Maybe the "F" Stands For "Free-Speechless"...

He’s at it again. Apparently, Kerry's people tried—and failed--for 10 minutes to ban about 500+ silent Catholics from a Stuebenville, OH rally on public property, and ban their "respect-for-life" signs. Then they even "tried to hold up a banner between poles that would block the view of the peaceful Catholics but the Secret Service put the kibosh on that."

These sites and articles tell the story, and this site has the photos. K-Lo at National Review apparently received this email from a participant who was there. Fox News apparently reported that "this was the largest protest against Kerry outside of the DNC."

The Intelligencer-Wheeling News Register article linked to above had this interesting bit: "An official with the Kerry campaign, who declined to be identified, approached law enforcement officers at Adams and Third streets and informed them that the protesters would not be allowed into the event. [After describing 3 more attempts by Kerry officials to ban the protesters, the article continues:] 'I'm going to tell you right now, if any of your people starts an altercation you're going to jail,' [Jefferson County Sheriff Fred] Abdalla said to the Kerry official."

Note the paltry "mention" on AP's radar screen. [P.S.: Does anyone still believe the "skews reporting" we get from AP anymore? If 500-700 anti-Bush citizen-protesters showed up anywhere and the Bush camp tried for 10 minutes to violate their First Amendment rights and prevent them from holding signs and standing on public ground, it would be front-page news, along with demands for someone's head to roll.]

From LifeSiteNews.com: "A group of Catholic protesters gave John Kerry an unexpectedly cool welcome in that working class, traditionally Democrat town. Students, children, workingmen, housewives and nuns in full habits arrived in the rain at the park where Kerry planned to speak hours before his arrival. Carrying signs that read, 'Crusade for the Defense of Our Catholic Church,' 'You Can't be Catholic and Pro-Abortion,' and 'Pontius Pilate was Also Personally Opposed'...

"...a crowd that the Sheriff's department estimated as large as 500, marched and silently protested the presidential candidate's anti-life stand on abortion. Kerry who claims to be a devout Catholic, was visibly shaken when his speech was booed in this town that campaign organizers had expected to be enthusiastically supportive."

Someone who was there affirmed the size of the crowd. And this comment I found interesting:
"The fact that the Kerry campaign would conduct a rally in Stuebenville reveals a fascinating blindspot: For many Catholics, particularly in the greater midwest, the very word 'Stuebenville' is synonymous with a sort of neo-evangelical Catholicism. Many of us send our high-school age children to 'the Stuebenville conference' each year. This is a mainstream part of Catholic life in this part of the country. It is striking that no one in the Kerry campaign made this connection."

A side note: AP also wrote, "Kerry appealed to gun owners, saying he's been a hunter 'all my life.'" Yet the sender of the NRO email to Kathy Lopez wrote, "...Kerry wanted to use a local gun range as a campaign stop, but the owner turned him down."

Thanks to friend and fellow blogger Tim Cronin for alerting me to all these sites.