Ed Brayton is a freelance writer and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
A disturbing report on how the McCain campaign feels about free speech:
On orders from Senator John McCain's security detail, Denver police escorted a 61-year-old woman away who was waiting in line to attend a so-called town hall meeting with McCain that was billed as open to the public.Carol Kreck, who works as a librarian in Denver, held a homemade sign reading "McCain = Bush." On orders from McCain's security detail, police cited her for trespassing and escorted her to the sidewalk. She was told if she returned she would be arrested.
This town hall meeting was apparently billed as open to the public and apparently took place on city property (in the video below, you can hear a police officer agree that it was city property). The woman wasn't disrupting anything, she was just standing outside with a sign that said "McCain = Bush."
Politics
Comments
"McCain = Bush" ! I agree with McCain. He can't let people insult him so rudely.
Posted by: Christophe Thill | July 9, 2008 9:32 AM
McSame and his handlers can't even stomach the sight of one unarmed old lady with a sign -- and they're the ones who are gonna stand up to Iran and al Qaeda?
Remember when McCain actually WAS a straight-talking maverick, back in 2000? Remember when Bush and Rove trashed him with a pack of idiotic lies? Not only has McCain caved in to that attack, not only has he adopted their sleazy and destructive tactics -- but the people who trashed him so cruelly are now getting PAID by their former victim. Not punished and shamed as they should be, but lionized and rewarded.
"Stockholm syndrome" doesn't even begin to cover this level of cravenness.
Posted by: Raging Bee | July 9, 2008 9:36 AM
A page out of the Rove playbook.
It is really nothing new for republicans, though.
When I lived in MI, GW Bush make a campaign stop and a local high school band was going to play. One fo the band members had a Clinton-Gore button on, and the kid - a high school kid - was told to either take off the button or leave.
These people canniot handle even the appearance of dissent.
Posted by: slpage | July 9, 2008 9:44 AM
About a year ago, before it was clear that McCain was going to be the front runner in the primaries, I saw him outside a hotel in DC a few blocks north of the White House. There was a woman about 20 feet away with a bull horn screaming at him "No war in Iran!!!" (and tourists hanging out of a trolley window taking photos, the most surreal part of it). I guess it all changes when you actually have a shot at power.
Posted by: Jen G. | July 9, 2008 9:48 AM
Really? What do you think this is? Soviet Russia?
Posted by: gwangung | July 9, 2008 9:57 AM
"Resistance is futile. I shall brook no dissent."
Gen. Pervez Musharraf, upon assuming power by coup in Pakistan on October 12, 1999.
Posted by: andrew | July 9, 2008 10:06 AM
Ans what did the do to "Pea Pod Boy" standing behind her at the end of the video?
I think this will be thrown out of court when the judge sees the video-but wow, if you can't take the heat....
Posted by: Rev. AJB | July 9, 2008 10:15 AM
Once again, America scores against Old Europe.
Here (France) this kind of censorship happens quite often and is widely acknowledged as "normal". For example, the police will sometimes ask that banners be removed from windows along the trajectory of some government official.
This is actually a quite interesting match, and it is about even: while we are probably a bit better in religious matters and public education, you tend to beat us on free speech and accountability.
Posted by: Jérôme ^ | July 9, 2008 10:21 AM
Having lived in Denver, this doesn't surprise me. They are not very tolerant. They hid behind free speech to grant the Klan a permit to surround the capital, where the marchers honoring King would pass, in full dress on Martin Luther King day. (As if anyone couldn't see the ensuing riot coming. My daughter and I were in the marchers and I cut out pronto when I saw their numbers; damned, glad I did too because, yep, go figure, mayhem ensued.) Now this.
Will be interesting to see how it turns out. There always was a vocal minority there. (It's where I hooked up with the Freedom From Religion Foundation.) Maybe they're getting stronger.
I got a kick out of the two peas in a pod costume. How creative!
PS: Have noticed another Donna has posted. I'll try to remember to post as T's Grammy for my occassional.
Posted by: Donna (T's Grammy) | July 9, 2008 10:48 AM
After eight years of Bush Jr., is ANY Republican proud to be associated with him? This whole incident speaks volumes about Bush's legacy.
Posted by: Raging Bee | July 9, 2008 11:02 AM
what better way to prove mccain is nothing like bush than to use the very same methods that bush has used.
Posted by: arin | July 9, 2008 11:25 AM
I frankly do not care one whit what this lady's sign stated given it was undoubtedly pure political speech - the greatest right we reserved for ourselves within the realm of speech rights. I hope this story has legs and becomes an issue.
The police citing her for trespassing on public property while she expresses her political opinion without citing all the other people there to hear political speech, wow!!! The police motto is to 'protect and to serve'; they certainly served the wrong masters on this account.
Posted by: Michael Heath | July 9, 2008 11:49 AM
"Guns don't kill people. Cops kill people." Tommy Chong from "Still Smoking"---And, in this case, free speech.
Posted by: Phil | July 9, 2008 12:27 PM
At least McCain only had her threatened with arrest instead of actually having her arrested. Yea, I'm not too comforted by that either.
Posted by: Abby Normal | July 9, 2008 12:48 PM
Hey, did they throw the guy out in the green outfit that looks like a pod of peas too?
Let me gues...McCain and Bush, two peas in a pod...out you go commie!!
Posted by: Dave S. | July 9, 2008 1:02 PM
It was my understanding (and I could be wrong) that the McCain group had rented the location for this event. If that's the case, is it still considered public property? I still think it was a stupid thing to do, but IF that's the case, did they have the legal right to have her removed?
Posted by: Sam Lewis | July 9, 2008 1:50 PM
Sam Lewis wrote:
I don't think so. They could certainly have her removed for disrupting the event (and several people were removed from inside the facility for disrupting McCain's speech, without any free speech implications). But this is still public property and it's during a political campaign event; that would surely be considered a traditional open forum by the courts. To stand outside the facility with a sign should be absolutely protected speech.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | July 9, 2008 1:57 PM
I think it is our moral obligation that, in defense of the First Amendment, we make similiarly worded signs and convince all our dear sweet mothers to hold them up at public McCain rallies across the country. Should it come to that, we have to coach them to be willing to be arrested.
Central PA will be handled by my Mom. However, she doesn't know it yet.
Posted by: Lauri | July 9, 2008 3:53 PM
Lauri-I'm just trying to get the image out of my head of my mom in the back of a police car;-)
Posted by: Rev. AJB | July 9, 2008 4:03 PM
Rev. AJB - But she'd certainly do it if you tell her she'd be the bestest Mom ever.
Posted by: Lauri | July 9, 2008 4:50 PM
Great, now I'm trying to get the image out of my head of my mom in the back seat of a non-police car. At least the foggy windows are blurring the details.
Posted by: Abby Normal | July 9, 2008 4:58 PM
McCain acting as if to prove her point?
Posted by: mark | July 9, 2008 6:17 PM
Is it terribly surprising that the co-author of McCain-Feingold thinks that political speech should be circumscribed?
Posted by: James K | July 10, 2008 5:19 AM
Sam, in addition to Ed's point, even if they had rented it, she was on the sidewalk in front. I don't think you can lease the sidewalk and forbid people to walk on it.
Posted by: T's Grammy | July 10, 2008 7:28 AM
Lauri-my mom did march in some of the early Civil Rights marches here in Indiana. She always had to do it when her mom was in Georgia visiting family-and she was only home with her Yankee, Lincoln-loving father;-)
So I bet she'd do it-if Mc Cain decides to hit small city Indiana.
Posted by: Rev. AJB | July 10, 2008 11:09 AM
Seems McCain has been busy lately, what with still trying to get past his bomb, bomb, bomb Iran foreign policy position, his running around distancing himself from his top financial adviser who called Americans whiners for complaining about our economy, his disgraceful comments on our Social Security program, his even more disgraceful joke about killing Iranian citizens with foreign cigarettes, to distancing himself from any talk of viagra and even had his 100 year war platform pulled out from under him by Iraq and still had to work hard to find time to deny vets their benefits. He had to try to locate missing non-existent economic supporters and rack his brain for any memory of saying what he said in the first place about his own economic skills. And this was just Monday. Now the poor man has to remember who is what re: Steelers, Sunni, Packers, Shia. Give the man a break. The man is incredible as he still finds time to issue challenges 24/7 for Obama to appear before him.
I have a challenge for Mr. McCain.
John Sidney McCain is hereby challenged to meet with the sweet little old librarian, Carol Kreck, who was denied access to his public forum on public property, issued a trespassing ticket and threatened with arrest for simply carrying a sign that said McCain = Bush - I challenge John Sidney McCain to answer a few of HER questions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lyaMrS0hzk
Posted by: MsSwin | July 11, 2008 7:51 PM