Has any ex-president ever been attacked

[sadoldgirl]

by anyone, let's say since 100 years? I don't
know of such an event. If not, why do we have to pay
for SS protection for them and their family for
the rest of their lives?

[PoliticAverse]

1. Note that the children of former presidents only get protection until they are 16.

See: http://www.secretservice.gov/protection.shtml

[sadoldgirl]

3. Okay, I did not know that, but still

even Nixon had no threatening event I know of.

[PoliticAverse]

13. Nixon btw switched to private security he paid for himself about 10 years after resigning.

See: http://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/13/us/nixon-dropping-protection-by-secret-service.html

[ancianita]

17. Not true. FYI, Nixon had eggs and rocks thrown at him in San Jose, 1970. One rock grazed him.

He denounced the rioters as "violent thugs" representative of "the worst in America."

[stevenleser]

2. Define "attacked". In April 1993 an assassination attempt on former President George H. W. Bush was

foiled in Kuwait. http://www.dailystar.com.lb//News/Middle-East/2011/Aug-04/145397-kuwait-frees-iraqis-in-plot-to-kill-bush-report.ashx#axzz1U3kwqyZW

[sadoldgirl]

5. However. nobody threatened him in the US,

unless I am misinformed.

[onehandle]

4. Clinton hate has no bounds.

Clearly.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. This board is unbelievable...

I would elaborate but I don't want to be targeted and get a hide.

[sadoldgirl]

11. You are off the boat. I do believe that

HRC should have the protection, but I think so should
all the other candidates as well.

Everybody, who is a candidate for the presidency
should get it. I remember too well, what happened
to Bobby K., and I don't want that to happen to
anyone. There was candidate G. Wallace as well.

This campaign reminds me in so many ways of it.
The question is about former presidents though, because
I believe that they are in far less danger than any
candidate.

[Cali_Democrat]

20. Currently 573 candidates have filed FEC papaperwork to run for President

Should they all get secret service protection?

Your post is nonsensical.

http://www.fec.gov/press/resources/2016presidential_form2dt.shtml

[George II]

23. If a candidate requests it and the "evidence" warrants, he/she will get Secret Service protection...

...remember, Obama in 2007 received lots of death threats, and he received protection very early in the campaign.

But it's not a given, left to the whim of the candidate.

[JI7]

6. times have changed through the last hundred years .without protection

I think some could easily be attacked.

Obama for sure would be.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

10. The IRA and The Red Brigade kidnapped and murdered some high ranking European leaders...

The IRA blew Lord Mountbatten to bits...

[Hekate]

7. You think Obama would be safe?

[George II]

9. "I don't know of such an event" - maybe BECAUSE they have Secret Service protection?

[dsc]

12. do you really think it is a good idea to have former Presidents

unprotected? Especially fairly recent ones? BTW do you think Obama will ever be able to be unprotected without some risk of being attacked?

[Brother Buzz]

14. George H W Bush and Homer Simpson had a dusting up

[lpbk2713]

15. Just because we haven't been informed of any incidents ...

directed at any former presidents or their immediate families doesn't mean
there have been none at all. The SS can probably manage security better
if they keep what they can on a low profile.

[sadoldgirl]

16. Alright. I suppose I stand rebuffed,

it was just a question, which occurred to me,
because I don't think that Carter or HWBush
are really in danger at their age.

Sorry, I did not mean to offend anyone.

[herding cats]

26. Two bad choices there for your example

Carter and H. W. Bush are both deeply hated by fanatics. Both without protection would be likely victims of attacks, even in their current states of health and at their ages. Hate such as that knows no social bounds.

I'm not offended. I'm politely pointing out how naive your stance is in relation to the reality of the depth of hate out there.

[pnwmom]

30. No need to apologize. Other people have had that question.

We know you weren't trying to offend anyone.

[6000eliot]

18. What exactly is the point of this post?

Protection of former presidents is going to break the bank?

[sadoldgirl]

19. Yes, a bit, because I think that

the candidates (and of course the POTUS in power) need it
much more than older former presidents, who might also
want more privacy.

Obviously I was wrong in my assumption, okay?

[Historic NY]

21. There always someone out there that wants infamy.

[CBGLuthier]

22. We pay because we are not too cheap to provide it as a courtesy.

I am quite certain that the former and the current president ahve people who will wish them harm until the day they die and then try to piss on their graves.

[Princess Turandot]

24. TR was shot in 1912 while campaigning for a third term. He had been out of office since 1909..

"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose."

He lost the election but gained a permanent rib adornment!

Relative to the topic, I think POTUS/FLOTUS should have life-long protection, especially nowadays when the internet makes determining where they are/what they are doing much easier.

Assassination attempt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt#Assassination_attempt)

The bullet-damaged speech and eyeglass case on display at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace
On October 14, 1912, while campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Roosevelt was shot by a saloonkeeper named John Flammang Schrank, but the bullet lodged in his chest only after penetrating his steel eyeglass case and passing through a thick (50 pages) single-folded copy of the speech he was carrying in his jacket. Roosevelt, as an experienced hunter and anatomist, correctly concluded that since he was not coughing blood, the bullet had not completely penetrated the chest wall to his lung, and he declined suggestions to go to the hospital immediately. Instead, he delivered his scheduled speech with blood seeping into his shirt. He spoke for 90 minutes. His opening comments to the gathered crowd were, "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose." Afterwards, probes and an x-ray showed that the bullet had lodged in Roosevelt's chest muscle, but did not penetrate the pleura, and it would be less dangerous to leave it in place. Roosevelt carried the bullet with him for the rest of his life.

[sadoldgirl]

25. I can agree with that

The problem for me was that we seem to give candidates
less protection than the elder statesmen.

Example: Jeb is the 3rd Bush, there are lots of Bush
haters around. If he gets shot (not even killed) he will
become a martyr and the next president will be
definitely a conservative.

sorry, but the images from the past came back. I
don't think that Nixon would have won necessarily
with Wallace still healthy and belligerent.

[JohnnyLib2]

27. Compliments to you, sadoldgirl, for listening to others and making adjustments.

That's rare and especially refreshing during this 24 hours on DU!

[Thinkingabout]

28. Ted Kennedy worried about his protection, having had two brothers assassinated,

He would use different routes to work to prevent a pattern, he did not get SS protection.

[pnwmom]

29. So, because the SS has successfully prevented attacks, that proves they are unnecessary?

No, it does not.

An ex-President would be a logical target of terrorists who wanted to threaten the country and put it in turmoil. Imagine how we would feel if Obama was kidnapped and held for some kind of demands.

It is only fair and prudent that we protect them.