By Joe Conason:

Appalled by the Tasering of student Andrew Meyer during an appearance by Sen. John Kerry at the University of Florida, [TV talk show host Chris] Matthews said on "Hardball" that he regards that incident as "an iconic moment" in the degradation of free speech during the Bush years...

As Matthews noted... the Bush White House standardized those methods for squelching speech in a manual for presidential advance teams... Then he quoted a telling section: "If demonstrators appear likely to cause only a political disruption, it is the advance person's responsibility to take appropriate action. Rally squads should be dispatched to surround and drown out demonstrators immediately."

That October 2002 manual... includes copious instructions for ensuring that dissension need never be seen nor heard. Its repetitive themes include "the best method for preventing demonstrators," "deterring potential protestors from attending events," and "designat[ing] a protest area ... preferably not in view of the event site or motorcade route." Potential protesters are to be ignored only "if it is determined that the media will not see or hear" them.

Unfortunately for the White House, such strategies are patently unconstitutional and violate several provisions of the Bill of Rights... Last month, the ACLU won a settlement of $80,000 for Jeffery and Nicole Rank, a Texas couple who had worn T-shirts critical of Bush to a July 4, 2004, event at which he spoke in West Virginia.

But in the meantime the Bush Republicans have inflicted a great deal of damage on the culture of democracy.