It Isn’t Paranoia If They Really Are Out to Get You
Posted by MEC on February 21, 2008
At a rally for Barack Obama today in Texas, the Secret Service ordered the police to stop screening people for weapons as they came into the area.
Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department’s homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order — apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service — was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena’s vacant seats before Obama came on.
I’ve been speculating, strictly as an exercise in sarcasm, that the Busheviks believe the way to restore Bush’s popularity and support for his agenda is to make the American people very very afraid, just like right after the September 11 attacks — and that the assassination of the Democratic candidate would create that fear while having the side benefit of increasing the Republican’s chances of being elected by throwing the Democrats into chaos.
I keep expecting people to say, “Oh, now, that’s carrying tinfoil-hat conspiracy theories too far!” But they never do. They just look worried.
Barack Obama had Secret Service protection long before the other candidates did. He needed it. There are people in this country who would consider it their God-given duty to kill him for being “uppity”. And the likelier it seems that he’ll be the Democratic nominee for president, the angrier and more irrational those people will be. That’s how hatred works. We know this. The Secret Service should certainly know this. So why did the Secret Service reduce security for a crowd of more than 17,000 people?
This entry was posted on February 21, 2008 at 7:51 pm and is filed under Barack Obama, BushCo malfeasance, wrong way to go about it. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
14 Responses to “It Isn’t Paranoia If They Really Are Out to Get You”
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Mercury Rising 鳯女 
Phoenix Woman said
Why would the Bushies cut back on Obama’s Secret Service protection, just when his need for it is growing?
Oh, I’m guessing for the same reason that they allowed vile, inflammatory smear sheets insinuating that certain Democratic Congressmembers were anti-troops to be circulated among troops stationed in Baghdad, just as these Democratic Congressmembers were visiting Baghdad in August of last year.
Michael said
This is not good.
MEC said
It bothers me that the police went along with it. Sure, the Secret Service is “in charge of security” at these events, but it’s always an on-duty police officer’s duty to make sure nobody gets killed.
EoH said
Shades of Dallas. No, Mr. President, we’ve changed the motorcade route, you don’t need that company of infantry scattered throughout the city, we’ve posted spotters on the grassy knoll, removed those pesky guards from the back of your limo, and closed all the windows on Dealy Plaza. We’ll drive real slow so the crowds can get up close and personal….
I can imagine an inexperienced campaign manager asking to move the crowds through faster so that they can admire their man and he can start his speech on time and move to the next one. But it’s hard to imagine the SS initiating a lowering of security.
These are the same people that won’t let a Democrat, let alone a critic, near Cheney or the Shrub at an ostensibly public speaking event. They invented the extra-constitutional notion of “free (ie, no) speech zones” miles away from cameras and the event. They toss people out of events for not smiling or cheering in synchronicity for heavens sake.
This story’s not complete until it’s clear who initiated the decision and for what reason. I hope the SS was merely implementing a change someone else made. Then Obama should fire that someone else before his next engagement. He’s gonna be the most attractive shiny object since Bobby and Martin.
brownbuffalo said
Gee MEC, I don’t want to come off all anti-police and such, but I find your comment exceedingly naive.
MEC said
EoH, I’m sure it was the Secret Service that decided to “speed up” admitting people to the event. For one thing, the Secret Service wouldn’t take orders from a Democratic campaign official.
Brownbuffalo, yeah, it was naive. The police official quoted in the article sounded bothered by the decision but obviously hadn’t disputed it.
Phoenix Woman said
Not ‘naive’ at all. Most local cops not only defer to the Secret Service (which they must in pretty much every situation), but they trust the Secret Service to both know what they’re doing and to not be used as a political tool. Unfortunately, looking at all the other government agencies Bush and the 1994-2006 GOP Congress have corrupted, such trust is no longer safe.
EoH said
PW is spot on. Local and state police could no more successfully object to an SS security decision than they could refuse matching funds from the feds. It’s not their job. They couldn’t afford the responsibility if anything went wrong, they don’t always have the expertise, and it wouldn’t be worth the calls from the governor.
It is the Secret Service’s job. It’s what they do, what they study, dream about and practice. They’re supposed to get it right, even in the face of conflicting demands from those needing to market whomever they’re protecting to the public.
This is a strange event, doubly so because Obama is the first person of color likely to become president. Our country has a history of violent discrimination. Under Bush, we have become the most politically divided country since the unCivil War.
Obama should make it a priority to review the process and people that came to that decision. Anyone who’s read about or lived through 1968 knows that we cannot afford another year like it. Among other things, events that year gave us Richard Nixon.
Don McCrery said
Does Dallas need a new tourist attraction? Dealey Plazza has lost it’s luster, but you’d think the local police would have refused to comply, just to be sure they weren’t responsible for adding to the city’s sad legacy.
frecklescassie said
There’s even more examples where they did this in other cities and states.
http://www.americablog.com/2008/02/more-readers-weigh-in-about-obamas.html
Michael said
Secret service was originally under the Department of Treasury. It has been moved to Department of Homeland Security.
MEC said
I have a strong suspicion that Bush has driven the competent, nonpartisan agents and officials out of the Secret Service just has he’s driven all the good people out of every government department.
frecklescassie said
I saw somebody say the other day that they think cheney TOLD the secret service to lighten the protection of his “cousin”.
Does the Secret Service Have a Dirty Little Secret? « Mercury Rising 鳯女 said
[…] by MEC on February 25, 2008 We learned last week that the Secret Service ordered Dallas police to stop screening people for weapons as they entered an arena for a Barack Obama […]