Denver residents Leslie Weise and Alex Young allege in a lawsuit filed this week that their First Amendment rights were violated when they were removed from a March 21 "town hall meeting" with President Bush. The reason for their removal: a bumper sticker on their car.
It's the latest battle over First Amendment rights. The question, argued in several different cases around the country, is simple: Do Americans have the right to dissent? Do Americans have the right to attend political events if there's a chance they will dissent?
First Amendment issues have popped up across the country over the past year. A Wisconsin man was arrested last year for holding up a sign as a presidential motorcade drove by. A married couple was removed from a Bush event last summer in West Virginia after revealing that they were wearing anti-Bush T-shirts. A Utah man was visited last fall by the Secret Service for having an anti-Bush bumper sticker on his car.
This spring, the Secret Service sent agents to investigate a college art-gallery exhibit of mock postage stamps — one depicted Bush with a gun pointed at his head. And just last month, a Washington State woman was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight for wearing an anti-Bush T-shirt.
It makes me think of a speech given by Michael Douglas' character, President Andrew Shepherd, at the end of the 1995 film, The American President:
America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've got to want it bad, because it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil who is standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.
I doubt that movie gets played much at the current White House. This is, after all, an administration that stages events — like the Orwellian-named "town-hall meetings" — with pre-screened audiences signing loyalty oaths.
Article comments
1 - Hal Pawluk
And most Americans are going to go "ho-hum."
Until it's their turn.
2 - Anthony Grande
O.k. the thing with all those stories is that there is another side to it.
With most of those instances above there was a national security threat. By law anything (a picture or statment) that refers to the President of the United States and death is illegal.
With the girl who got kicked off the airplane: Several other passengers were complaining about her shirt so the flight attendant went up to the girl and asked her to get dressed. The girl said, "How about a cover it up with my sweater," and the flight attendant agreed. (Note: The girl just snuggled with the sweater and didn't actually put it on). A couple minutes later the other passengers started complaining again because the girls sweater was sliding off and revealing the shirt again. So the flight attendant gave the girl a *CHOICE* to either get off the plane or put the sweater on. The girl decided to get off the plane. She wasn't actually kicked off, she left on her own will.
3 - Dave Nalle
When David runs out of current events to spin he apparently goes digging in the files from last year.
BTW, two of the cases mentioned here - he bumper sticker in Utah and the art gallery - clearly involved what the secret service might logically perceive as threats against the president's life. And note that they were investigated, not acted on. In fact, not one person mentioned here faced any legal action as far as I can tell. Even the disorderly conduct for the people with the signs was dismissed.
And then there's the conveniently overlooked fact that none of these 'violations' occured at the direct request of the president. Plus, when we went over these cases previously - is this a rerun or did someone else post about it - as I recall even the case at the Bush speech resulted from actions of overzealous locals, not the President or his staff.
So, as usual, much ado about nothing. It all goes hand in hand with the recent practice of universities having 'free speech zones' because they got tired of visitors seeing protestors in major public areas.
dave
4 - david r. mark
The Denver couple filed suit Monday, Dave. That's why this is newsworthy.
Why did I point out other cases over the past year? It's called background. You might have seen it in other news stories -- or just about every news story. It provides context for the reader, so that a person doesn't mistakenly think this is an isolated event. Sheesh.
The common thread is that these are all first amendment issues. The West Virginia couple was arrested and then released. Like the Denver couple, they have filed suit against White House event planners. The Wisconsin man was charged, and then the city council agreed to drop the charges.
***
Assuming what Anthony said is correct, I can understand the Secret Service investigations of the art gallery and the Utah man's bumper sticker (although apparently that's mass produced, so why this guy was singled out is unclear). But the other incidents did not involve any implied threat against the president. They were just examples of Americans expressing their displeasure with the president.
Last year, I posted a series of entries on my blog describing my family's visit to Disney World. My wife and I, and my son, each wore homemade t-shirts with various anti-Bush or pro-Kerry slogans on the front and Kerry/Edwards logos on the back.
Could Disney have thrown us out of the park? The idea didn't cross our minds at the time, but after reading these various articles -- most notably the woman kicked off the airplane -- it makes me wonder.
5 - david r. mark
And then there's the conveniently overlooked fact that none of these 'violations' occured at the direct request of the president. -- Dave Nalle
Dave, who do you think created the rules for the "town hall meetings?" People associated with the administration. The Bush-style "town hall meetings" -- with the loyalty oaths and the pre-screened Republican-only, no-dissent audiences -- are a creation of this administration.
In fact, one of the people named in the suit from the West Virginia couple is Gregory Jenkins, deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Presidential Advance. The Denver couple names two White House event staffers. Both suits are being reviewed by the Department of Justice.
That seems to be a connection to the White House, no?
6 - Dave Nalle
This loyalty pledge story is particularly fascinating. In researching it I can't find a single first-hand account of someone being asked to sign one or any description of the content of this pledge. The president's campaign staff categorically denied requiring them from town hall attendees and as far as I can tell no attendee has ever admitted to signing one. The only documents anyone at a town hall seems to have actually been offerered to sign were voluntary mailing lists and the like. Yet still the urban legend persists.
Dave
7 - Anthony Grande
Could Disney have thrown us out of the park? David
Not unless there was anything on your shirts that symbolized death. Otherwise it is your 1st Amendment right.
8 - david r. mark
Dave Nalle, it took me all of four seconds to find this reference to loyalty oaths in the Des Moines Register.
"Those attending an August campaign event for Vice President Dick Cheney in New Mexico were asked to sign a loyalty oath, pledging their endorsement for Bush's re-election, before they received tickets to the event."
The Boston Globe, referring to the same event, offered the "first-hand account" you wanted:
"When Vice President Dick Cheney spoke July 31 to a crowd of 2,000 in Rio Rancho, a city of 45,000 near Albuquerque, several people who showed up at the event complained about being asked to sign endorsement forms in order to receive a ticket to hear Cheney.
'Whose vice president is he?' said 72-year-old retiree John Wade of Albuquerque, who was asked to sign the form when he picked up his tickets. ''I just wanted to hear what my vice president had to say, and they make me sign a loyalty oath.'"
The Globe also mentioned this other, similar incident. No, there's no loyalty oath, but the intent is the same.
"Nick Lucy, a 64-year-old veteran and Democrat, said he was turned away from a May 7 rally in Dubuque, Iowa, at which President Bush spoke even though he had a ticket given to him by a local Republican leader. Lucy, who was not asked to sign a form, said he has seen every president since Ronald Reagan, but he was denied access because he is not a registered Republican."
***
Want to retract that "urban legend" claim, Dave? Or do you want to try to spin the facts some more?
9 - david r. mark
Anthony, in only two of the examples provided could the government suggest that the expression indicated a threat. I agree, those should be investigated.
But the other incidents have no such implied threat, which led me to wonder about the t-shirts my family wore last August. If a woman can get booted off an airline flight because of her shirt, why couldn't Disney have booted my family out of Disney World for our shirts?
10 - david r. mark
Note how Dave Nalle doesn't retract his erroneous and partisan statement after he's proven false. So typical. Make an allegation, and then when proven wrong, move onto the next allegation.
The irony, of course, is that Dave Nalle always criticizes my writing, yet never finds anything factually inaccurate. His criticisms are full of factual innacuracies, but he won't admit it.
11 - Nancy
In the T-shirt instance, the other passengers might not like the shirt, but they had no authority - nor did the airline - to negate the shirt, so to speak. Why isn't this woman suing the airline, in this case? I sure would.