WP editorial: Censorship of nonviolent speech at publicly-funded Bush events violates Constitution

[DeepModem Mom]

Don't Read This, Mr. President!
Shooing away dissent
Monday, September 10, 2007; Page A14

THE PRESIDENTIAL Advance Manual, the instruction book for White House events staff, was recently subpoenaed in a West Virginia lawsuit, a case brought by two people arrested at a presidential address for wearing T-shirts with anti-Bush slogans. The lawsuit was settled for $80,000 but with no admission of wrongdoing.

Despite heavy censoring of the released document, the elaborate orchestration of White House efforts to muffle protests is evident. Attendees entering the president's public events have to be screened in case they're hiding secret signs. Only those who are "extremely supportive of the Administration" are allowed near the president. Coordinators should ask police to designate a "protest area where demonstrators can be placed, preferably not in view of the event site or motorcade route." For those "demonstrators" who are accidentally admitted to an event, the manual recommends forming "rally squads" of young Republicans and other supporters to interrupt the sightline between the president and the demonstrators with big signs and to chant "USA! USA! USA!" to drown out hecklers.

There is one occasion when event planners can ignore the demonstrators: when "the media will not see or hear" them.

These regulations have nothing to do with protecting the president's safety (which is the purview of the Secret Service, not the White House advance office); they're meant to protect his image and his ego. And these policies aren't just petty and manipulative. Censoring nonviolent speech at a publicly funded event would seem to run afoul of that other document, the U.S. Constitution....

***

We hope that President Bush will instruct his staff to stop violating the First Amendment. That is, if he ever hears about it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/09/AR2007090901403.html?nav=most_emailed

[Demeter]

1. Well, Yeah. Took You Long Enough.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. There are certain issues -- not many -- that the WP is pretty good on. n

[babylonsister]

2. Rec'd. Not that anything will change, but it's striking to see this in print. nt

[Melissa G]

4. The Pretzeldent will remain insulated but K&R, anyway! n/t

[Greyskye]

5. What the above posters said.

Too little, too late, but worth a :kick: & R.

[indepat]

6. Violate the Constitution? Mercy heavens, enough to make one wonder what they think of next

[Doctor_J]

7. the little pansy in the white house can't bear to look at t-shirts.

the most cowardly man in america wants all signs of discontent taken out of view. He should be put on trial for treason.

[The Count]

8. Interesting exemption showing the purpose of it all:

"There is one occasion when event planners can ignore the demonstrators: when "the media will not see or hear" them."

[Amonester]

9. Straight out of Dr. Paul Joseph G.

It's like a time machine that keeps coming back, no matter how hard it's been kicked on its ugly head...

[Joe Bacon]

10. Yet NO PAPER has done more asskissing than the Washington Post

No paper has lied more for the GOP than the Whoreshington Post. BRODERELLA® and his fellow Pre$$titute$ in the Main$tream Media STILL worship the ground Bush walks on. BRODERELLA® keeps sprinkling the fairy dust telling people to just CLAP HARDER and everything Bush does will turn out just so wonderfully well! Yes, BRODERELLA® puts out column after column telling us our Führer is going to ride an unprecedented surge of popularity, just wait for another FRIEDMAN UNIT, yes, just wait for another FU and we will all love the Führer, yes another FU, another FU, another FU...

[tom_paine]

11. The Constitution is as close to as irrelevant as the Weimer Constitution in 1933

Not as irrelevant as after "Nazi 9/11", the Reichstag Fire.