Thread: Stories about Kerry yard signs getting damaged or stolen

[zulchzulu]

If people who have heard stories or have been victims of theft of their Kerry-Edwards or Kerry yard signs, that would be great.

I have run into a lot of people in Wisconsin, Ohio and other parts of the country who have had their yard signs ripped off or damaged.

Just this past Friday, there were up to 20 Kerry yard signs stolen from Middleton, a town next to Madison, WI. I had talked to a woman at the HQ and she was not only pissed, but scared at the thought that people were walking on her lawn and stealing her sign.

I know there have been other stories (was it Florida?) where 200 signs were stolen.

Also, someone had mentioned that there was a paint that you could put on a yard sign that makes it almost impossible to take off if touched by someone. Prussian Blue something or other...

Let's get all these stories about such Bush fan tactics threaded and then send it to some media outlet who might have the testicular fortitude to bring up the issue.

[benddem]

1. Over 70 Kerry signs

have been stolen in Bend Oregon. No complaints from Reptiles. But now the Sherrif wants to know.

[Spiffarino]

2. One stolen in my neighborhood

It was knocked over one day, put back up, then gone two days later.

There are two other local Dems' campaign signs in the same patch of grass on a main strip. Only the Kerry sign was abused and stolen.

There are a few Bush signs, but none stolen, damaged or defaced that I've ever seen and I've been looking for it. I don't like it at all, regardless of party. It's just plain fucking un-American.

[cheshire]

3. We learned in 2000 to put them in windows, always have back ups and put

out more everytime. We get them free thought thru union.

[ret5hd]

4. ahhh...good old prussian blue...

i hadn't even thought of that.

It's used in machine shops and such to check the mate between two parts...called a blue-bed check. It's a paste, dark blue almost purple, and damnded near impossible to remove without flushing with industrial solvents...and that's off of metal parts. After it gets in the pores of your skin not even solvents remove it.

i could tell you all kinds of stories about putting it on the supervisors telephone earpiece, on the handles of a co-workers machine, etc, but that would be self-incriminating.}(

[cheshire]

7. I think I have some, How fun will force me to walk the dog in neighborhood

[DBoon]

11. Consider ninhydrin

Also, from my experience with chemistry, there is a substance called ninhydrin that turns bright blue when it comes into contact with amino acids. As the proteins in your skin are full of these, it will dye your skin blue. I understand it is harmless, and by itself colorless. I used it in labs and if I mishandled it, my skin would have blue spots that would take several days to get off.

[Dimsdale]

5. They can't handle it...

The fucking idiots won't tolerate Kerry support because they know they're wrong. Decent people can't support Chimpy and have a clear conscience. Their denial makes them behave like adolescents.

[Logansquare]

6. My mom (in Ohio) told me an outrageous story

Apparently, some idiot driving a Mercedes had his 11-year-old daughter get out of the car and steal a Kerry sign off of private property. Another motorist noted his license plate and the police followed up--yes, he's a prominent attorney in Columbus. The newspaper published the story, which I hope brought him the humiliation he richly deserved. Using his child...scum.

[realisticphish]

13. i read about this

TECHNICALLY, the sign was illegal, some sort of municipal ordinance against campaign materials. but that still gives no legal or ethical rights whatsoever to that jackass, and especially when he doesnt even have the guts to do it himself


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Logansquare]

14. The woman who put the sign in says he was lying--it was on her property

Just found the story, and he's a coward as well as a liar:
http://www.dispatch.com/print_template.php?story=dispatch/2004/08/05/20040805-A1-01.html

[realisticphish]

24. wow thanks

i read about it in the zanesville times-recorder, and they made it sound like it was laying on the sidewalk or something. i love this dispatch; it may lean a LITTLE to the right sometimes, but its independantly owned (relative to most major papers)

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[spooky3]

33. Any community would now be crazy to hire this lawyer

He obviously has no regard for the law or ethics and abuses his daughter by telling her to break the law.

[Bush was AWOL]

41. I read that article in the Columbus dispatch

It was in Upper Arlington I believe. Upper Arlington is showing huge support for Kerry, much to my surprise.

[wyldwolf]

8. Had my first incident of this election Friday night

Came home and my sign was down. So was my neighbor's. The signs had not be stolen, just knocked down.

I haven't cut my grass in 2 weeks and the yard was a little damp - I could see the person's footprints leading up to the sign and then away again.

I think I know who it was - the guy who walks his dog in the middle of the night every night.

[Nancy Waterman]

10. Montgomery County, Maryland

Our whole neighborhood has been victimized. Several signs have been stolen or crumpled. One person's house was egged and the tires slashed. Some of the replacement signs have been stolen as well.

[Dimsdale]

12. Seriously, are these people brain dead..

or do they just get all their news from Faux? What are they afraid of? If Chimpy is so fucking wonderful, why do you need to stifle support for a challenge? Because they know they've got nothing. The douche bag is going down...

[XanaDUer]

9. FL

Not a theft (unless they smash out our windows, which I am awaiting) but a neighbor went ballistic and complained to the office, which properly did nothing about it.

EDIT: for clarity, our signs and bumperstickers are in our windows.

[Logansquare]

15. Will someone please, please put Skunk Shot on one of your signs?

I live in a Dem city so I don't have the opportunity to perform this delightful experiment.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/9232103.htm

[gulfcoastliberal]

16. Here in NW Florida it is rampant...

it has been featured in the paper of couple of times, including again today.
http://tinyurl.com/5k5bb

These thugs are disgusting. Loathsome pea-brained reptiles, the lot of em.

[slor]

17. Ours was kicked down in Cincinnati...

But they left it. We have a back-up anyway and now I have even put 2 signs on our windows, one from the Springfield rally. I was so pissed about the * regime watching the 9-11 memorials, one sign just did not feel like enough!

[realisticphish]

18. i live on a back road, so this is unlikely to work here...

but if you live on a major state route, out where people are likely to fuck with your signs, just sit in the bushes with a shotgun(unloaded). if you are anywhere in a vaguely rural area, the sound of the pump being worked is enough to make you shit yourself, right then and there. its unlikely those people would return


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[liberal N proud]

19. I have a great idea to slow these people down:

Most of the vandals do their dirty work at night, under the cover of darkness.
Get some fishing line, and go into your yard and string the line about 4 - 8 inches off the ground from tree to tree and other fixed objects in your yard.
The fishing line is very hard to see in the dark and they will trip over it because they will most likely be running across your yard.
Another idea is to make sure you walk your dog near your sign and don't pick up the duty, they will run, grab the sign and run and jump back in their car with dog crap on their feet.
There a many harmless thing one can do to make these people suffer for their actions.
For being full of Right Wing Christan fundamentalist, these people do not demonstrate those values very well, rather they do show us the true side of the GOP, Low and Dirty.

[zulchzulu]

22. Fishing line, Prussian Blue...

Perhaps attach the fishing line to a bell near a tree. Scare the sheet out of the Rethugs.

[TNMOM]

20. Young rethugs have been pulling out signs in Milwaukee

posted my story in the Wisconsin forum --so I won't repeat it all here. In a nutshell, they pulled up to my neighbor's house and got out to take his sign. He happened to be looking out the window at the time and scared the shit out of them when he yelled out at them. They took off without the sign. ...also a guy actually caught some jackas in the act on camera a few weeks ago and sent it to the local TV news, which promptly aired it.

[PA Democrat]

21. Mine was stolen within 48 hours of putting it out

I put out a replacement, but we bring it in at night.

[Dimsdale]

27. Where are you?

I'm in Wayne, in the heart of Main Line Repukeland. I'm putting a sign out as soon as I get my hands on one. I'd like to catch some scumbag in a Mercedes trying to send his kid out to pull down my sign.

[PA Democrat]

29. Eastern suburbs of Pittsbugh, PA

[Imalittleteapot]

23. Fort Worth

Kerry signs in the Mistletoe neighborhood were spray painted white.

A gold Lexus drove around the Berkely area picking up Kerry signs. They were stopped by police who found the trunk full of signs. The police left the stolen signs with a resident. Don't know what happened to the thieves.

[libertad]

25. We just had about 50 pulled up in Orange Park FL tonight.

After about 4 - 5 hours spent assembling and posting the signs around town, it was VERY FRUSTRATING to be out in the car driving down the street and noticing that all but one of our signs was gone in less than 3 hours.

[Demi_Babe]

26. Nothing has happened to our yard signs or bumper stickers BUT

a Bush sign on our street was stolen! I live in NC! :-)

[zulchzulu]

28. Suggested yard sign protection

It was a rushed illustration, but perhaps could be used. More ideas welcome!

[dave123williams]

32. Very good...

I was thinking about booby-traping them with explosives myself, but that's probably illegal.

[zulchzulu]

39. LOL

No, explosives would be a little over the top...no pun intended.

[elperromagico]

42. I'm not sure you wanna be dumping Drano on someone's head.

I think very cold water might suffice. Perhaps with food color... yellow food color. :D

[Claire Beth]

30. In Murfreesboro, TN....

a good friend of mine has had their Kerry/Edwards yard sign torn up twice now. I have been hearing stories of others having the same problem. It's the "passionate conservatives" at work.

[hansolsen]

31. In northern Minn we have had many K/E yard signs stolen, including

one of mine. And we have had at least one window broken with a "down with Bush sign in the wwindow.

[Lefta Dissenter]

34. Jeez, Zulch,

I live just west of Middleton, and our signs have been ok so far. Of course, we're on a rural road, but it's sort of busy, with a school and restaurant on it, and developments around...

Someone I know (and you might know) who lives near Columbus (WI) had some real vandalism to his signs and I think his house at the same time. I can't remember the details, but I remember that it was truly frightening. This is someone who was a Clarkie, but now is a Veteran for Kerry (if you want to talk to him, drop me a pm so I can tell you who it is, if you haven't figured it out).

[zulchzulu]

38. Wow

If it's who I think it is and you are who I think you are, that sucks. If his last name rhymes with "my singer", we need to get him to possibly send a little note to John Nichols. I talked to him about this issue this weekend and he's looking for a story about it.

Horsie? :->

[abrupt]

35. I had that happen...

so I put tacks all over it,seems to have worked.

[Protected]

36. Stories about my neighbor's two Kerry signs

One was destroyed by a drunk idiot walking up the street about 12 hours after the sign had been put up. He was with three other people who told him not to do it, but he broke it threw it down into the gulley anyway. I witnessed this while I was sitting on our porch but I decided that I didn't want to get in a fight with a drunk person over a sign.

The remaining sign was mostly destroyed when my neighbor evidently hired somebody to cut a few limbs off of their trees. Instead of moving the sign before they started, they let the limbs fall on top of it. My neighbor probably should have moved the sign before the guys showed up, but I thought it was pretty lame that they were so careless about it.

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Morning Dew]

49. I think it's vandalism.

I did see one that made me smile, though.
I came to an intersection where I could only turn right or left

The sign had an arrow for each direction and someone had added a bit of paint to the sign so it looked like this:


<-----bush truth----->

[mwb970]

40. This has been a problem here in Columbus, Ohio...

Especially in the tony suburb of Upper Arlington, where a group called "UA For Kerry" has formed and has distributed many lawn signs with the group name on them. There have been a LOT of these signs stolen, as reported in the "Police Blotter" section of the weekly UA suburban newspaper. One guy with a Kerry sticker on his car got the side of his car kicked in!

Some people object to the pre-emption of "UA" in the group name as if the whole town is for Kerry, an objection I can at least understand. Not sure if this has anything to do with the signs being stolen.

I have not seen any reports of Bush signs being stolen, but I suppose there must have been some. Presumably some of this activity is "just kids".

[DeepModem Mom]

43. Outraged kick!

[OnceUponATime]

44. Portland, OR

I ran into an acquaintance today who said he's had two Kerry signs on his front lawn vandalised.

He had a great idea that made me laugh. His next sign will say: "For every yard sign that I find damaged, I will donate $100 to the Kerry campaign. Knock yourself out."

[kid a]

45. No sign yet but two stickers removed

[Guaranteed]

46. Where would I get a few yard signs?

And maybe some of that Prussian Blue? :)

This thread makes me very angry, by the way. It's all I can do already not to tear down the Bush/Cheney signs that someone has put up in empty fields at the corners of extremely busy intersections here in town, and this thread just makes it that much worse.

[ucmike]

47. my stickers getting abused

i made some stickers with anti-bush quotes, facts, and some slogans then stuck them around town and in places i visit for work. nothing destructive, just mailing labels stuck up in public places. of the 24 i put out i happened by about 10 of them later. one of the ten was still there. the rest had been scraped off-some violently. they are relatively easy to remove, but some had been scraped off with keys and the removal effort had damaged the surface below. i stuck one in an elevator in a parking garage and it didn't last 5 minutes.


i was amazed at the anger portrayed. i didn't stick them on peoples personal property or on surfaces that would be damaged, but some of the "removers" made no such effort. it bothered me that my message wasn't being seen by people who i hoped to reach, but i got satisfaction knowing that douchebags are so upset that they can't help but attack the stickers with keys and fingernails.

they're response is almost pavlovian. they are all for free speech and expression, as long as they agree with the sentiment........

[michigandem2]

48. Michigan

in Grand Rapids where I live there was an article in the paper that there have been 120 complaints of stolen or damaged signs of Kerry/Edwards supporters...funny there are NO complaints ofr */Cheney signs...hmmmm....its rediculous!

[AspenRose]

50. New Mexico

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=168x149

This was in Los Alamos, by the way, a republican county, during the RNC (Kerry signs in a republican county is encouraging):

The destruction of Kerry-Edwards yard signs late Friday night and early Saturday morning incited the ire of Democratic Party Chair Abram Jacobson. "I started getting calls from homeowners who found their signs torn down overnight," Jacobson said. "We've had extensive damage and destruction. This vandalism has occurred all over the county during the last four weeks - we've lost 40 signs - but Friday night's outbreak is a much more vectored and planned thing."

On Monday, League of Women Voters board member Rebecca Shankland accompanied Jacobson in an observer capacity on a tour of White Rock homes whose political signs were destroyed. "Political dialog is the essence of democracy - without it we are lost," Shankland said as she looked over torn signs and listened to upset victims. "I am here because the league is taking this very seriously. We would be just as upset if this had happened on the other side."

Chairperson JoAnn Johnson of the Republican Party of Los Alamos was very upset to hear the news of the vandalism committed against the Democratic Party's political signs. "I absolutely denounce this behavior," Johnson said in an interview from New York. "If I find out who is responsible, I will let them know this is not the Republican way."