ACLU Sues Former White House Staffer

The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Gregory Jenkins, a former White House staffer who planned public events for President Bush and came up with a policy to stop anti-Bush demonstrators from getting close to the president. The ACLU contends that Jenkins "unlawfully excluded individuals perceived to be critical of the administration," thereby "cleansing" public forums of dissent.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of four plaintiffs. Jeff and Nicole Rank were arrested at a Fourth of July presidential appearance at the West Virginia State
Capitol. Their offense, according to the ACLU? "They were wearing t-shirts (not pictured) critical of the president." The other plaintiffs are Denver residents Alex Young and Leslie Weise, who were tossed out of a town hall meeting because they had an anti-war bumper sticker on their car that read: "No More Blood for Oil."

Here's a link to the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in DC. Here, too, is a link to a copy of the 2002 Presidential Advance Manual that the ACLU obtained (heavily redacted, mind you). The manual served as the White House's guide for planning presidential events around the country. In it, a strategy is laid out for shielding the president from anyone who might disagree with him. One of the techniques reads like some kind of frenzied Dear Leader love-in:

"The formation of 'rally squads' is a common way to prepare for demonstrators by countering their message. This tactic involves utilizing small groups of volunteers to spread favorable messages using large hand held signs, placards, or perhaps a long sheet banner, and placing them in strategic areas around the site.

These squads should be instructed always to look for demonstrators. The rally squad's task is to use their signs and banners as shields between the demonstrators and the main press platform. If the demonstrators are yelling, rally squads can begin and lead supportive chants to drown out the protesters (USA!, USA!, USA!). As a last resort, security should remove the demonstrators from the event site. The rally squads can include, but are not limited to, college/young republican organizations, local athletic teams, and fraternities/sororities."

Why not add some coked-up cheerleaders while you're at it? Unleash the meatheads!!