Typical Bush Tactics

The Washington Post repports that

Three Denver residents yesterday charged that they were forcibly removed from one of President Bush's town meetings on Social Security because they displayed a bumper sticker on their car condemning the administration's Middle East policies.

The three, all self-described progressives who oppose Bush's Social Security plan, said an unidentified official at an event in Denver last week forced them to leave before the president started to speak, even though they had done nothing disruptive, said their attorney, Dan Recht. …

Scott McClellan, Bush's press secretary, said it was a volunteer who asked them to leave "out of concern they might try to disrupt the event."

This is not the first time people have complained about heavy-handed monitoring of who can attend … Bush's events promoting his Social Security plan. A newspaper in Fargo, N.D., reported that when Bush came to the city on Feb. 3, more than 40 residents were barred from attending the event. …

In this case, Alex Young, 25; Karen Bauer, 38; and Leslie Weise, 39, said they were forced out even though they said nothing and did not sport T-shirts or signs criticizing the president or his policies. …

The three were invited to the event by Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.). Jordan Stoick, spokesman for Beauprez, said the congressman's office distributed the tickets at the behest of the White House …

"When you are punished by not being allowed to listen to your president speak because of speech you have on your bumper sticker, that is a classic First Amendment issue." [said Recht.]