If you go to a Kerry/Edwards rally

[zuzu98]

Be prepared for an organized group of Bush/Cheney people equipped with signs, flip-flops and bellowing voices.

These are some effective tactics I've seen to counteract them:

Kerry supports brought sheets with positive messages on them and held them up in front of the Bush people (sometimes on chairs), effectively blocking them from view. Good if you can do it without blocking the view of supporters.

If B/C people start chanting/disrupting, send over people who can remain calm & reasonable (definitely NOT an assignment for me!) to politely ask them not to disrupt the speeches. Even if they argue with you, at least they won't be screeching "FLIP FLOP!" and ruining the event.

Make sure that the words & behavior of K/E supporters are positive. Independents who may be at he event can be turned off quickly. The B/C people should always be the ones who look bad.

Where we are, lots of people show up with the "Abortion Kills Children" signs. Quite a few people had "War Kills Children" and stood next to them.

Maybe others have suggestions?

[JuniperLea]

1. they should be asked to leave

and escorted out. that's what bush does.

[daisygirl]

11. Really. In Cambridge, OH a guy was asked to leave just for

wearing a Kerry/Edwards t-shirt. They asked him to turn it inside out, which he did. Then they asked him to take it off, which he did (he'd brought an extra shirt because he figured they wouldn't let him wear it). After all of that, they still asked him to leave, and he wasn't doing anything disruptive - just standing there peaceably.

I wouldn't agree with people being thrown out of Kerry rallies for things like that, but people disrupting the event should definitely be shown the door.

[bloom]

2. All of these months of protesters of Bush*

being kept far away. I wonder if that is still the case?

I wonder if the B/C people are being paid like the Florida recount protesters.


I like your suggestions.

[Guava Jelly]

3. Also Prepare to wait a few hours

Last Night in kcmo
They took for ever to come on.Gates opened at 7:30 and it was close to 10:00 before anyone spoke..Dont get me wrong if you want a good spot come early But geeze 2.5 hours early..
But it was a good time.
oh and wear comfortable shoes :)

[snippy]

4. Signs saying "It is against the law to protest at a Bush rally."

And distribute fliers saying the same thing with examples of protesters arrested at Bush rallies.

[merh]

5. Take photos if possible and compare them to photos of other

B/C protestors at other rallies. See if they bring the ringers from stop to stop. Also, some folks hate to have their photos taken when they are in the wrong. (just a suggestion)

[zuzu98]

6. I took some pictures

of the creep who ripped the Kerry/Edwards sign out of my hands and his little gang of thugs. The went nuts! I just kept saying, "Why are you ahsamed to support Bush?" One of their organizers actually "told" me to stop. So I took a picture of him, too.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Post the Pictures. It is assault and restraint of Free Speech

Post the pictures. People would like to compare with other rallies.

If privacy (and presumed innocence) issues are deemed paramount, then set up a private website or email exchange and only post pictures of people appearing at multiple rallies, with details.

[merh]

10. See, they hate to have their pictures taken. Guess its like a vampires

fear of the sun! Look through photos posted on the net of the B/C protestors and see if you guys are in any of them. It would be great to have proof that they travel from one rally to the next!

[blondeatlast]

7. My ticket for tomorrow says no signs?!

I assume they will be available at the rally.

I like the picture idea--can we start posting them here? I'd love to see if it's the same ones every time.

[merh]

12. Check the freeper sites - they love to boast their greatness.

Their are plenty of sites that have the protestors. I would post here only if you find matches in the crowd.

[daisygirl]

13. We weren't provided signs in Zanesville

Our tickets said no signs, too, and we weren't given any. It was so crowded that there honestly would have been a risk of putting someone's eye out. (It was also so crowded that it was really hard to see even without folks holding signs...) That said, I read in the Kerry blog that at one of the rallies shortly after Zanesville tons of people brought signs - so they might let you in with one, you never know.

[Tom Rinaldo]

9. Bring a "Bush is All Flop" Poster n/t