Democracy for Vancouver

I don't know why this surprises me, given that this administration displays such blatant disregard for civil liberties and contempt for the very boundaries of their office as defined by the Constitution, but somehow it does:

A new lawsuit has been filed against a former high level staffer in the United States Presidential Administration of George W. Bush. It was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two individuals forcibly removed from a 2005 taxpayer funded public event, and has brought to light a secret White House manual detailing tactics aimed at suppressing demonstrations and barring those identifiably opposed to Bush Administration policy access to presidential events.

The non-redacted parts of the manual detail strategies designed to suppress demonstrations and bar those identifiably opposed to Bush Administration policy access to presidential events.

The manual advises local Republicans, who are charged with filling such events, to form 'Rally Squads' from "college/young republican organizations, local athletic teams, and fraternities/sororities". A section titled Preventing Demonstrators (sic) directs: "The rally squad's task is to use their signs and banners as shields between the demonstrators and the main press platform. If the demonstrators are yelling, rally squads can begin and lead supportive chants to drown out the protestors (USA! USA! USA!) As a last resort, security should remove the protestors from the event site." Another part urges: "It is important to have your volunteers at a checkpoint before the [Metal Detectors] in order to stop a demonstrator from getting into the event."

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