Bubble Boy policies spark protest in Maryland

June 24, 2005

The president hosted yet another Social Security event yesterday, and as is always the case, it was held exclusively for pre-screened sycophants. Yesterday’s gathering in a Maryland suburb, just outside DC, however, was slightly better in that the number of protestors rivaled the number of toadies.

And what were they protesting? A policy that doesn’t let citizens see their president.

President Bush visited Montgomery Blair High School yesterday for a town hall-style meeting to discuss his plan to partially privatize Social Security — an appearance that drew about 400 protesters outside the Silver Spring school.

The loudest voices came from some Montgomery County residents and Blair students who questioned why they were not allowed inside. They were kept far from the president, but their shouts and beating drums could be heard by some of the 500 invitees waiting to pass through security.

Bush was hosting a public event, at taxpayer expense, in a public school, but if you don’t embrace the president’s infallibility, you weren’t welcome.

I particularly enjoyed the White House’s explanation for the admittance policy.

Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman, said blocks of tickets were distributed to several nonprofit organizations, including Young America’s Foundation, which selected the individuals who received them.

Please. For the Post to simply describe the Young America’s Foundation (YAF) as a “nonprofit organization” is to leave out all the relevant details. The YAF is a rabidly right-wing political group, created by the Young Americans for Freedom, to promote ultra-conservatism on college campuses. If these guys are responsible for ticket distribution, the White House could rest comfortably knowing that the audience would be filled with the fawning, submissive Republicans in the area.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) later said that Bush should return to the school to talk to the rest of the community about Social Security. No word yet on how loud the laughter was in the White House in response to Van Hollen’s suggestion.

No word yet on how loud the laughter was in the White House in response to Van Hollen’s suggestion.

So that’s what I heard this morning outside my kitchen window here in Northern California!

On a more serious note, has there been any update on the Secret Service imposter ala the Denver 3?

  • has there been any update on the Secret Service imposter ala the Denver 3?

    The Denver Three have been really busy of late; I plan on putting together a complete wrap-up of recent events regarding the controversy on Monday. Stay tuned.

  • Good gawd, couldn’t they at least gone to some Republican suburb? Takoma Park is “nuclear-free” zone, for pete’s sake, known for it’s uber-liberal politics, many gays & lesbian families, and progressive activism. It is by far the the most liberal suburb in the DC area! I’m sure all the stepford YAFers had fun staring at the people who live there, daydreaming about a day that liberals are all shipped off to Gitmo.

    Talk about sticking a thumb in someone’s eye– covered in lemon juice.

  • When I worked for an Illinois Park District as a building manager, I was told that “rental groups” (groups that rented out our facilities) were NOT allowed to have “ticket admission” events, because that would effectively bar the general public from a publicly tax-supported building. So groups could not presell “admission tickets”, though they could restrict who they invited to their events and they could refuse to seat or serve those who were not in their group (don’t know how that would have worked, but most of the parties, etc., were after business hours, so it was never much of an issue for those at the desk during rentals). But I do recall it was a violation of a law, from what I was told. You could not restrict the general public’s access to a publicly owned and taxpayer supported building. I think the Bushies might be afoul of some local ordinances here. Maybe this should be looked into.

  • I think the Bushies might be afoul of some local ordinances here. Maybe this should be looked into.

    Local ordinances is one reason it’s so easy for Bush to keep up this dodge. By the time they’ve done the dastardly deed, they’re on to the next state. Rove & Co. really have no choice in this, they have to keep doing it because they know Bush is too dense to handle any real questioning. He makes a fool of himself even among the sycophants, just imagine what he’d do if his questioners treated him like they grill Tony Blair (did you see that comparitive bit on The Daily Show a few weeks back? Priceless!). For Rove it’s a question of the lesser of two evils: taking heat for fake populist charades, or opening up a potential huge can of worms by having Bush confronted and totally losing it. Given the lack of interest by the MSM in the issue of these phony road shows, Rove’s choice is a no-brainer (pun intended).

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