Looking for a way to challenge Bubble Boy’s tactics

Long-time readers know that I’ve been fascinated by the White House’s crowd control efforts for about a year now. There’s just something incredible about a president who’ll only attend public events at which audience members are pre-screened sycophants.

During the presidential campaign, most observers were content to just marvel with disgust at the practice. Since the campaign is a private matter, however, the consensus was that Bush was free to exclude whomever he wished. (I argued that these private campaign events actually cost local taxpayers considerably, but that’s another matter for another day)

The campaign, as we all know, is over, but the practice continues. Michael Froomkin noted yesterday the latest incident and wondered what can be done about it.

A [University of Arizona] student was banned from attending President Bush’s Social Security forum at the Tucson Convention Center yesterday.

UA Young Democrat Steven Gerner, a political science and pre-pharmacy sophomore, said he and three other Young Democrats had been waiting in line with their tickets for about 40 minutes when a staff member approached him and asked to read his T-shirt.

Gerner was the only one of the four wearing a UAYD T-shirt, which read, “Don’t be a smart (image of a donkey, the Democratic Party symbol). UA Young Democrats.”

Gerner said the staffer, who refused to provide his name, asked for Gerner’s ticket and crumpled it up.

I’m so used to these kinds of incidents that I’m no longer surprised by how insane they are, but Froomkin is right, these Gestapo-like practices are due — indeed, they’re overdue — for some kind of legal challenge.

In this UA example, a student at a public university had a ticket to see his president speak on public property on a matter of public importance. The student was not being disruptive; he wasn’t even in the door yet. But someone — whether it was a university staffer or administration official is unclear — denied him entry because he was wearing a Democratic shirt? At a campaign rally this would be outrageous. At a local “town hall” meeting, it’s an attack on the principles of our democracy.

As Froomkin put it:

Taxpayers paid for this event — it’s not a campaign rally. And I don’t care if the White House says it’s over-zealous local people doing this — first of all there’s a pattern and practice of this behavior at Bush events. Second, if it is unsanctioned then taking the ticket and ripping it up is a criminal act. Let’s see a prosecution, please.

Quite right. Maybe it’s time to pursue a challenge to this in a more serious, organized manner.