Leftwingnuts Practice "Pre-Emption" Against Arizona Trump Rally

by JASmius



Well, hey, at least it's less violent - which, yes, means Trumplicans can't get their licks in as well:

Protesters on Saturday blocked an Arizona highway that served as a route into this Phoenix suburb where "Republican" presidential front-runner Donald Trump had a campaign rally scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern time.

The protesters first blocked traffic with a pair of pickup trucks, with banners reading “Comb Over Racism: Dump Trump” and “Shut down Trump,” as seen from aerial footage aired by Fox 10 Phoenix, a local TV affiliate. As the trucks were later towed away to clear a path for traffic, protesters formed a human wall.

Astounding that Trumplicans didn't just run over the protesters, isn't it?  Maybe they were afraid of injuring some police officers as well.  In which case, why didn't the cops just get out of the way and let "Death Race 2016" proceed?

Traffic finally resumed along the highway, a main route into the suburb hosting the rally, after officers began arresting protesters. Three were arrested, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said in his remarks introducing Trump.

Only three?  Sheesh, Sheriff Joe is getting lazy in his old age.  Why didn't he arrest them all?  Must be an "establishment" guy.  Which raises the question of why Trump had him as his opening act.  I'm surprised Arpaio wasn't booed off the stage, and punched on his way out of the venue.

Here's a bit more detail on the access to Fountain Hills, a Phoenix suburb:

The protesters in Arizona parked vehicles sideways on Shea Boulevard, blocking both lanes of traffic into Fountain Hills, where Trump held a rally Saturday afternoon, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Joaquin Enriquez told CNN.

Enriquez described Shea Boulevard as the main artery into the area and the protesters’ actions were causing motorists to drive into oncoming traffic as they tried to get around them. Traffic was backed up for miles due to the blockage. [emphases added]

Here's a suggestion for Trump's woman-beating campaign manager: Stop with the bruisin' and also with booking venues on the cheap that can be so easily obstructed.  Your boss is Donald F'ing Trump; what's he doing holding a rally in Phoenix anywhere but (and I can't believe that this is its corporate sponsor now, the name is so embarrassing) Talking Stick Resort Arena?  Where the NBA's Phoenix Suns play their home games (doubtless with holomasks so nobody will recognize them), which has to rank lower on the sellout attraction list than a Donald Trump rally.  Right, Trumplicans?  Let #BlackLivesMatter try to block that.

Another surprise about this is that nobody was killed or injured driving into oncoming traffic, although that still would have been upon the motorists for getting impatient.  I mean, is a Trump rally really worth dying over?

But there's no "ambiguity" about this public safety calamity:

There is essentially one entry point into the community of Fountain Hills from the main route through the area. (Route 87, Beeline Highway.) That choke point is East Shea Boulevard. Just past the blockade is the turn onto the road leading to Fountain Park, the site of the rally. Do you know what else is on East Shea a few miles further down? The Mayo Clinic… the only hospital in the immediate area. Not everyone on the road that day was heading to the Trump rally. [Some small fraction] of them simply needed to get in and out of Fountain Hills, the site of many homes and businesses. And yes… that could have included ambulances heading for the hospital.... [emphasis added]

In short, a Trump rally is not worth dying for, and stopping a Trump rally is not worth killing for.

Intentionally shutting down a highway – particularly one which serves as an effective choke point to an entire community – is not a “protest.” It’s a violation of the law which serves no interest in terms of free speech or messaging.

Which brings us back to why Sheriff Arpaio only arrested three of the protesters.  He needed to have his whole department deployed to preempt the preemption.  Even appeal to Governor Doug Ducey to activate the Arizona National Guard if that's what it took.  Turn the Trump rally into an armed encampment.

A harbinger, perhaps, of things to come under the Trump administration that will never be.