When President Bush visited Tuscon, Arizona, to tout his Social Security plans, a member of the University of Arizona's Young Democrats planned to attend. He had a ticket and everything, but he was denied entrance. Why? Because he wore a T-shirt with an image of a donkey, the Democratic Party symbol.

GNN reports:

Gerner said the staffer, who refused to provide his name, asked for Gerner’s ticket and crumpled it up. The staffer walked away, returned in 20 minutes, and told Gerner his name had been added to a list banning him from entering the convention center for the speech.“I was certainly shocked,” Gerner said. “Everyone should have access to this information.”Gerner said he obtained a free ticket to the speech from the office of Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. The ticket had his name printed on it.

Staff at the center said that the Secret Service was handling tickets; Secret Service says that they aren't ticket-takers and that convention staff was dealing with tickets. Someone, it seems, is lying — and no wonder because whoever was denying entrance to people because of Democratic symbols on their clothing should lose their job on the spot.

I say "should" in the context of an ideal system where justice and fairness are guiding principles. None of this applies to the system that has developed under the leadership of George W. Bush. During the 2004 election race the media reported — barely — on numerous incidents where people were denied access to Bush speeches because they were presumed to be liberals or Democrats. Protesters were intimidated; even reporters who interviewed protesters were threatened.

Welcome to the America, home of the once-free.

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