Left In Lowell

Dick Howe’s already got a write up on the Kevin Thompson (Constitutional Party candidate for MA-05) video from the Folk Festival about his curtailed free speech rights, which you can find here.

First, I just have to say that I despise the Constitution Party. The day they win a seat in Congress will be a sad day for America. While they claim to be for liberty and the Constitution, they want to tell women what to do with their bodies, proclaim the US a Christian nation, and of course gays have no rights according to them.

However, there are two points being made by Thompson with this video - one which deserves debate, and the other which is plainly a simple matter of fairness.

The first is the very concept of these so-called “free speech zones” in the public square. Peace groups and other organizations across this nation have encountered this bizarre concept over the years. If land is owned in public trust (such as the JFK Plaza), can’t it be said to always be a free speech zone? Since others have argued pretty passionately that the Constitution prohibits sign ordinances (that may or may not be in place in Lowell) against political signs on private property, what about public use of public land? So, that’s a debate to have (and I’m not sure what the answer is, though I disagree with Dick - I doubt the Folk Fest people really considered all the constitutional ramifications of having such a policy, they are just following the policy everyone else employs, rightly or wrongly.)

The second issue, and the real problem, is who followed the rules and who didn’t. That is an issue of basic fairness, and I do know the answer to this one.

The Eldridge campaign came out for the Festival on Saturday and I joined them. They were told by Festival people, no signs, no handouts. You can come, and you can talk to people, but nothing else, says they. Apparently, other campaigns were being told different things about “Free Speech Zones,” but more on that later. For now, suffice it to say I met Jamie and his entourage from the time they parked their cars, to the time they left in their cars, and Jamie and his people followed the rules they were told to. No signs, no handouts. We wore teeshirts with Jamie for Congress on them, and we wandered around talking to people.

This, despite the fact we too witnessed the Ogonowski crew with multiple signs, right near the “entrance” to the Folk Fest, where people stream in from the parking garage and much of the food is located. I had also seen them on Friday night as well. It steamed me at the time, because of what I knew the Festival people had told Jamie’s campaign. Did Ogonowski’s people even bother to find out the rules? Or were they just ignoring them? Either way, they should have been stopped.

I also have heard other candidates passed out handouts (frisbees?). Perhaps they were in one of the famous “Free Speech Zones” that we were not told about. (Trust me, Jamie’s people really would have loved to have the chance to pass out information.) Regardless, the information, and the enforcement, of the rules for candidates was inconsistent. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of Festival organizers and the Lowell National Park employees, much as I love those guys. Never mind the fact that it’s questionable to stop someone from campaigning in the public square, especially if they are gathering official state of Massachusetts petition signatures (either for ballot initiative or candidacy status). I seem to remember people doing it last year for the Green party for Grace Ross, by the way, which I gladly signed.