What started out for many students as a protest against racial injustice is becoming exactly what its puppet-handlers intended -- an opportunity to publicly embarrass re-election-minded Gov. Rick Scott.
One of the protesters, Dream Defenders' leader Phillip Agnew, complained this weekend to the Miami Herald and the world via Twitter that state officials were virtually trying to starve them out -- and the Herald ran with it in the first paragraph of a story under the headline, "Police won't allow food to Capitol protesters, Dream Defenders say."
It wasn't until further down in the story that Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger got her chance to say no, that couldn't have happened.
Oh, yes, and Agnew couldn't name the source of his information.
At this point, it doesn't much matter what the truth is -- though I hope you'll pardon me if I go with Plessinger's version. I know staff are going in and out of the building freely, at all hours throughout the weekend, as they are allowed to do. And if any one of them were carrying in food for the protesters, no one would deny him or her entry.
The truth is, Agnew and whomever he told his sad story to managed to tweet and text out 8,200 messages to followers -- the whole David-and-Goliath tale of brave, starving students standing their Moral High Ground against a huge, monolithic dread of uncaring Republican wrong-heads.
At 3 p.m. Saturday @Dreamdefenders tweeted, "FDLE (capitol police) won't allow meals to come in for us to eat!." At 4 p.m. they tweeted,"One of the female officers told us that if we're hungry that we can leave."
Good advice, actually. Protesters were always free to leave. They could return if they wanted when the building reopened on Monday. But so much for good advice.
As the Herald reported, musical producer Russell Simmons posted on Twitter, "The @Dreamdefenders need our solidarity! Call (phone number given) and tell Capitol Police to allow food and vital needs inside."
FDLE was inundated with calls. All calls on the wrong agency numbers -- phonenumbers used by law enforcement agencies throughout the state to request AMBER Alerts and crime scene or investigative assistance, according to Plessinger. It was and is a mess.
Said Plessinger in a press statement, Capitol police set three after-hours rules that have been in force since the beginning: 1) protesters can remain after 5 p.m. when the Capitol closes, but if they leave, they can't return until it reopens; 2) protesters must remain peaceful; and 3) protesters must remain within designated areas on the building's Plaza level.
Hugh Chip, one of the Herald story's online commenters, says it eloquently: "I bet every public relations agency in America wishes they could get Dream Defender treatment. Headlines every day. Instant printing of allegations. No evaluation of their background, motives, funding, donors. Where are the kings and queens of transparency? Liberal causes are like kryptonite to the mighty investigative media."
Connected with giving Dream Defenders a lift up -- you might even call them puppet masters -- is a number of left-wing activist organizations with Saul Alinsky-style tactics aimed right at the Dems' primary objectives in Florida. Among them:
-- Young People For (or YP4), offers a telling website. It says of the Dream Defenders, "The activists, led by Phil Agnew (2005 YP4 alumnus) and joined by a growing number of YP4 alumni, current fellows, and allies are pushing for a repeal of Florida's Stand Your Ground law and a special legislative session on racial profiling and the school-to-prison pipeline." Agnew trained with these folks. Click on the photos on the website for a look at the training groups.
-- Florida For All, which calls itself "a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the interest of Floridas seniors, children and middle-class families but is a website dedicated to bringing Rick Scott down. Its chairman, strategist Carlos Odio, seldom mentions that the group was created by out-of-state Democrats.
The Herald might not have meant it to happen, but its story of food not delivered apparently was cannon fodder for a shot heard around the world.
On the other hand, state officials have to ask themselves, were we just a little to blame ourselves? Have we beentoo hospitable? Was it necessary to set rules for protesters that don't go for the rest of Florida citizens? If the building closes at 5 p.m. and during weekends, why shouldn't the Dream Defenders and their friends from Chicago and Philadelphia have to leave, too? What's wrong with a protest by day?
Surely it's not too late to roll up the welcome mat. Sleeping bags fit nicely in the courtyard outside the building. If that's unsatisfactory, Tallahassee has cool, dry hotels and motels, all with showers and easy access to restaurants.
It isn't just the cost of breaking rules for this protest -- more than $50,000 in security overtime so far, by the way. It's a fairness issue and it's a truth issue. Dishonest guests are bad guests. I vote for letting these protesters come and go with the flow of daily visitors to the Capitol.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423.
