Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Reeling from the backlash of sentiment questioning why liberals and Democrats were banned from a public town square meeting on Florida’s budget, Governor Scoot pulled an “Oops.” Apparently, it was all the work of a poor misguided staffer, Russ Abrams, a $60,000.00 a year special assistant to the Governor who has a serious First Amendment mental block. Despite newspaper notices that the meeting in the conservative retirement community was open to the public, Abrams told Sumter County Sheriff’s deputies that the event was private and that Democrats and liberals were not required. A reluctant deputy informed the banned folks that he was instructed to remove them.
“Not so” says Scott spokesperson, Lane Wright: “This was a public event. It was brought to our attention that the local authorities had removed some. We don’t know first-hand who was removed or why.” Ah, sweet mystery of life! Where is Inspector Clouseau?
See, just a case of an inadvertent denial of a constitutional protection fundamental to democracy — allegedly, of course. Who could conceive of doing it for purely partisan reasons? By the way, what need have the happy citizens of Florida for democracy, they’ve got budget cuts!
Former Federal LEO,
Thanks for the link.
With regard to the cruelty of “cultivating hope while perpetuating unfairness?” It’s quite cruel…, but cruelty is becoming the new norm…
As I’ve said before, I don’t recognize our country anymore.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/us/27patriot.html
from the article:
…Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and a member of the Intelligence Committee, said that the executive branch had come up with a secret legal theory about what it could collect under a provision of the Patriot Act that did not seem to dovetail with a plain reading of the text.
“I want to deliver a warning this afternoon: When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry,” Mr. Wyden said.
He invoked the public’s reaction to the illegal domestic spying that came to light in the mid-1970s, the Iran-contra affair, and the Bush administration’s program of surveillance without warrants.
Another member of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Udall, Democrat of Colorado, backed Mr. Wyden’s account, saying, “Americans would be alarmed if they knew how this law is being carried out.” (end excerpt)
That “Americans would be alarmed” is an understatement.
That is the way an infected meme complex behaves. Time for a vaccime.
rcampbell,
You are correct and I started to amend my comment to add this: …to the extent that the party differences exist nowadays. I knew that someone like you would most likely catch my incompleteness.
I was very willing to vote for the liberal I thought Obama was because of the severe damage Bush levied upon us. I assumed that with a Democrat-based Congress he and they could demonstrate what good governance should be. However, they did just the opposite and inconceivably followed many of Bush’s insane policies.
Glenn Greenwald states why Mr. Obama will not change in the following Dylan Ratigan audio podcast.
(By the way Mespo, I think Mr. Scott is a rung below Bush in the downwardly spiraling Republican ladder of disrepute.
‘Cultivating Hope While Perpetuating Unfairness Is Cruel’
http://www.dylanratigan.com/2011/05/23/cultivating-hope-while-perpetuating-unfairness-is-cruel/
OS,
Well said. We do have to keep Obama’s feet to the fire to make sure he doesn’t give in to those scary Republicans when he does nominate more judges. If the Senate stays in Democratic control, they must get rid of or severely limit the filibuster.
Mespo,
Gov. Scott is quickly giving Gov. Walker a run for his money in the race to be the most disingenous piece of crap in the country!
FFLEO, I agree that Obama has been a real disappointment. However, G. W. Bush appointed Roberts and Alito to the SCOTUS, while Obama appointed Sotomayor and Kagan. That represents the difference between night and day. It is likely that in a second term he will appoint more Justices. That reason alone is good enough to keep him in office, even if we disagree with a lot of his policies and positions.
LEO
I must respectfully disagree with one part of your post. Mr. Obama is in no way on the opposite end of the political spectrum from Mr Bush. You observe, quite correctly I believe, that bush is on the extreme right side–well, maybe not quite extreme as the teabaggers have that ground staked out. However, much to the disappointment of those of us on that opposing left side of the spectrum, one could never mistake Mr Obama’s center to center right position as a leftie. His politics are far closer to Bob Dole than to Ted Kennedy.
BIL:
I’ll put that Dewars on your tab. 🙂
Thanks, Diana. I thought it was just a re-enactment. The Florida Sunshine Law might be implicated here. Hubris with a capital “H”.
Well the Liberal Press must be banned at all costs……
I watched the video @ the link ‘puzzling’ posted and I must be a contrarian by stating that I loathe Barack Obama as much as I do G.W. Bush. I could have never voted for Bush and my vote for Obama was the worst voting mistake of my life. Those two pathetic individuals exemplify the worst in humans representing different ends of the political spectrum.
There is talk that this could even be a violation of our Sunshine laws since this was an official bill signing.
The hubris is astounding.
‘…inadvertent denial…’
🙂 my favorite phrase of the day!
One lives to be of service although surely I must owe you a bottle of Dewars by now, mespo.
puzzling:
I totally agree. Obama has about as mucg right to do it as Gov. Scoot. The media for all its flaws is our representative. If you ban them, you ban us.
Some degree of abuse is inseparable from the proper use of every thing; and in no instance is this more true than in that of the press. It has accordingly been decided, by the practice of the states, that it is better to leave a few of its noxious branches to their luxuriant growth, than, by pruning them away, to injure the vigor of those yielding the proper fruits. And can the wisdom of this policy be doubted by any one who reflects that to the press alone, checkered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression?
~James Madison, (Report on the Virginia Resolutions concerning the Alien & Sedition Laws (1800))
Why go through all that trouble when you can just ban unfavorable press, like Obama did last week on his visit to Boston.
Stop it Buddha. I was trying to enjoy my Dewars. Now it’s all over the keyboard. Out, out, damned scotch. 😀
“Oops! I inadvertently invaded Poland.” – Adolph Hitler
Hmmmmm….sounds like something that GWB would do.