Secret Service Tosses Those Donning Message T-shirts at Wisconsin King George Rally
Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News blogs about three Racine, Wisconsin, residents who were ejected by the Secret Service from a recent Bush rally, not because they were a threat to the president or because they verbally disrupted the affair, but because they donned T-shirts with the word "liar" on them. Keith Rosenberg, Michael Goebel and James Bremner said they signed the required pledge stating they supported Bush. They said they did not put on the their message T-shirts until Bush appeared on stage to speak. They claim they did not intend to riot, but intended to "hand it to [Bush] because the guy is a blatant liar."
We should be very concerned by happenings like this. The recent arrest of the mother of a dead soldier, Sue Neiderer, was probably the saddest example of what's happening out on the campaign trail. What this T-shirt story proves is that Bush is a danger, himself, to the political stability within our own nation. His policies and divisive leadership have apparently caused the Secret Service to have concerns, whether legitimate or not, about the safety of this president and his Loyalty-Oath audiences. It shows us that they believe there is such instability inside our nation that even a fresh-faced American college kid with a message T-shirt is a potential danger to anyone with conflicting opinions while in the same arena with this president. If that sounds ludicrous, it may be because it is. How did we get to this stifling point in American dissent and free speech rights?
I believe, if the overall political discussion was more open in the media and more reflective of the way America really thinks (rather than "rah-rah" Honeymoon Bush), there would not be such public frustration and conflict. I believe, if Bush rallies were open to the American public, regardless of political affiliation, the truth would be naturally and peacefully revealed. We'd hear some 'boos' and healthy democratic dissent. Instead, the Bush campaign is anti-democratic (while Bush spouts off about the value of freedom and democracy on the other side of the barricades). The campaign's Loyalty Oath policy creates confrontation.
He's not a King. He's our public employee.
