Fargo blacklist may trace to WH advance team....heh heh

[madfloridian]

http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=82503§ion=News
SNIP..."The whodunit mystery surrounding the do-not-admit list for President Bush's Fargo visit still hasn't been solved, but clues uncovered Friday indicate a worker with the White House advance team may have been the culprit.

This comes just one day after spokesmen for the White House and North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven said the list was the result of "an overzealous volunteer."

The list contained the names of 42 people who were not supposed to be given tickets to Bush's speech Thursday. Thirty-three of them belong to the local progressive group Democracy for America.

The White House advance team was comprised of several people -- some state and local volunteers; others White House staff people -- who came to Fargo ahead of time to prepare for the event. The list was leaked to The Forum Wednesday and verified with two sources close to the ticket distribution process, who asked to be anonymous for fear of retribution. The list was further confirmed by several citizens who said they noticed the list when they went to get tickets.

Reaction from people named on the list has been mixed. Some believe they have been unfairly singled out and have done nothing to deserve the publicity.

Others wear the designation as a badge of honor. For Tom McMahon, executive director of Democracy for America based in Burlington, Vt., the exposure has been positive."

[Erika]

1. Since when are Americans blacklisted from

hearing the president talk?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

2. Since January 20, 2001 n/t

[kath]

7. Yep, he only appears before Potemkin crowds, and this has been

true for at least the past 4 years.

[susu369]

12. That's why I call bu$h The Potemkin Village Idiot

Wolcott summed it up beautifully:
"Bush represses his under rodeo bravado, strutting his stuff before applause-machine audiences that reassure him that he's top gun."

[madfloridian]

3. I am glad to see this paper pursuing this.

We are huge supporters of Dean's DFA, we write letters, we go to peace rallies. A couple of our group are traveling overseas soon...guess they will find out what lists they are on. We are pretty vocal here.

Glad the paper is going after it, because our Democrats are deadly silent on it. Not even a wee little peep out of them.

Thd DFA blog has pursued it of course, but not a single other Democrat has touched it.

[ThorsHammer]

4. Didn't they require approval at all the campaign talks last year?

[ThorsHammer]

5. Bush/Cheney, not Kerry/Edwards

[madfloridian]

6. But that was campaign, now it is the people's business...

They should not blacklist anyone from going into a discussion like that, especially a Democratic group. It is inexcusable. Dean is about set to be chair, and members of his group are blacklisted.

[ThorsHammer]

18. I agree with you

I was just pointing out that B/C had a paranoid attitude even during the campaign, while K/E were open to everyone. I agree that people should not be blacklisted. It's fine to set up a security thing (X-ray, detectors, etc), but they should not restrict people based on political affiliation. He is supposed to be working for all Americans.

[radfringe]

8. nixon has his list

bush has one too...

but it's not his fault...someone else did it....

[Squeech]

10. If he adopts Nixon's tactics

may he share Nixon's destiny.

[radfringe]

19. a few months ago there were

comments reported by "un-named" White House sources that the atmosphere of bush* white house is WORSE than it was under Nixon...

[bklyncowgirl]

9. Overzealous sailors hung the "Mission Accomplished" sign

The White House political wing wanted to make sure the Shrub had a friendly and enthusiastic crowd to pitch his snake oil at.

They wanted to make sure that he got it so they identified potential troublemakers and tried to bar them. I bet this has been going on for some time and thanks to some brave anonymous person from Fargo and a newspaper that wasn't afraid to publish the truth, we know about it.

It's scary as hell. When do they move from simply saying you can't hear the President--by the way, who paid for this gig--was it the taxpayers? To rounding up potential troublemakers before the White House road show hits town to avoid any unsightly demonstrations?

Big Brother is watching.

[baldguy]

11. They've been doing this from day one.

A real news media would investigate & report on this fascist anti-American policy every day!

[madfloridian]

13. And ideally the Democrats would oppose such things vocally.

However, I believe they might be a little embarrassed by activism. I think it is the result of years of trying not to offend. To get where we need to be we will need people like this, and the party needs to stand up for them.

[hector459]

14. Make the MSM accountable!! Hound them with e-mail, calls, and letters

about this. They are so complicit in smothering freedom of the press and freedom of speech in country!

[bloom]

15. "Others wear the designation as a badge of honor."

Good for them!!!!

[madfloridian]

16. A disabled vet on the list....very sad.

I saw this at the In forum comments, and it looks like it is mostly folks who try to make a difference. My God, there are some ugly comments there.

SNIP...."Bruce Brovold
02/05 10:25 a.m. My name was on that list and I don't belong to Democracy for America. Nor am I now, or ever been a member of the communist party. My crime is I am a safety advocate for disabled veterans. I am a disabled veteran. I write letters to the Forum and go to the city commission to complain about the city not enforcing the sidewalk snow removal ordiance. I sure hope they don't put me on the no-fly list. We are loosing out freedom of speach and right to assemble as well as other liberties under Bush's paranoid admistration. I hope to see all didabled veterans at the Feb. 14th @5PM commission meeting, complaing about un-cleared sidewalks. You all deserve some respect....."
http://www.in-forum.com/talk/index.cfm?id=1590&article_id=82503

As I say, why are not our Democrats speaking out on this?

[madfloridian]

17. More from the comments at the forum.....

I am not posting the hateful comments, but these two impressed me. This is like getting a peek into the feelings of another conservative community, much like mine...though far removed geographically. It is getting inside the mind of a community. I liked these two comments.

David Bard
02/03 5:05 p.m. I am on the list. I had no intention of attending the speech, since I do not agree with Bush's politics. Honestly, I feel like my civil liberties have been violated. Bush is an elected official, and this was supposed to be open to the public. I also wonder why I was singled out on the list. From what I gather, there are many people on the e-mail list for the Fargo-Moorhead Democracy for America Meetup Group. Not all of those people are on the list. Hypothetically if I had a job where I had to keep my politics to myself, I would be screwed. Thankfully I'm just a student working in food service, a music store, and at a radio station. I included my name, because as long as its out there anyway, I feel a need to stand by my words. To those who feel likewise I thank you for voicing your opinion on this message board.
Rae
02/03 4:23 p.m. Todd- Go to the web site for Democracy for America provided by the forum for us, and join. :) I along with MANY other people did so today. You won't make this list but maybe the next one. :)
http://www.in-forum.com/talk/index.cfm?id=1590&talk_page=4

Again, where are our Democrats on this, and where is the media. I just did a search at google and got 0 hits in the news section.

On Edit: the smilies in the post above are not mine, but just showed up from the comments at the forum.