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Citing safety concerns, U. City cancels McCaskills event
A day after a Russ Carnahan event led to the arrests of five participants and a reporter, University City High School -- where U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill was set to hold a similar event on Tuesday-- announced that the forum has been canceled.The school district sent a news release this afternoon stating that the "reasons for the cancellation by the school district are due to concerns for the safety and security of its staff, community members attending the event, and for the students who would be on campus during that time." There is no word on whether McCaskill will find a new venue or keep a second town hall forum scheduled for later the same day in Jefferson County. Either way, its hard not to notch the decision as a signal of the growing influence of the Tea Party coalition, who had succeeded at heckling Carnahan at two earlier meetings. Although what the move portends for democracy -- that citizens can't gather for a public forum without fears of descending into fisticuffs? -- may be up for debate. The cancelation is sure to raise eyebrows in Washington, where many other lawmakers are bracing for tough meetings during the Congressional break. Posted by: Fred 2009-08-09 |
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