

THAT'S MY FUCKING QUESTION SINCE THIS AFTERNOON !!!!!!!!!!

SO FUCKING MAD RIGHT NOW

[complain jane]

3. They were probably right next to McCain as he yelled it out.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

4. I am pretty sure that the guy yelling is already of under investigation...

at least I hope he is.

[EffieBlack]

20. I agree - I'm sure this is being investigated

But the agents at the event were there to protect Palin and it would have been a gross dereliction of duty for them to pull off of their detail to go after this guy. He posed no immediate threat to anyone, so they would not have swooped in an swept him away. There are other agents who will investigate this - just because we don't see them or just because they didn't haul the guy off in handcuffs for all to see doesn't mean they are not doing their jobs.

From what I heard, it wasn't clear who shouted this or whether he was talking about Obama or Ayers. I'm certain that Secret Service is all over this, whether we see it or not. The Secret Service at that site, as far as I can tell, were doing their jobs and did it right.

[riderinthestorm]

23. They haul people out of Bush events for their tee-shirts. Or bumper stickers on their cars outside.

[Empowerer]

34. A couple of points

The people who "haul off" protesters as these events are often not Secret Service agents - they are White House staff working together with local police. Often people assume anyone with an earpiece is a Secret Service agent, which isn't the case.

Moreover, the instances in which Secret Service arrest people on the spot involve a concern about an imminent threat, where the agents have reason to believe that the person they're detaining poses an immediate danger to their protectee. That's very different than this situation.

In this instance, the person yelling this did not pose an immediate threat to Senator Obama, who was nowhere in the vicinity. Therefore, it was not necessary to take drastic action against him. But, without a doubt, the Secret Service is investigating this person and are assessing whether his outburst was woof-talking or evidence of an intent to actually do Obama harm.

I have worked closely with the Secret Service, so I have some knowledge about this. Based upon my experience, they did exactly what they were supposed to do in this case and in no way undercut or jeopardized Senator Obama's safety. He is in very good hands.

[babylonsister]

5. Great question-I also want to know if anyone arrested that asshole. nt

[TomInTib]

12. Nope. Count on it

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7338902&mesg_id=7339098

They had to have been waved off.

[Cha]

6. Obama has full Secret Service protection and this

should be thoroughly investigated as every bit as important as those strong silent dudes in the sunglasses who have his back everywhere he goes.

[TomInTib]

10. You wouldn't believe, zidzi.

The SS has people (men and women, by the way) out there, holding oppo signs, manning concession stands, doing trash pick-up, everything and more.

If someone hollered something like this at Fearless Leader, they would be jailed without bond.

[BrotherBuzz]

26. Even hours befor the event....

They play telephone repairmen, meter readers, elevator service men. I spied all this with my little eyes when President Clinton visited SF.

I was remodeling a corner suite of a very upscale Nob Hill apartment building that literally overlooked the entrance to the Mark Hopkins Hotel, where the luncheon was held. All the service people that visited my construction site, uninvited, that morning, had the same squiggly wire fed from their collar into their ear. Wink, wink, nod, nod.

[TomInTib]

30. Yep.

If one has never been exposed to the SS, they have absolutely no idea.

I spent an entire evening with Bill Clinton in Seattle.

And a good part of an afternoon.

Them cats are rabid.

Usually....

[Clio the Leo]

35. and they DO NOT flirt back at high school girls....

... I know 'cause I tried when Barbara Bush visited my high school when I was a junior.

Gosh, they were cute.

[Empowerer]

38. Most of the advance people have radios and earpieces, but aren't Secret Service

It is often assumed that everyone with an earpiece is a Secret Service agent, but that's not true. Everyone on the candidate's or president's advance team carries a radio and wears an earpiece and mic in order to communicate with one another. Often the staffs throw their weight around knowing that people think they are Secret Service. You can actually identify them by their pins (and also because the REAL Secret Service agents just look cooler than everybody else!)

[BrotherBuzz]

39. They were SS and I'd met them before.

I had another encounter a few months before. Clinton, again, was in SF and was having a private lunch with Julia Child as the guest of honor at Wolfgang Puck's Postrio restaurant. We were completing the punch list on the brand new private banquet room we had just installed in the restaurant, when the men swept in just hours before Clinton was to arrive.

There had been tons of Clinton people with their clipboards, and radios, and cell phones, and all that junk for days, but the SS were different - they were there for one thing, and one thing only. No intimidation, just business. Very professional. Oh, they were the only ones with wires feeds from their collar to their ears. They were very quiet, too.

[rainbow4321]

9. Ya mean the ones who STOPPED the security checks at his Dallas rally

several months back???? THOSE guys????


WHY is there NO video of the asshole who yelled it being dragged out/surrounded by the SS????


Remember the reports of Palin giggling (on air) when a radio host called someone she was runnig against a bitch and a "cancer"???? Did she at least TRY to stifle a giggle this time around?????????????????

[SDJay]

13. While I practiced law, I was not a Constitutional lawyer...

but IMHO, this is not protected speech. The old standard is 'yelling fire in a crowded theater,' and while this situation would be open to some interpretation based on context, it's quite simply as evil a story as I've ever read. It only takes one fucking lunatic who's got some inbred, fucked up crush on her to try something. Either she knows that, or she's too stupid to understand it when it's happening. Either way, the campaign should be stopped and investigated, but we know that'll never happen. If Obama or Biden had been at the podium during this dialogue, they'd be in orange jump suits right now.

This is really getting to be the looking glass election, isn't it? Democracy is literally on the line.

I can't NOT believe that this piece of shit Palin won't someday get the karma payback she has coming, and oh, how delicious will the public humiliation be.

[riderinthestorm]

17. It's horrifying that even the SS are this partisan that this kind of threat was blown off.

I know the SS pride themselves on their impartiality but with this threat level (and their evident lack of action), I am deeply concerned for Obama's safety. I'm one of those who have been trying to believe that Obama won't be assasinated but that tiny voice in my head just won't go away.

This kind of shit, accompanied by SS inaction, just blows me away and truly frightens me for Obama's safety.

[EffieBlack]

25. The Secret Service is NOT partisan

As I noted in another post, the agents did their jobs at that site. Just because you or I don't see everything they do or that they didn't make a big production of jumping the guy and dragging him out doesn't mean they are not doing their jobs.

A guy yelling "kill him!" at a Palin rally thousands of miles from Barack Obama is NOT an imminent threat to Obama, so there is no reason for the agents assigned to protect Sarah Palin to make a big production of deserting their protectee to jump on the guy. But, trust me, that guy is being investigated out the wazzoo to ensure that neither he nor his associates pose any danger to Obama.

But it is wrong to assume that the fact that Palin's agents didn't drag this guy out of the rally is somehow evidence that the Secret Service agents are partisan or that they undermined Obama's safety. That's just not the case. And it's not fair to the men and women - many of whom are staunch Democrats, by the way - who work their asses off and risk their lives every day protecting these politicians.

[ShortnFiery]

21. The Secret Service tagged this guy - I'm confident of the foregoing statement.

Unlike the present Administration that relishes fear-mongering by manipulating the FBI, I believe that some intelligence and/or protective services (government and otherwise) function best and independently behind the scenes.

Just because there's no follow-up story does NOT mean by any stretch of the imagination that the guy who yelled "Kill him" was not ID and with held for questioning.

I genuinely believe that the Secret Service is an organization of competent professionals. :patriot:

[TomInTib]

24. Sure, they are competent. So is the Army.

But they go into events with specific instructions and guidelines.

Remember who calls the shots.

The Department of Treasury.

Henry Paulsen, CEO.

[Bubbha Jo]

32. Has anyone checked for any reports in FL local papers?

There's usually more details about an incident in them than AP carries.

[EffieBlack]

41. Bingo!

You're exactly right!

[madrchsod]

40. i noticed that many here do not have a clue about how the ss works.

they will question who ever said this and will determine if any action is warranted.

according to many here obama should have his own "blackwater" to guard him because the ss is controlled by the very forces who wish him....not to be elected.

[EffieBlack]

42. But that's not stopping the armchair quarterbacking

[apocalypsehow]

43. That's such an interesting story about your friend's husband, and you tell it so well.

Too bad the Secret Service has never heard of him, since they don't have any "pilots" - the U.S. Military provides all of their official air travel needs, with occasional backup from other government agencies with aviation assets.

Here, look for yourself:

http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/index.shtml

Oh, well. Except for the all the usual parts that weren't true, I enjoyed your tall tale OP immensely.

[EffieBlack]

44. Nice catch

They also don't fly around in "squads." They either fly commercial or, if they're on the candidate's detail, they accompany him/her on their aircraft. Others are pulled from the local field office to work the event.

[apocalypsehow]

45. Our friend Tom often tussles with the truth in his OP's.

The latter usually loses.

One of these days, the reality that Google exists and can be used by anyone with a keyboard handy will occur to him.

[TomInTib]

48. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7338902#7339366

Does your Mother know you are still up?

And, for the record, I am not "our friend", Johnny.

I know how it works.

But I am sure Rush could tell you better.

Tom

[Morrisons Ghost]

49. That's

Not very nice Tom!:spank:

[apocalypsehow]

53. You know squat, friend. But you do spin an amusing yarn.

Too bad for you that 99% of it is easily disproved nonsense.

[Morrisons Ghost]

50. Tussles?

He annihilates it and burns it's corpse! Must be from his days in Seal Team 3!:rofl:

[TomInTib]

47. Swallow what you have been spooned, friend.

And know what you know.

It's a New World, pilgrim.

Ain't no rendition, either.

Who's flying those, pilgrim?

[apocalypsehow]

52. Gibberish is cute, but it is not a legitimate reply.

Please try again.

[AtomicKitten]

46. I hope he was at least detained.

[Sideblinded]

51. Obama headquarters assured me.

I called Obama's national headquarters this morning, and I was assured that this was being investigated and not taken lightly by the secret service.