Update on the Fargo 42.

[madfloridian]

http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/005920.html
Thursday, February 03, 2005
News from the Fargo 42
This morning, we shared the story of the Fargo 42—a group of 42 people who were blacklisted from a North Dakota event featuring President Bush speaking about his plan to dismantle Social Security. Most of those listed had one thing in common—they were all members of the same Democracy for America Meetup group.

The story was reported on the North Dakota news (view video of the broadcast and read the story) and one prominent member of the blacklist, Fargo City Commissioner Linda Coates, vowed to attend the event and get an explanation if she was not admitted.

Right after the story broke, DFA supporters from across the country mobilized to contact local, national and online media to demand accountability for the creation of this list. Thanks to your help calling news outlets and exposing this story, the White House was shamed into abandoning its plans to keep anyone critical of the president from attending the speech. Commissioner Coates told Democracy for America staff today that she was hurried into the event with an apology and the blacklist was explained away as the work of an overzealous staffer.

There is still no official word on who created the list and why Democracy for America supporters appear to have been targeted—and this story shouldn't be allowed to fade from visibility without those answers. Fargo-Moorhead Democracy for America Meetup host, Brian O'Shea, will be on WDAY (ND local news) tonight to discuss the blacklist, and you can tune in online to view the segment after it airs.
http://new.in-forum.com/wday/

Posted by Tara Liloia at 06:41 PM

[ProudToBeLiberal]

1. thanks for the update

:)

[Cha]

2. The great divider in this country is

george.. widen the divide.. bush.

That's the only thing that bush is good at.

I hope this gets the national attention it deserves.

[janx]

3. Why have DFA members have been targeted?

Why primarily them? And why...now? ;-)

[madfloridian]

5. Why did Dorgan brush it all off on Ed Schultz......

And then say how nice it was to have the prez with them today?

I called his office to find out. No answer yet.

[nashville_brook]

13. my theory is that DFA *Meetup* lists are public

and it's just an EASY way to target people.

i don't think it is any more sophisticated than that.

[madfloridian]

14. Then why not target the Democratic Party meet-ups? Or the DU meet-up?

The info may be online, but so is the Democratic Party Meet-up info.
Actually in fact, most of our meet-up don't put up much info....anyone wanting to put them on a list would have to find out more and do it deliberately.

There is a Democratic Underground meet-up, and E-Democracy meet-up, an Alliance for Democracy.

Why just have one group on a blacklist? Was it a local person? It concerns me a great deal. It is not ok.

[Ouabache]

18. because the DFA and PDA are DEAN offshoots, that is why

Dean is who they fear. The good doctor.

[madfloridian]

20. I agree.

If they were after just Democrats they would have targeted the other groups. I do agree.

I never heard of the GOP worrying about or caring about who the Democrats had for a party chair. Now they are. They will go after him and us with all they have.

[nashville_brook]

21. good point... Dean scares them...

it's really not magic. just have a spine.

[shance]

24. Targetting people for their beliefs is not LEGAL. It is discrimnitory.

it is wrong and it is anti-Democratic.

It is called WRONG and I would imagine good cause for a lawsuit.

[nashville_brook]

29. agreed -- this is actually great that they've been able to narrow it down

to a common denominator

[Quakerfriend]

4. Thanks for letting us know!

Pics of the Fargo protest on another thread are great!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. thanks for this information

we didn't know about this until we got home, but my husband said "BULL" to the 'explanation'. We must continue to mobilize and keep pressure on Bushco to come clean and to keep meetings open.

[ProudToBeLiberal]

7. kick

[CatholicEdHead]

8. Montana

any word on if any Montanans were banned from his later speech?

Or how about tormorrow with lists at Arkansas, Nebraska, and Florida?

[madfloridian]

9. What really worries me......

is that I have heard NO Democrats say this is wrong. Not one.

I have heard one hurriedly change the subject, toss it off as unimportant, and say how nice to have Bush in town.

It worries me that it is so accepted here at DU. Outrage from very few, many of them new people.

Ed Schultz was very sure to say his producer had not attended since last year....DFA that is. Big Eddie also pretended not to know if it was Dean's group.....and Dorgan dared not say the word Dean.

It worries me how few really care. We are worried. We do DFA, peace rallies, and write letters. We are afraid one of our sons, a Jr., will be targeted when he tries to renew his passport...silly little things like that. He travels a lot to South America. The Jr. Sr. thing could hurt.

But then that is sort of how our country is becoming, immune to the outrage.

[dusty64]

28. Or a peep about this

in the corporate media. Can you imagine if a Democrat did this?

[ProudToBeLiberal]

10. double kick

[madfloridian]

11. Thanks, seems to be only Dean friendly who care.

I wonder if anyone has checked out other events to see if supporters of Kerry had this done to them? This is not good.

[nashville_brook]

22. DFA mobilized during the primaries and has STAYED mobile

you can count on deaniacs to actually DO STUFF!

[KyndCulture]

12. I was at the protest today in Fargo. I met most of the Fargo 42.

They were outraged, we were outraged. They were outted as liberals on the front page of the newspaper today...even the 2 high school kids, which i think is just downright dangerous.

I spoke with Ms Coates and her husband. She told me the only reason she could think of what an anti bush quote she made to the newspaper in the fall. She said she was creeped out completely about it.

I just posted a very positive news story on the protest today in the North Dakota forum, great video of us.

[SmileyBoy]

27. I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there...

I had too many tests today!!

[bloom]

30. Between this and the various College professors

being targeted and getting death threats -> mobilized efforts against them for voicing their opinions - people should note that we have returned to McCarthyism.

"outed as liberals on the front page" - "outed" because liberals have been branded as traitors or something. It shouldn't mean anything other that people are concerned about their country. That it means something else is an outrage.

Today on TPM:

If you're in Little Rock or Tampa, you're up. Today's your day. The Bamboozlebooza Tour is coming to town. If you're going to be on hand for the festivities do let us know and let us know what you hear and see. If you've got a blog, even better. There may even be a "Privatize This" T-Shirt in it for you.

Even better, are you on the black-list for today's events in either town? If so and you can prove it, there's a definite shirt in it for you. At the moment, the White House is claiming that the Fargo black-list was the work of an "overzealous volunteer" whose identity they and the local Republican party claim they are nevertheless unable to discover.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

[KyndCulture]

32. The high schoolers are taking the heat.

I heard on the radio this morning, "concerned parents" are calling their schools and asking questions.

[madfloridian]

15. GOP...must have been over zealous staffer...we know nothing. Yeah, right.

http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=82375§ion=News
Local volunteer root of do-not-admit buzz

An "overzealous volunteer" created a list of 42 people to bar from attending President Bush's speech in Fargo, White House and state party officials said Thursday.

"It was the result of an overzealous volunteer," said White House spokesman Jim Morrell of the list. "We weren't aware of it here at the White House."

SNIP..."Republican Party officials and Morrell said they do not know the identity of the volunteer.

"I don't know if we'd ever be able to find out what overzealous volunteer it is or anything like that," said Jason Stverak, executive director of the North Dakota Republican Party. "We'll talk to people and stuff, but it will be impossible."

Morrell said do-not-admit lists are not standard practice for the White House...."

[prairierose]

16. Do not admit lists are standard for this WH.....

does anyone remember the lists & loyalty oaths from the campaign? Does anyone remember people thrown out of * or cheney events for offensive tshirts like "feminisim is the radical idea that women are people" and there was another tshirt in WA state that had something from the Declaration or the Constitution on them that was too offensive for shrub to see.....

this is standard operating procedure for these thugs and anybody who thinks there is a mythical overzealous staffer or volunteer, I have some beachfront property for sale in AZ.

You know one thought that often comes into my mind when I see a pic of * is, "Would you buy a used car from this man?"

[Ouabache]

19. yeah, always just another 'bad apple' ain't it ?

nothing systematic about it at all. What is that old saying about bad apples and the whole barrel ?

[Greylyn58]

17. Maybe what local Democrats

need to do whenever shrub rolls into town to have one of his town meetings about SS reform is have a local TV camera crew follow them to one of his get togethers to show how contrary to what shrub says, he won't allow opposing voices in the crowd.

Not sure if it will work, but I'm thinking that if we want to dethrone this murderer, then we must begin on the local level. Show that he's not as open and inviting as he claims.

Just a thought...:eyes:

[nashville_brook]

23. i think that *is* happening and they are starting to react!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3054654

people aren't going for this... i have my fingers crossed.

[magellan]

25. Well this is totally f'd up and people SHOULD be outraged

And I mean across party lines, not just Dems. For crap's sake, how far does this nation have to slide into the maw of totalitarianism before people decide it's gotten a little too dark in here? Just because it's happening to "the other guy" it's okay?

HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF.

Overzealous staffer, my sweet ass. Lame excuses follow more lame excuses, and everyone smiles understandingly while the Right continues to shit on America. We will ALL pay for the hubris of bushco and his "overzealous" lackeys everywhere, from the Freepers on up. And those who facilitate them through inaction will carry the burden of responsibility as surely as if they'd put the light of democracy out themselves.

[SmileyBoy]

26. I personally know a couple people on this list.

Both NDSU professors. I hope this thing is taken care of, and the idiot who leaked this gets in deep shit.

[madfloridian]

31. Thought this was archived....see this interview.

I posted separately, had not seen this one still around. Good interview at this site with the high school and college members of DFA in Fargo. Great guys.

http://new.in-forum.com/wday /

Choose the 10:00 news hour, about 4 minutes in, after the interview with the city commissioner.