Fox: WH Spokesman Trent Duffy DENIES "loyalty screening" for Bush "events"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

WASHINGTON — The unceremonious ouster of three people from a recent White House Social Security event in Colorado has critics wondering how far President Bush will go to ensure friendly, sympathetic audiences at his town hall-style forums and rallies. “He is the president, and regardless of affiliation, everybody should have the opportunity to go and see the president,” said Aaron Johnson, spokesman for Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo. “It shouldn’t be the job of anybody to make sure the crowd is 100 percent sympathetic.”

“There is an active campaign underway to try and disrupt and disturb his events in hopes of undermining his objective of fixing Social Security,” White House spokesman Trent Duffy told FOXNews.com. “If there is evidence there are people planning to disrupt the president at an event, then they have the right to exclude those people from those events.”

“It’s easy for anyone to say, ‘You only include those who support the president,’ but that’s just not the case,” he said. “A lot of people come in with open minds, they listen to the president and continue to ask questions.” Duffy did not indicate how citizens chosen to speak or ask questions are screened. "There are steps being taken to ensure the president has a degree of order at these events," he said. "I think the president of the United States deserves to have a level of respect when he holds town meetings or any other forum.”

A week before a Bangor, Maine, event in which fist lady Laura Bush was scheduled to campaign for her husband, the paper reported that ticket seekers were asked to fill out questionnaires, stating home and e-mail addresses, Social Security numbers and pledges of support for the president. More recently, The Albuquerque Journal reported that people seeking tickets through New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici's office for a March 22 Social Security event were quizzed about their support of the president ahead of time.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,153720,00.html

[earthboundmisfit]

1. Uh - WTF would they need a Social Security number for, anyway?

Unless it is expressly for identification & possible intimidation if that citizen is not "supportive" of "our great leader"? I would like to see copies of the questionnaires - preferably on the front pages of newspapers and prominently shown on television news - but that'll never happen.

[mark11727]

9. So the IRS doesn't audit the wrong person...

[Fridays Child]

2. Hey, Trent Duffy, why do you hate America?

[rodeodance]

3. they can explain it away anyway they want-in the end they do not want

people in the audiance who may disagree with their policies. simple as that!

[bobthedrummer]

4. Liar, liar, pants on fire, your nose is longer than a telephone wire...

LIAR.

[soothsayer]

14. the Blondie version? or the other one? : ) n/t

[bobthedrummer]

16. The Knickerbockers n/t

[TahitiNut]

5. Not only is Duffy proven to be a lying piece of elephant shit ...

... the notion that preemptive exclusion from our democratic processes based solely on an autocratic police-state 'suspicion' is a legitimate approach betrays their overtly fascist mindset. Steeerike TWO!

[tabasco]

6. Alright then !

Time to start flocking to these events with our Buck Fush t-shirts and see if it's true!

[wakeme2008]

7. What WE need is Dem House Members to request tickets for

a Bush event and see what the reaction is from the WH.

[havocmom]

11. Excellant idea

Congressional reps should request tickets for themselves and local party leaders when the junta holds "Town Meetings". If they are refused, then somebody needs to file suits that it is a GOP meeting and the GOP should foot the bill.

[gratuitous]

8. "If there is evidence," Mr. Duffy?

What "evidence" are you referring to? Who gathered that "evidence"? And what recourse might a citizen have to evaluate the "evidence" against him or her, confront the accuser, and clear his or her name?

This bunch really has no use for the Constitution whatsoever, does it?

[havocmom]

10. Three people holding tickets to his event in Tucson were pulled out

somebody didn't like their tee shirts and checked a list, which one of the people was on because he is active in the UA campus Dem group. Gee, no problem with that huh? THAT WAS loyalty screening. That makes the event a partisan event and should be paid for by the GOP and not the taxpayers!

[ProgressiveFool]

12. Gotta love this typo, though

"in which fist lady Laura Bush was scheduled to campaign for her husband"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

13. I didn't even notice it...but it IS Fox's typo (or Freudian slip)...LOL!

:toast:

[DemBeans]

15. god, they lie like they breathe

"I think the president of the United States deserves to have a level of respect when he holds town meetings or any other forum.”

And for this reason, they do their insane Republican Zombie crowd screening.

The PUBLIC deserves the respect - he works for US - to attend his fucked-up events without signing loyalty oaths and giving them our SS numbers.

[Fire Walk With Me]

17. Only Dittoheads allowed

Anyone else might ask uncomfortable questions that they're not prepared to answer, much less actually do something about.

"What you are not aware of, might as well not exist."

[OneTwentyoNine]

18. Yeah,disrupting Bush means asking him an intelligent question....

He's not prepared to answer any real questions about his SS and why its a disaster,he just wants the "yes sir" crowd.

[Dr Fate]

19. I'll call him a liar- cuz its true. I wont expect any top DEMS to back me.

Will any top DEMs now go on TV and say "The Bush admin is lying- these meetings are NOT open- they ask you if you support the president first..."

NAHHHH. Too truthful and blunt. You might actually have to follow up & continue fighting if you said that. Too much like "somthing Micheal Moore might say."


This story will die in a few days- rachet up one more free pass for Bush.