From the AP/Lansing State Journal
Campaigns clash outside DeVos' office
Police called when chairman of Dems refuses to leave site
By Kathy Barks Hoffman
Associated Press
A news conference Monday in front of Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos' campaign headquarters turned into a shouting match between the state Democratic chairman and a DeVos campaign spokesman.
Even before Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer could begin talking to reporters, DeVos campaign spokesman John Truscott came outside and told him he was on private property and would have to leave. Brewer refused, saying he was exercising his First Amendment rights.
"You do not have First Amendment rights on private property," Truscott said, standing in front of about 15 DeVos campaign staffers holding handwritten cardboard signs that read, "Stop the Granholm lies."
This was a cheap publicity stunt by Brewer. For those who don't know, DeVos HQ is located in an office park in Delta Twp in Eaton County near Lansing. It is all private property there, and the roads there are also private. The public right of ways there are on the nearby main streets - Creyts Rd and Michigan Ave. Brewer legally had to be there for his press conference. That's why Truscott shut him down.
The first amendment doesn't apply to private property. That's not the capitol building.
8 comments:
Wow, Dan, Devos and John Truscott must really be scared of they have to resort to physical intimidation. The rest of the article was the best part, but I notice you left that part of it out. No wonder Truscott was so pissed off. The press conference was held because the latest Devos TV ad claims he created jobs while he was at Amway/Alticor, but the truth is he cut 1,400 Michigan jobs. Now, he may have created jobs in China, but they don’t vote in Michigan. I don’t know what kind of math the republicans are using, but that doesn’t add up to job creation.
Press conferences and demonstrations in front of the opposition’s HQ are as old as the country, but it’s rare that the police are involved. In fact, I cannot remember a single incident since I have been in Michigan. The article doesn’t say where Mark Brewer was standing, but private roads refer to who maintains them not who can drive or walk on them.
Truscott and Bill O’reily are calling in the police to shut you up. Sad.
The answer is hell yes. They laid off people and closed auto plants all over North America, not just in Michigan. It seems to be a national problem. How many manufacturing jobs have we lost under bush?
It’s a documented fact devos laid off 1,400 MICHIGAN employees. Now, brian, please tell me how devos can be a job creator when he cuts 1,400 jobs from his own company. Here’s a better argument, brian. Devos is spending millions of his dollars on TV ads that air the myth he’s a job creator. That makes him a liar.
So, brian, of those other 49 states you claim have an increase in employment, how many of them can claim that manufacturing of autos or manufacturing in general is their number one industry or employer? And of all these alleged jobs bush has created, how many of these jobs are actually jobs where you can actually earn a living wage? The middle class is fast disappearing in this country and the gap between the rich and the not rich is growing wider every single day, and anyone who tries to deny that is just an idiot, no matter what they are smoking.
As for your claim about the Devos layoffs being OK because they could find other jobs because of the economy that President Clinton had nothing to do with creating, then why did he have to layoff anyone at all? I’ll bet you won’t find many Americans who don’t wish they could go back to those economic times. So, are you trying to tell me Amway had 1,400 managers? Right, and I’m smoking something.
That I owe bush a debt of thanks is about the stupidest thing I have head on this blog, dedicated to spin and misinformation.
Hey Brian, your blog proves one thing; you don’t have to have any talent, skill or brains to have one.
I tried to correct your misinformation on John Truscott’s wigout on your blog, but it wouldn’t let me. Good thing for you; you can’t deal with a logical and reasonable debate.
No, chetly, I didn’t recall the incident with Mark Brewer and the camera, nor had I ever heard of it before. I watched the video you provided on your web site, and then I read the description you provided of the incident. The two don’t match. There is no way anyone -but you perhaps - would describe what happened as” physically attacking my camera.”
I saw no claim of a physical assault by john truscott by anyone, especially Mr. Brewer. However, in Mr. Brewer’s press release he does claim “physical intimidation” by truscott, and if you hear the audio of truscott, as well as the 12 drones on hand, that clearly meets the description of physical intimidation, don’t you think so, chetly?
I find it very hard to describe it as a “cheap publicity stunt” on Mr. Brewer’s part when press conferences in front of the opponent’s HQ are as American as apple pie, and isn’t it funny that the 12 drones just happened to have the signs they displayed already made up?
Too bad for both parties there weren’t any TV cameras on hand. For Mr. Brewer’s sake it was too bad because the state would not only have heard what an angry madman truscott is they would have saw it too, and for truscott it’s too bad because his vile signs didn’t make it on TV.
Hey, maybe devos could have thrown some more money at the TV cameras if they had shown up; paying for it is the only way anyone would ever say he created jobs.
Brian, I’m not going to give you personal info just to comment on your blog, it’s just not worth it. I don’t consider myself a troll, I’m just here to call Dan on his spin and misinformation.
too much time is wasted trying to argue with kevin the troll. I have an idea, why doesn't kevin get a job and contibute to society. Oh, I forgot, with our beautiful governor at the controls there are no jobs!
Don’t worry, Anonymous, no one has argued with me yet, at least not a reasonable, logical argument anyway. I do have a job, two in fact, and I can pretty much guarantee I contribute to society much more than you do. Don’t worry; I’ll continue to be here to in order to call you on your spin, misinformation and lies.
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