Edwards supporters' bully tactics

[Terwilliger]

I suppose it takes all kinds of Democrats. These people were doing nothing wrong and didn't deserve this treatment

http://prorev.com/edwardsbully.htm

Some presidential campaigns operating in the klieg light of New Hampshire retail politicking might offer a pro-forma acknowledgment that perhaps they shouldn't try to wrest citizens' political literature from their grasp; perhaps shouldn't then have a cop bully two activists from a public campaign appearance in Exeter Town Hall. A simple, 'Gosh, that doesn't sound right,' before blowing the reporter off would at least bow before the democratic niceties.

But Edwards campaign spokesperson Colin Van Ostern retreats behind the fairly impregnable: "I wasn't there, so I can't speculate." Fair enough that, except, though I wasn't there either, I did hear the incident on tape, not that that apparently means much these days.

I heard the tape courtesy of Aaron Houston, who clutched a recorder in his hand throughout. The sole paid staffer of Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana, Houston has been bird-dogging the Democratic candidates since last summer, praising those accepting - or even open-minded - on medical cannabis, damning those who are not. He's paid by the Washington-based lobby group, the Marijuana Policy Project. On January 13th, Houston and a colleague attended a publicly announced campaign appearance by Sen. John Edwards at Exeter Town Hall.

As a hundred-odd citizens milled nosily around the meeting room prior to the event - Edwards not yet in the building, nothing emanating from the podium - Houston passed out his single sheet castigating Edwards' stance endorsing the current federal raids on medical marijuana. Stopping them now would be "irresponsible" Edwards has said, and GSMM links him with Attorney General John Ashcroft as "both want to arrest cancer patients."


<snip>

.....more......

[jenk]

1. lol

:)

of course, it was bound to slip out, what is this more Trippi-tripe?

[artr2]

4. That's an awful big jump there, friend

Why don't we blame Dean for everything

[Terwilliger]

8. looks like non democratic Democrats to me

[PurityOfEssence]

2. As a group, we've been VERY well behaved (he said, stuffily)

The tenor of the approach and the gentleness and decency of his supporters on this board have constantly made me proud. The title of this thread, although referring to an incident on the campaign trail, is broad enough to be suspect as an attempt to tar all supporters as such.

I submit that this is not just sloppy thread title choice, but a bit of old-fashioned smearing.

I'm pretty snotty at times, but I've also been pretty qualified with my support of the others when they've done the right thing. My fellow Edwards supporters have been truly decent to a person, and I'll stand by that pronouncement; I've been in the thick of the Edwards threads for quite some time now.

[Terwilliger]

9. how can it be a smear, when the facts of the article are not questioned?

Those people ushered the Granite Staters out of a hall they didn't even rent because Edwards position on med mj was indefensible.

Now, you can protest and say all Edwards supporters are not like this. Fine. maybe you could make sure that nothing like his ever happens again.

[DjTj]

3. They made a mistake...

People make mistakes.

If this happens again I would hope there would be some sort of apology. I haven't heard of anything other than this one incident that keeps on getting brought up, so I hoep that means they learned their lesson.

[Terwilliger]

11. keeps on? I hadn't seen it before

If it's a dupe I apologize, but the actions are pretty reprehensible.

[Bombtrack]

5. This from a Dean supporter

Dean is the only candidate who actually had the opportunity to allow medicinal marijuana be decriminalized in his state and he vetoed the bill

[Terwilliger]

10. Try more reading

I don't support Dean

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

6. here's a relevant section

Having had his run-ins with the Edwards folks before, they recognized Houston and, he says, converged on him, three or four surrounding him in a semi-circle. As the tape indicates, the campaign representatives told Houston he could not pass out his literature. They told him they respected his right of free speech, that it just should be practiced outside - on an Arctic night where no sane soul would linger for a sidewalk discussion. At one point someone said, "I need to take that from you." And, Houston states, Edwards advance director Jay Heidbrink then grasped hold of his leaflets and tried to tug them away.

Failing that, and realizing they were drawing the crowd's attention, the Edwards folks prevailed upon Houston to accompany them to the hall's foyer. Once there, they threatened to call the cops on him, as they had previously threatened but never done. This time, they did.

Sgt. Oneil of the Exeter Police Department soon arrived, was alerted by the Edwards staffers to Houston's offending presence and, after some back and forth, Oneil basically directed him to leave the building and even the steps of town hall. Again, as heard on tape by phone, Oneil made much of the (erroneous) notion that the Edwards campaign had rented town hall for the night - had "paid a fee" - and were thus entitled to control the space.

[NashVegas]

7. "Shut Up and Sit Down"

that about sums it up, no?

[plurality]

12. I've met Houston, he's a good guy.

And yes they have had run ins with Edwards before, even going as far as protesting Edwards in the past.

Even before the Edwards bandwagon got started I liked Edwards because of his publicly financed elections and free air time position, but I had forgoten his draconian drug war stance. This does make me reconsider placing him number 2 on my list.

Of course I've also realized for a while now that any nominee aside from Kucinich will probably piss me off in one area or another. I guess I just have to find at least one aspect for one that would make me happy.

[dolstein]

13. Sounds like the guy had it coming

NT

[Terwilliger]

16. really? could you elaborate?

Could you tell me why you think its ok to suppress their right to free speech?

[surfermaw]

14. Edwards has made it to the top

Junk like this lets me no my candidate is gaining ground every day and just be the number one man on the ticket in the coming months.

[Jerseycoa]

15. If it's of interest

I had copied this to an earlier thread.

Dennis Kucinich "A+"

John Kerry "A-"

Wesley K. Clark "B+"

Al Sharpton "B"

Howard Dean "D-"

John Edwards "F"

Joseph Lieberman "F"

[JI7]

17. surprised kerry and clark above sharpton

but i see it as a good thing. i actually think kerry is all for decriminalization but it would be impossible politically right now so he would take certain steps which would lead it that way. clark might have the same idea.