Protecting the Constitution?

By Rowan Wolf

Bill Clinton said that Barack Obama would defend and protect the Constitution - which would be refreshing after the last 7 years of it being shredded. However, that protection is not present in Denver. Perhaps it has become commonly accepted that free speech and assembly should be contained.

While delegates and party leadership go about their "business," they are buffered as much as the current administration was from any "sour" notes. The demonstrators in Denver are in the ubiquitous "free speech zones" far from where their voices will be heard, and far from where delegates will be exposed to critical and challenging arguments.

The picture being painted at the DNC is that of siding with the "working people" to restore the greatness of the United States. Smattered throughout the numerous speeches have been fops to the corporate world that they will also profit in this new era. The demonstrators voice a different vision and well know that corporations (and corporate influence) are not the friends and supporters of either "the people" or "democracy."

It disheartens me that the leaders of the Democratic party have not drawn the cameras to the free speech zones. There have been no trips that I know of to rub shoulders with those who are trying to get real concerns into the mix of party platforms. I do not believe that one leader, including Dennis Kucinich, has even mentioned the demonstrators whose voices are being leashed.

But invisibility is what free speech zones are about.

Of course the use of free speech zones has the impact of dramatically decreasing the number of people who come forward,and energy of those who do.

The demonstrators in Denver certainly do not lack organization even if the impact is being muted behind guarded fences. Here is the schedule of protests during the convention.

If the Democrats want to protect the Constitution and our sacred rights, then abolishing free speech zones would be a good place to start.