State of the Union Fallout, Pt. II: Silencing Sheehan

The story is this- Yesterday, Rep. Lynn Woolsey invited Cindy Sheehan to the State of the Union address as a guest, giving her an official ticket to attend. Ms. Sheehan arrived and was seated, but was then arrested and removed from the building. The reason wasn't well known at first. The hysterical Michelle Malkins of the internet (who think Rep. Woolsey should be punished for inviting her at all), outright giddy at her arrest, passed around the rumor that Sheehan had "unfurled an anti-war banner inside the House chamber". She had, in fact, done no such thing. Ms. Sheehan was removed for wearing a t-shirt that said "2,245 Dead - How Many More?". You can see a picture of the shirt from earlier in the day- here. At this time, Ms. Sheehan is considering a First Amendment lawsuit against the government over her arrest.

Cindy Sheehan explains her side of the events:
What Really Happened at the State of the Union

It should be noted (as many like Will Bunch have) that political statements on t-shirts are constitutionally protected free speech, as per the result of the 1971 Supreme Court decision in Cohen v. California. That case involved a man who wore a "Fuck the Draft" shirt in the corridor of a courthouse and was arrested and convicted for disturbing the peace. The Supreme Court reversed the decision on first and fourteenth amendment grounds. This decision still stands.

Bush apologists wasted no time in attempting to blow this off. Matt Drudge dug up a 1999 story of a Pennsylvania school teacher who was removed from the Senate's impeachment trial for wearing a t-shirt that said "Clinton doesn't inhale, he sucks". He offered to cover up (as Ms. Sheehan did as well), but was removed anyway. They also point to another story from last night's speech, that the wife of Rep. C.W. Bill Young was asked to leave for wearing a t-shirt that said "Support the Troops Defending Our Freedom". She reluctantly did so. I am not sure what the apologists hope to prove with these two examples; both were wrong as well. Two wrongs do not make a right.

It should also be noted that those two were not arrested as Sheehan was. The man in 1999 was questioned and removed, but not arrested or manhandled. The wife of the Congressman wasn't removed and was simply asked to leave. I can only surmise that what happened to Ms. Sheehan was deliberate. Whether you support her or think she's an unamerican Hanoi Jane, she had done nothing wrong and her arrest was unjustified.

Glenn Greenwald explores this topic in-depth, looking at previous examples and legal precedents-
Learning from Dear Leader

He notes that visual political statements (ie. last year's purple finger waving) have been common at these events.

Bottom line is this- It is hypocritical for President Bush to preach about the importance and values of democracy to the rest of the world in a speech just moments after his staff has removed people, with tickets to attend the event, who were expressing their opinions in a quiet and non-disruptive manner. The President needs to worry less about how democracy fits into his flawed foreign policy and more about how it's supposed to work here at home.

[Related blog post- First Amendment, Two Shirts -- Cindy and Beverly]