This post of TalkingPointsMemo is disturbing. Remember how during Bush-Cheney campaign events last year people wearing Kerry t-shirts got turned away, despite being ticket holders? Well, apparently on GWB's tour to sell social security, three people in Denver seem to have gotten pushed out of an event because the car they were riding in had a No Blood For Oil bumper sticker. As Marshall succinctly puts it, "And, remember, despite the obvious political campaign content, this roadshow is paid for entirely with taxpayer dollars." The notion of kicking someone out of such an event because of a bumper sticker is so patently ridiculous that even the Secret Service is acknowledging that it's wrong and seems to be taking the tack that it must have been somebody else who pushed them out. Which is itself a bit worrying.
Bumper stickers are fascinating tools for free speech. They embody the quintessentially American desire to share your opinion with others. They'll never be replaced with blogs because you can't drag a blog into someone else's view. But you can essentially force someone to at least look at your bumper sticker. I saw this specimen in a parking lot today.
