Media not allowed to mingle with crowd at Palin rally

[babylonsister]

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2008/10/under-the-watch.html


Press kept under a watchful eye

CLEARWATER -- Constantly under the watchful eyes of security, the media wasn't permitted to wander around inside Coachman Park to talk to Sarah Palin supporters. When reporters tried to leave the designated press area and head toward the bleachers where the crowd was seated, an escort would dart out of nowhere and confront him or her and say, "Can I help you?'' and turn the person around.
When one reporter asked an escort, who would not give her name, why the press wasn't allowed to mingle, she said that in the past, negative things had been written. The campaign wanted to avoid that possibility Monday.
-- Times staff writer Eileen Schulte

[TwilightGardener]

1. Must show the Princess proper deference, must stick to happy propaganda.

[billyoc]

2. These motherfuckers would make Cheney look like Chomsky.

:grr:

[Left Is Write]

3. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the McCain camp's idea of a "free press."

Wouldn't want the media "abusing" its "privilege" of "freedom" of the press, now would we?

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Oh well... No more "free press".

Keep propping her up you lunatic fringe RW-biased M$M!

[Schulzz]

5. They really should stop covering her at all. nt

[EnviroBat]

6. Fuck you Palin you asshole. You ARE going to be held accountable

for the stupid shit you say. We WILL get to you, eventually. We have exposed you, and you ARE in the spotlight. You can't hide anymore you fucking rat-shit moron.

[nebenaube]

7. WTF? That's kidnapping no? n/t

[blogslut]

8. We can't have bussed-in audience members revealing the ruse

Now, can we?

[NYC_SKP]

9. "Dear First Amendment," "See ya!" signed, John McCain III & Sarah Palin. nt

[firedupdem]

10. Yesterday she made a negative comment about the press and

the crowd started to boo in the direction of the press. I wish they would get some fucking balls and ignore her completely. If she can't give interviews because she's too fucking dumb...why are they covering her speeches. Anybody can stand up and read a hate speech. She's not worth covering.

[Lint Head]

11. The press is the part of government defined in the Constitution

as the Peoples arm. They should be able to mingle no matter what their prejudices are.
Palin is a part of the Re-Pubic-Rat party that believes in the liberal media meme.

:dem:

[Alter Ego]

12. NO QUESTIONS! THE PITBULL MUST NOT BE QUESTIONED!

They're not doing anything to help their cause by restricting the press so heavily.

[iceman66]

13. If you think this is bad

imagine what it would be like if she were actually in office!

[Youphemism]

14. The media needs to get these folks on camera and make a story of it...

After months of suggesting that people really don't know who Obama is, and as the McCain camp tries to reignite that debate, it's absolute hogwash that Palin should be allowed to hide like this without being called on it, even as she tries to voice doubts about Obama's background.

I can't believe how much they've already gotten away with. Are we supposed to think we know her because she speaks with a rural inflection and uses lowbrow colloquialisms?

This woman is a gallstone's throw from the presidency already, and she's barely answered any questions -- and she's done very poorly when she has.

As she tries to get people to be scared of Obama, it needs to be answered why we shouldn't be more scared about her. We know a whole lot more about Obama.

[frickaline]

16. agreed.

I'd love to see a timeline put together of all the media refusals, right under the 1st amendment.

[sufrommich]

15. The republicans know their base,and the ugly,racists

sound bites that would ensue from that crowd.

[Raschel]

22. You mean from that all White crowd?

That should be discussed in the media. Conservatives will say that Blacks are voting for Obama because he's Black. Why don't the Palin crowds have other minorities represented there? Because they know that McCain is pandering to the racist Americans.

Obama's crowd represents all of America.

[chill_wind]

17. an escort would "dart out of nowhere"...

Why do I get an image of small furry rodents? Who could seriously work for and believe in this campaign? Who?
Where do they find these true believers?

[ogneopasno]

18. Yep, that's a real pit bull attitude, all right.

Stuff like this needs to make it into the actual infopulp and on tv, not just newspaper blogs.

[bdamomma]

19. I hope this whole avoidance with the media will blow up in her face.

watch out for Palin she is preaching to her base, fueling them.

[Shine]

20. It's surreal how they're keeping her from the media.

:crazy:

[mopinko]

21. i still can't believe

that they found a pair of candidates worse than bush/cheney.
i don't want to see the end of this movie.

[casus belli]

23. How do they get away with this shit?

This is unprecedented. A Vice-Presidential candidate who is sent out to trumpet false smears but does no interviews and answers no questions? I can't believe this is happening.

[City Lights]

24. ARGH! The media should put The Big Dipper on IGNORE!

At lease until she has a real press conference without the media filter. You know...one of those LIVE ones where she stands before the press corps, cameras rolling, answering questions asked of her.

[smoogatz]

25. The press is free

to say nice things about us. Otherwise, not so much.

[Arkansas Granny]

26. Am I reading this right? The press wasn't allowed to speak to the audience?

I can understand that they would want to limit Palin's interviews, but I don't see how they can keep the media from speaking to people who attended the rally.

[bvar22]

27. The PRESS deserves to experience a "First Ammendment Zone".

If these assholes had reported on the abuse of First Ammendment Zones in 2000, and showed the ountry the face of creeping fascism, maybe a Independent Free Press would still exist?

[intheflow]

28. No kidding!

[PATRICK]

29. Ringers

Paid pros, staff and the favor GOP activist circle. If the MSM simply took pictures and ID'd the crowd I bet a lot of seeded phonies would show up or people with extremely disreputable backgrounds. The real reason for putting off the press, behind the emotional stiff-arming, is usually to hide something. At least when the GOp has to move all the stupidity and rage levers to get a crowd of anything together.