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McCain Town Hall attendees get escorted out again

by: Alan

Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 16:24:12 PM MDT


( - promoted by Colorado Pols)

POLS UPDATE: The Denver Post reports:

A 60-year-old librarian received a trespassing ticket today after a liberal group's protest outside a John McCain town hall meeting Monday.

Clutching a sign that read "McCain = Bush," Carol Kreck was removed from the atrium at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts by four Denver police officers.

Kreck, a former Denver Post reporter who works part-time as a librarian for an education think tank, said she was removed as she quizzed a police officer about whether he could deny her free speech "on city property" by taking away her sign, while McCain supporters wore buttons inside.

Jenny Schiavone, a spokeswoman for the performing arts center, said the venue is city-owned rental property, but is not legally defined as public property...

For Immediate Release
July 7, 2008
Contact: Michael Huttner
303-931-4547 cell

DENVER, Colo.-On orders from Senator John McCain's security detail, Denver police escorted a 61-year-old woman away who was waiting in line to attend a so-called  town hall meeting with McCain that was billed as open to the public.

Carol Kreck, who works as a librarian in Denver, held a homemade sign reading "McCain = Bush." On orders from McCain's security detail, police cited her for trespassing and escorted her to the sidewalk. She was told if she returned she would be arrested.

"And all I did was carry a sign that said McCain = Bush," Kreck said. "And for everyone who voted for Bush, I don't see why it's offensive to say McCain = Bush."

This episode by McCain's Secret Service appears to be a rerun of McCain's 2005 town hall in Denver with President Bush in which the Secret Service had three Denver citizens removed from an "open" event where McCain was campaigning with Pres. Bush for his plan to privatize social security.

Alan :: McCain Town Hall attendees get escorted out again
McCain and Bush:  The same record on the economy

Senator McCain was in town to speak about his economic agenda, outlining more of the same failed policies of George W. Bush.  McCain's plan, like Bush's gives break after break to millionaires and wealthy corporations, but does little for middle class families.

Bush said, "The fundamentals are strong. We're just in a rough patch." (Los Angeles Times, 2/2/08).

McCain said, "I still believe our fundamental underpinnings of our economy are strong." (CNN 1/22/08).  McCain actively supports Bush's failed policies.  According to Congressional Quarterly, McCain supported President Bush a majority of the time-supporting Bush as much as 100 percent in 2008 and 95 percent in 2007. [CQ Voting Studies, Accessed, 5/15/08]

The Wall Street Journal reported that McCain policies will "explode deficit" or result in "unprecedented spending cuts equal to one-third of federal spending on domestic programs." [WSJ, 4/22/2008]

McCain and Bush:  The same record on tax cuts

Bush said, "We need to make the tax cuts permanent." (President's Speech on the economy at the EEOB, 2/19/04.)

McCain said, "I'll make the Bush tax cuts permanent.... I've said 500 times that I want the tax cuts to be made permanent." (NBC "Meet the Press," 1/27/08). McCain makes Bush's tax cuts permanent, and calls for a $1.7 trillion tax cut for corporations according to a Center for American Progress Action Fund report.

McCain's corporate tax cuts would give $3.8 billion in tax breaks to the 5 biggest oil companies and $1.9 billion in tax breaks to the 10 biggest health insurers.  Meanwhile, families who are struggling to pay the bills get much less.

America's top 5 oil companies Exxon, Shell, Valero and others would stand to receive a $3.8 billion tax break, while the average family might save $44.40 from McCain's gas holiday.
McCain Supported Bush 100 Percent in 2008, 95 Percent in 2007

McCain Supported Bush 100 Percent in 2008 and 95 Percent in 2007. According to Congressional Quarterly, McCain supported President Bush a majority of the time-supporting Bush as much as 100 percent in 2008 and 95 percent in 2007. According to CQ, "CQ tries to determine what the president personally, as distinct from other administration officials, does and does not want in the way of legislative action. This is done by analyzing his messages to Congress, news conference remarks and other public statements and documents." [CQ Voting Studies, Accessed, 5/15/08]  
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McCain Town Hall attendees get escorted out again | 81 comments
McCain should take a cue from Obama
And make all his events "invite only". Then all you have to worry about is if any Muslim women make it up on the stage.
Kreck was a liberal Denver Post reporter
See the other thread where here background as a lefty Denver Post reporter is exposed.

If she's working as a librarian, good for her. She helped make the Post the failure that it is.

If you carry an anti-candidate poster into a McCain or Obama rally, you've branded yourself a potential trouble maker.

In effect, she wanted to deny McCain the right to make his case. She wanted to deny him the right to free speech. She wanted to be the center of attention, and she got what she wanted.

Throw the bums out! They can express themselves on Coloradopols or their own blogs.


[ Parent ]
You're very Orwellian today
First it's fascistic to disagree on a blog. Now it's denying free speech by expressing free speech. You're on a roll.

What are you talking about?...I don't get it." - bjwilson83
[ Parent ]
Hehehehe. n/t


"The only way you could be worse is if you were Wade Norris." Ralphie
[ Parent ]
She's free to disagree all she wants
But she's not free to disrupt a campaign rally and shut up the candidate she doesn't like.

Subtle difference, and I'm sure you get it.

[ Parent ]
Straw Librarian
Subtle difference between carrying a sign into a political meeting and any of the intentions you ascribe to her.

Go make something else up, like McCain's plan to balance the budget in four years by cutting taxes for the richest Americans. That's a good one.

[ Parent ]
Here's another subtle difference
There's believing someone is going to take action and then there's whether the person takes that action or not.

Until she does it it's just an assumption.

What are you talking about?...I don't get it." - bjwilson83

[ Parent ]
Subtle hint
If she acts like a trouble maker, she probably is one.

I'm sure you get it.

[ Parent ]
Subtle hint
If she acts like a patriot, exercising her First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, to peaceably assemble and to petition her government, then she probably is one.
[ Parent ]
I'm starting to love you.
I may as well confess it now.  

"The only way you could be worse is if you were Wade Norris." Ralphie
[ Parent ]
Questions for Another skeptic
1. What is she'd simply worn a shirt that said "McCain = Bush." Would you argue that she should be thrown out as well? (After all, I can see why that's an EXTREMELY troublesome phrase for any McCain supporter.)

2. Does the fact that the event was advertised as an "open" town hall make any difference in your analysis? Or are "town halls" only open to those who don't "look like" they'll make trouble?

3. Is McCain going to apologize to this woman, as Obama did to the two Muslim women you mention?

[ Parent ]
good question
This, I think, is a key question:
Does the fact that the event was advertised as an "open" town hall make any difference in your analysis?

Either McCain should stop calling his town hall meetings "open" and "public" or he should stop kicking people out.
[ Parent ]
as usual,
.
me and elmu,
agreeing 110%.

props, brother.
.

[ Parent ]
You have no idea what you're talking about
There was no disruption, nor any "shutting up of the candidate." The event hadn't even started yet. This was outside the ballroom, in the queue waiting to get in, over an hour before the scheduled start - and on PUBLIC PROPERTY too. This was as clear a suppression of Constitutionally protected speech as I've ever witnessed.
[ Parent ]
Well said.


"I can tolerate chaos, I'm just not sure chaos can tolerate me" Dylan
[ Parent ]
Facts don't bother AS
He just keeps chugging along with the same talking points. I think they hand them out at the meetings.

"What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof." - Christopher Hitchens
[ Parent ]
all I'm going to say
is that I really liked the "two peas in a pod" idea.
[ Parent ]
And no one escorted them off
The couple with the peas in the pod. I didn't see DPD escorting them off. Or maybe McCain's security detail thought a 61 year old woman was more of a threat.

"What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof." - Christopher Hitchens
[ Parent ]
They didn't give me that choice
My options were "take off the costume" or "go to jail." Once I took it off apparently they were content to let me hang around. Rather arbitrary, don't you think?
[ Parent ]
Were you naked?


Talk Radio - The weapon to divide and conquer America....but who is funding it?
[ Parent ]
Eh, no...
...as you can see from the photo. But it's a great concept. "You guys REALLY want me to take this off??"
[ Parent ]
Obama = Carter
I don't see why any Democrat who voted for Carter would be offended at the comparison.

Some men see things as they are, and ask why! ...I dream things that could be and ask,  Why Not !
[ Parent ]
I'm not.
I don't agree with it, but I'm not offended.

And even if I was, you have the right to your point of view.

You ought to make a sign that says that. Maybe get arrested for exercising your Constitutional rights.

[ Parent ]
A little more background on the "librarian"
from our own Bob Ewegan:

Your "little old librarian" is anything but, Go Blue
She's Carol Kreck, a reporter for The Denver Post for many (more than 20) years before she left in 2003.  She wrote as Carol Bell before marrying, then divorcing, Dick Kreck, another long-time Postie. So far from being a meek little librarian, she's a pretty tough customer!
by: bob ewegen @ Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 15:46:12 PM MDT
[ Parent | | Reply ]


"The only way you could be worse is if you were Wade Norris." Ralphie
And, your point is?


Talk Radio - The weapon to divide and conquer America....but who is funding it?
[ Parent ]
That I am providing a little more background
on the "librarian." Considering she was a reporter for a major newspaper for 20 years, I think that's a bit of information that should be included, no?


"The only way you could be worse is if you were Wade Norris." Ralphie
[ Parent ]
No.


Talk Radio - The weapon to divide and conquer America....but who is funding it?
[ Parent ]
Cool. We disagree. So be it.
I think it's fascinating and I think the McCain folks may have just screwed with the wrong librarian.

"The only way you could be worse is if you were Wade Norris." Ralphie
[ Parent ]
Denver Post reporters never got it
She may have screwed with the wrong campaign.
[ Parent ]
Hehehehehe.
It is amazing to me how redundant you are on every single topic. Amazing and highly humorous.  

"The only way you could be worse is if you were Wade Norris." Ralphie
[ Parent ]
What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?
"She may have screwed with the wrong campaign"???

Are McCainiacs going to rough her up or something? Please do explain.

[ Parent ]
They're gonna take her out back
and teach her some respect, I guess.
I wonder how long it'll take the ACLU to file a complaint about this.

"What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof." - Christopher Hitchens
[ Parent ]
She tried to make McCain look bad; she looks bad
McCain is no W. Trying to make him look bad can backfire, as it has on the "librariarn."
[ Parent ]
That's where you're wrong
She doesn't look bad. She looks like a patriotic American trying to exercise her rights. Nice try though.
[ Parent ]
I'm sorry, but McCain IS a W
Continue the Bush tax cuts for the rich
Continue the Iraq war
No health insurance coverage

With the possible exception of global warming, which McCain at least acknowledges, McCain promises four more years of Bush.

[ Parent ]
What does her having been a reporter have to do with anything?
Aside from the fact that she hasn't been a reporter for five years (that would make her retirement from the profession as old as the Iraq War), how is her having been a reporter in the past relevant to the fact that the woman was standing outside of the "town hall" meeting exercising her First Amendment rights and was stripped of them quicker than you can say "habeas corpus?" (Mixed metaphor, but you get the idea)

Is there some sort of quality that goes along with being a former reporter that somehow renders this woman unqualified to exercise her constitutional rights? Go ahead, reveal your biases...

[ Parent ]
Uh no.
I love it. I love it. Now I have biases. Considering I'm a leftie and Obama supporter, your assumptions about me amuse me.

Please see my other reply to dwyer as to why I think it's noteworthy.

Thanks!

"The only way you could be worse is if you were Wade Norris." Ralphie

[ Parent ]
in addition...
what changes with this knowledge is the perception (stereotype, if you will) that goes with it. 61 year old librarian conjures images of mild-mannered grandmother; news reporter makes one think of pesky muckraker with an agenda. I doubt this lady is either, but there you go.

What are you talking about?...I don't get it." - bjwilson83
[ Parent ]
Former Denver Post reporter is not a title I'd want
It implies incompetence.
[ Parent ]
No, it implies saavy intelligence and wit,
two attributes you seem to lack.  

"The only way you could be worse is if you were Wade Norris." Ralphie
[ Parent ]
Trespassing on City property
How can you trespass on City property, if you are on a plaza outside a building exercising your First Amendment rights? Doesn't matter if she is an ex-reporter or not.
Yeah, I admit I do not understand that one.
It will be interesting to see how well that holds up in court.

"The only way you could be worse is if you were Wade Norris." Ralphie
[ Parent ]
Trespassing
I presume you are trespassing on city property when the individual or group that has the permit for the event tells the cops you are no longer welcome.  City park is public property, but during an event, if you are "disruptive," asked to leave, and refuse, you will be arrested for trespass in addition to distrubing the peace.

The question is, from a public relations stand point, did the McCain campaign screw up but not waiting until Ms. Kreck was truly "disruptive" before having her thown out?  Carrying a sign that says "McCain = Bush" is pretty thin as far as disruptive behavior is concerned.

[ Parent ]
McCain took disruptive questions, answered them; end of story
If this had been W. or Obama, who don't take questions, this would be a story.

But McCain reportedly answered hostile as well as friendly questions, showing he's open to all opinions, which is more than you can say for Obama.

The contrast is stark, and Obama must explain why he's afraid of town hall meetings.

[ Parent ]
Talking points, blah blah blah
Q: "from a public relations stand point, did the McCain campaign screw up but not waiting until Ms. Kreck was truly "disruptive" before having her thown out?"

A:"Obama must explain why he's afraid of town hall meetings."

Repeating a talking point is only marginally effective if it appears to be responsive to the question.  If, as you suggest, McCain took hostile questions, he would have been better served by allowing a mildly confrontational sign in, and not given ProgressActionNow more Youtube fodder.

[ Parent ]
To ANSWER YOUR QUESTION...
... unlike Another Skeptic: Yes, it was a screw-up because:

1. It's a great visual: more people by a factor of, what, a million or so? have probably now seen her "McCain = Bush" sign than would otherwise have seen it.

2. McCain doesn't get credit for answering tough questions (and yes, he DESERVES credit for that). Instead, his bumbling local campaign operatives created a new, substitute story - just like it was bumbling local operatives who moved those two Muslim women at the Obama rally. (Then again, they probably made a cold calculation that the fallout from moving the women would be less than the visual of having them behind Obama? How distasteful.)

3. McCain can't control what his local goons do down to the nth degree, just like Obama can't. The key is: how did McCain RESPOND? Obama called up the two women in question and apologized. Somehow I doubt McCain will call up the reporter/librarian and apologize to her.

[ Parent ]
Good points
I'm sure the Post will play up the negatives.
[ Parent ]
There was no disruption
and therefore no grounds for their arrest threats. We were standing in line outside the ballroom waiting to get in - a public event on public property. We weren't yelling or jumping up and down or in any way making a nuisance of ourselves.

We WERE drawing a lot of attention from the media people who were gathered there, and I suspect it was this that prompted McCain's Secret Service detail to seek our removal. They were kind of slow on the draw, however, as we had been there for 20 or 30 minutes before the DCPA and police confronted us.

[ Parent ]
McCain's speech was terrible

Honestly, how can anyone claim this is good. This is disturbing. He looks as if he has no clue what he's about to read. One might even think he was a Manchurian candidate with all those lobbyist pulling the strings on his campaign.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole

So that's the McCain economic plan:
Sell Crocs to China.

This guy is looking more and more like Bob Dole '96 revisited.

[ Parent ]
What a Croc
Hey, Crocs is a beloved local company, but Slate's political reporter Christopher Beam asks the obvious question, whether McCain's points about Crocs are accurate.

It might have been a good local example of an entrepreneurial start-up prospering in the global economy-if the company hadn't blown up in the last several months.

Have a look at Croc's stock price. (Symbol: CROX.) It peaked at $75 back in late October, but since then has plummeted to one-tenth of that. It last traded at $6.91. Whereas footwear like Uggs managed to outlive its initial hype and become a footwear mainstay, Crocs appear to be what its investors most feared: a fad.

Not only that, but Crocs has been pushing for higher trade barriers, not lower ones. In March 2006, Crocs filed a complaint seeking to block imports of copycat shoes made in Canada and China, claiming they violated a patent for "breathable footwear pieces." (They won.) [emphasis in original]


[ Parent ]
Well, sort of
Slate's Beam is right about Crocs being a bad example of a local startup doing well in the global economy, but the bit about blocking imports of knockoffs from Canada and China is a bit of a red herring. Enforcing patents is not pushing for higher trade barriers, if in fact valid international patents are being violated. It's enforcing fair trade.
[ Parent ]
It's amazing
How no one has stated the obvious:  this was purely a political event.  John McCain can do whatever he wants.  Just like Obama throwing out women w/ head scarves.  

The Bush meeting a few years ago was a govt sponsored event, where the standards are tougher.

"town hall meeting"
What a Orwellian campaign he runs.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole
[ Parent ]
McCain can do whatever he wants ....
including shooting himself in the foot, but that does not make it a smart move.  It really doesn't matter all that much whether Ms. Kreck's first amendment rights were violated or not (unless you are the ACLU).  What matters is the public perception that McCain (like Bush) is afraid of citizens exercising their first amendment rights, in a seemingly minimally disruptive way.  Anything that re-enforces the message "McCain is like Bush" is poison for McCain.
[ Parent ]
Obama didn't "throw them out"
It was the locals. He didn't order it, and apologized to them personally when he heard about it.

"What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof." - Christopher Hitchens
[ Parent ]
Enough with the old bag
Who's the chick in the mini skirt??
Looks like McCain's daughter

[ Parent ]
Are you guys going to feel the same way
...when I see you with my Che/Obama shirt and my banner while I'm shouting down Sen. Obama at Invesco?

Just kidding.  I haven't found a Che/Obama shirt yet...

:)

"Kevin and I will keep them out somehow -- even if we have to redefine what the peer-review literature is!"  

Haven't found a Che-Obama t-shirt?
None of these designs are that stellar (Republican graphic artists, after all...), but they seem to fit the order:

http://www.zazzle.com/che_obam...

http://patriotshop.us/product_...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Original-D...

http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/...

[ Parent ]
???
There are Republican graphic designers?

;)

"Kevin and I will keep them out somehow -- even if we have to redefine what the peer-review literature is!"  

[ Parent ]
The community of graphic designers
... tries hard to cover up this little-known fact, but to their great embarrassment some of their kind still accept the yoke and toe the Republican line.

"I have come to the conclusion that the making of laws is like the making of sausages-the less you know about the process the more you respect the result."  -- Anonymous IL State Rep. circa 1878
[ Parent ]
yes
lots of black and white lines drawn, no shades of grey
[ Parent ]
Is it true no signs were allowed in?
If they did not allow any signs, or even if they only allowed official McCain signs, then I think they have a point. But only if they first asked her to give up the sign and then only pulled her out if she was demanding unique treatment.

As to the guys dressed up in the pea-pod, that does strike me as totally out of line for an "open" event as they were just dressed in their own unique way.

With that said, we Dems got what we want, a little old lady librarian ejected from an "open" McCain event. So we'll all be outraged and get some mileage from it.

My recommendations in the 2010 primary?

There seems to be a lot of confusion
about the signs. We were told by McCain people upon joining the queue to get into their "town hall" meeting that we could not bring our signs inside. That was all ANYBODY said to us before we were approached by the police and threatened with arrest. The ejection of Carol Kreck occurred over an hour before the event was scheduled to begin, outside the ballroom, on public property.

There was one person (me) dressed as a pea pod. I was told to remove the costume or face arrest, and again, this was outside the venue over an hour before the event. Carol took one for the team, but I wasn't presented with the same options she was given. Still, I have to give her credit for standing her ground and taking the citation.

[ Parent ]
David, for a lib I like ya!
It was indeed a sign issue. None were allowed. Even pro mccain signs. THAT I believe, is why she was removed.
[ Parent ]
just for completeness,
.
how many folks with McCain signs were asked to leave ?
.
[ Parent ]
Well...
...I saw several abandon their signs. Which, if you watch the video, is precisely the choice given to the protestor.
[ Parent ]
what a great "choice"!!!
To call it a choice is a stretch - "Choose now between NOT peacefully standing on public property with a little sign and... well, that's your choice. You HAVE TO put your sign away"...
Wow, what a choice! I'm glad McCain's goons made that decision so easy for her - you know, by making it for her.

And on a side note, can anyone clarify this for me: was she even trying to get into the event?

[ Parent ]
She says she wasn't
The Rocky's Bill Johnson talked to Kreck after the incident:

http://www.rockymountainnews.c...

[ Parent ]
More proof that McCain = Bush
They've got so much in common. They even eject peaceful protesters the same way!  
Major screw-up, IMHO
If they wanted to eject her from the town hall, that would have been "in bounds", but charging her with trespass on a public sidewalk went way over the line.

As someone pointed out, this isn't quite like Bush's stunt; he managed to kick people out of a government-sponsored "open forum" because his team didn't like someone's bumper sticker.  McCain's team at least had the excuse inside the "town hall" that it was a private campaign event.  Of course, his campaign acted outside of the forum in a public place...

"I have come to the conclusion that the making of laws is like the making of sausages-the less you know about the process the more you respect the result."  -- Anonymous IL State Rep. circa 1878

It was not a "private campaign event"
It was open to the public. Anybody could walk up and get in line to go in just like we did.

A public event on public property, before the event had even started - they were way, WAY out of bounds.

[ Parent ]
I'm sorry
But a political campaign forum is a private event, even if it's "open to the public", unless it's held in the middle of an open park or street without significant boundary enforcement.

Doing what they did outside of the event was out of bounds, though.

"I have come to the conclusion that the making of laws is like the making of sausages-the less you know about the process the more you respect the result."  -- Anonymous IL State Rep. circa 1878

[ Parent ]
but
the question, basically, is whether the atrium is considered a public forum or a non-public forum for First Amendment purposes.  The City's position is not the deciding factor, and the City may well have bought itself an interesting First Amendment lawsuit.  If a court concludes it's a public forum, then the City's burden to justify restricting the speech is very onerous.  Stay tuned?
[ Parent ]
It's been tried before
Arenas and other public venues can be taken over for private events, and they don't remain public during the time that they're in use.  This even holds for parade routes on public streets (see gay people marching in St. Patty's Day parades...).

Not much to stay tuned to, IMHO.

"I have come to the conclusion that the making of laws is like the making of sausages-the less you know about the process the more you respect the result."  -- Anonymous IL State Rep. circa 1878

[ Parent ]
They CAN be taken over
for private events, but that was not the case yesterday at the Seawell Ballroom. If the people running the event call it public, and if in fact ANYONE can walk up, get in line, and attend the event, then to insist on calling it a private event is simply capricious and wrong.

This really is a moot point we're arguing here. I contend we would have been within our rights to attend the town hall meeting dressed as we pleased, or carrying whatever signs we chose, as long as we were not disruptive, because the event was open to the public and was being held on public property - but that is not the principle being tested by this incident. What's at issue here is far more fundamental, and on that I think we're in agreement.

[ Parent ]
more complicated than that
since it was a government officer that issued the ticket, the First Amendment (and the free speech protection of the Colorado Constitution) is in play.  the question is to what extent the City, not McCain's people, could restrict speech in the Galleria.  I've since learned that the Tenth Circuit has held the Galleria to be a nonpublic forum, which is a term of art in First Amendment jurisprudence.  So the city had a greater right to restrict the speech, based on that precedent, than it would have on a public sidewalk (for example).  But whether the nature of the Galleria has changed since then, I don't know.  And there is an open question about the scope of the state constitutional free speech protection, which has been interpreted in a somewhat broader fashion than the First Amendment.  

Had the City had no involvement in the action (i.e., if McCain's people had removed her or if private security had), then the speech rights would not be implicated.  But that's not the case, so I think there is still an issue or two to resolve.

The analogy to the parade cases doesn't work because in those cases the exclusions were the decisions of the private entities organizing the events, not decisions by agents of a government.  Because of that the First Amendment was not implicated (so the reasoning of the cases goes).  That's not the case here.

[ Parent ]
there is a good editorial in the Rocky
http://www.rockymountainnews.c...

the city can also cite a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1999, Hawkins v. City and County of Denver, which supported city policy.

Two years earlier, a local musicians' union had protested the Colorado Ballet's decision to use a recorded score rather than live musicians during a performance of Romeo and Juliet. Union members tried to use the Galleria to picket and hand out leaflets to ballet patrons. Police removed the protesters, who sued the city.

In the ruling, the 10th Circuit upheld the ban on leafletting, calling the complex a "nonpublic forum" where management can shoo away protesters or cite them for trespassing without violating the First Amendment.

Demonstrations are fine on the public streets surrounding the theater complex. But the court said the Galleria "does not qualify as a traditional public forum, for it is not a park, nor is it analogous to a public right of way or thoroughfare. . . . [I]t is closed to vehicles, and pedestrians do not generally use it as a throughway to another destination."

Ironically, the Hawkins decision could also place the city on shaky ground. One reason the Galleria could not be considered a "designated public forum," the court said, is because "Denver has neither in policy nor practice thrown open the Galleria for public expressive activity." And yet by booking McCain's town hall, the city had "thrown open" the Galleria for "public expressive activity.

[ Parent ]
How do you reckon that?
The event was open to the public. It was held in a public building on public property. All of DPAC is owned by the City and County of Denver. Even McCain's people have said the thing was open to the public and they welcomed opposing viewpoints. Any characterization of such an event as "private" is completely arbitrary.
[ Parent ]
See my response to spaceman.


"I have come to the conclusion that the making of laws is like the making of sausages-the less you know about the process the more you respect the result."  -- Anonymous IL State Rep. circa 1878
[ Parent ]
McCain Town Hall attendees get escorted out again | 81 comments
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