Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Secret Service focuses on positive



 (The Spokesman-Review)
Frank Sennett Correspondent

As far as George W. Bush can see, most of his public appearances draw only supporters. That’s because the Secret Service often removes peaceful protesters from the president’s view while allowing supporters to stay well in sight of his motorcade.

Progressive action groups, including the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now and the National Organization for Women, filed a federal lawsuit last fall seeking to stop government agents from moving critics of the president farther away from his public appearances than supporters. Yet the practice has continued.

Bush’s Spokane visit this week benefits Congressman George Nethercutt’s bid for Patty Murray’s U.S. Senate seat. So I asked his campaign if Nethercutt shares the White House’s peculiar interpretation of the people’s First Amendment right to peaceably assemble.

The congressman hadn’t heard about the practice of selecting which citizens to herd into far-flung “free-speech zones” based on the political content of their signs, said Nethercutt spokesman Alex Conant. But “George feels the Secret Service has a tough job, and they’re going to do what they need to do,” he added.

Let’s set aside the compelling argument that the United States is one big free-speech zone from sea to shining sea. In reality, protecting the president sometimes may require the Secret Service to keep everyone – protesters, well-wishers and neutral bystanders alike – a reasonable distance from his public appearances.

But what’s the security rationale for removing folks carrying protest signs reading “No Billionaire Left Behind” and “Stop Mad Cowboy Disease” while supporters waving “Four More Years” placards remain in clear view of the president? I won’t tell our truly dedicated Secret Service agents how to do their job, but would people set on harming the president likely tote anti-Bush banners to his rallies? Wouldn’t they be more apt to pose as supporters in hopes of getting within handshake range? One final question for the folks with the earpieces: Isn’t “Taxi Driver” required viewing for presidential bodyguards? If not, here’s the key point: DeNiro’s character volunteered for the candidate’s campaign.

If it’s not smart security to discriminate against nonviolent protesters, there must be another reason why Bush doesn’t face his critics. It might have something to do with all the TV news cameras documenting the president’s appearances. As the federal suit against the Secret Service notes, “The protester discrimination … gives to the media and the American public the appearance that there exists less dissent from the government official or his/her policies than there really is.”

Some Bush boosters will be tempted to dismiss this important civil liberties issue as a partisan concern. But how frustrated will they be if they’re someday forced to sit on their protest placards when President Hillary Clinton pops into town for a fund-raiser with Vice President Michael Moore and Defense Secretary Ted Kennedy? That might be enough to make even Attorney General John Ashcroft support the Bill of Rights.

Fan of the flames

It’s too bad the state’s rethinking its attempt to ban open-flame gas and charcoal grills from most apartment balconies. I was looking forward to the inevitable protest bumper stickers: “When grills are outlawed, only outlaws will have grills.” A more sensible regulation would require any apartment dweller who fires up a barbecue to keep enough burgers and dogs on hand to feed neighbors intoxicated by the smell of grilling meat.

With apologies to Molly Ivins …

When President George H.W. Bush stopped by Spokane in 1989, he brought a tree from the White House. But with George W. Bush’s visit this week, all we get is a Shrub.