I was at a Firestone getting a tire fixed, and the TV was on CNN or FOX, and the talking heads were reporting on Hillary Clinton. The only other guy in the waiting room started muttering and cursing under his breath about her. I ignore him. He continues more loudly then looks at me and says, "I really don't like Hillary Clinton," probably hoping I'll join in on the Hillary-hate with him. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone really so I said, "You're really not going to enjoy 2016 when she's elected president then." He gave me a dirty look, and he left me alone.

TlalocW

the right to petition your government, as enshrined in the first amendment, is rightly extended to government buildings, afaik.
was he inside or out?

Makes me wonder whos paying him to do it.

he has a right under the first amendment. Just as I have a right to petition my government in City Hall (like a group are doing today)

In California malls tried to keep these types of activities out, bad for business... but the State Supreme Court ruled they could since the mall has replaced the city square.

The first amendment means that you are not going to always see and hear thingvyou agree with.

The whole thing was just odd, i've never seen anything quite like it before.

you run across things that make you go... WTF?

My local DMV is full of at times competing petition drives, for example. The real WTF was the guy who was gathering petitions for two different groups, that opposed each other. I asked. He is a professional signature gatherer, his answer with a sly smile "it's a living."

I no longer sign ANY of them.

I would usually give them some off the wall answer.

For instance in the last Presidential election i told a pollster at Wal-Mart that i was a member of the Zombie Party and planned on voting for Steve McQueen as president and Keith Moon as VP.

The look on his face was priceless.

However, this morning i hadn't had my coffee yet, so i was a grouch.....

though in California that might be taken as gospel.

People collect signatures for and against things all of the time. Very few are getting paid anything. If you wanted to get signatures for something you believed in would you have to be paid to do it?

They are there every single day for years now with one thing or another. It has been Obamacare for months now but before that it was something else.

Its quite true that the chap could be out there on his own free will. Complete speculation on my part. We live in very strange times. The older i get, i wonder what motivates people.

The Obamacare system the state has in place seems to be quite popular so far. I used it and it worked wonders for me.

It has been the repeal Obamacare guys for a while now. Not sure what they hope to accomplish with that petition but they have been going at it for months now.

There is always some right wing group there though and has been for years. At least at the flamingo and buffalo DMV.

When I was last there a month or two and they asked me to sign I said "you are a little late aren't you?"

I actually think they are just collecting emails or other contact info for the Republican party. A petition to repeal Obamacare is silly. If the house can't do it in 48 tries their petition is not likely to do any better.

I kind of look forward to harassing them on my DMV trips now.

That one has the best service

Probably thirty times in the past month I have been asked to sign the petition for labeling GMO foods, alone. They swarm public transit stops, farmers markets, everywhere. They get paid, and are often young people who can't find another job.

Now, I do object and have confronted the people who set up a stand on the parking logt of the post office with Obama impeachment garbage. I think they might be LaRouchies.

but there are other places, like new york and venice beach, that have free speech zones that follow the same rules.
like, you can sell speech- pamphlets, buttons, bumperstickers, books.
and make speeches and pass petitions.

i think there might be a no table rule.

i live in a quirky, pinko place and have sorta been lobbying for one at the local farmers market. so far everyone thinks it is a scary idea.