Yes, Bush was in WV again this weekend. Here's the story:
Charleston DailyMail wrote:Two students not allowed at Bush rally; man removed, let back in
One woman is Kerry supporter, the other was undecided, they say
Monday August 30, 2004
WHEELING -- Two college students, one of whom is an undecided voter, said they were denied access to President Bush's campaign rally, and campaign workers briefly removed a math professor known to support Bush's challenger.
The incidents on Sunday mark at least the third time that Bush supporters in West Virginia have clashed with those who hold opposing views.
Students Jeff Rogers and Jessica Williams, both 23 and from Wheeling, got tickets for the rally from a friend.
Rogers, who interned with the Ohio County Democratic Party, said he supports Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry, but Williams was undecided.
The two decided to compare Bush's speech with what they'd heard from Kerry on his July 31 visit to the city.
"I was just there to listen . . . and get a perspective of what he thinks about the issues," Rogers said. "Neither one of us was going to cause any disturbance.
We were just going to respectfully listen, and afterward, process through what we agreed with and disagreed with."
They made it as far as the ticket table. Then a Secret Service agent said he believed Rogers worked for Kerry's advance team, which Rogers denies.
"They said, ‘We're not going to let you in. Nice try, though,' " Rogers said.
Rogers said he was surprised, given publicity surrounding other Bush events.
Last month, Charleston City Council apologized to two protesters arrested for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts at a July 4 rally.
The pair was taken from the event in restraints, but trespassing charges were ultimately dismissed.
Charleston Mayor Danny Jones has repeatedly said local police were acting on orders of the Secret Service.
A story about that incident aired this week on NBC news.
On Aug. 17, the lone heckler at a Hedgesville rally was escorted from the crowd after shouting comments about the war in Iraq.
Glen Hiller, who had obtained a ticket through a client of his employer, was later fired for embarrassing the company and the client.
Mary Diamond, a Bush spokeswoman in West Virginia, referred calls to the main Bush-Cheney press office and the Secret Service. Neither press office immediately returned phone calls.
In a separate incident Sunday, Wheeling professor John Prather was briefly ejected from the rally but then allowed to return.
Prather was removed from a Bush rally in Cambridge, Ohio, on July 31 and came to the Wheeling event to find out whether he had been blacklisted.
He stood quietly in line with no campaign memorabilia, wearing a T-shirt with the phrase, "D is for Democracy."
But once inside, a campaign volunteer found him.
"He asked whether I was a Bush supporter. I said no, and he said, ‘This is a Bush rally. We don't want other people here,' " Prather said.
The volunteer then took his ticket. Outside, the volunteer asked a Secret Service agent where to send protesters.
"The Secret Service person asked me, ‘Are you leaving of your own accord?' " Prather recounted.
"I said, no, and he said, ‘Escort him back in.' "Prather watched the rally without incident.
Diamond blamed Prather's removal on an overzealous campaign worker.
She said she saw Prather at the event. "We're happy to have him there," Diamond said. "Anyone who wants to listen to Bush's message in a way that does not prevent others from also listening is welcome."
Rogers, who hopes to have a career in politics, said it's disturbing to see alternative views stifled. Bush supporters carrying signs were allowed in the Kerry rally, he said.
"I wasn't a big fan of the Bush administration to begin with, but this makes it worse," he said Sunday evening. "They use fear to intimidate people and try to limit any criticism. . . . They take away that essential right of freedom of speech that our whole country was founded on."
A spokeswoman for Kerry said, "Politics is supposed to be an open process. It is not intended to be an exclusive club. This is a really disturbing pattern that keeps happening in West Virginia.
I wonder if shes' still Undecided?
Nitram, slightly high on cough syrup: Do you know you're beautiful?
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
