Tues: Speak out at Bush rally. Fri: Get fired from job for it

Yeah, that's right. After speaking up at a Bush campaign rally in West Virginia, Glenn Hiller was fired from his graphic design job. Whereas Kerry attempts to gently dispatch hecklers with retorts of "three more months," Bush has his campaign workers forcibly remove the man and threaten to arrest him for exercising freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.

More surprising is that Hiller is not upset about getting fired, just at the reasons why. Kick it, West Virginia Gazette Mail:

"My beef was with the bigger story, the fact that you're showing up at an event, you don't do anything wrong and you get escorted out,'' said [Glenn] Hiller, of Berkeley Springs. "All I did was show up and voice my opinion.

"It's just bizarre that you disagree with them and it all turns evil.''

(snip)

"I think I was more surprised than mad,'' he said. "I'm mad less about losing the job. I'm more mad about the reasons. It's a microcosm of everything's that wrong with the world.

"At an event where the president is showing up, it should be open to anyone who wants to enter. It's a completely scripted event. He surrounds himself with people who support him. Your opinion ... is viewed as right or wrong.'

Of course, you will remember the Bush campaign often views the First Amendment as trivial to West Virginians:

Last month, Charleston City Council apologized to two protesters arrested for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts to the president's July 4 rally. The pair were taken from the event in restraints after revealing T-shirts with Bush's name crossed out on the front and the words "Love America, Hate Bush'' on the back. Trespassing charges were ultimately dismissed.

Clearly this is Bush appealing directly to the Anti-First Amendment crowd in West Virginia, another cornerstone of his "compassionate conservatism." His people "got the job done" by suppressing freedom for the sake of his campaign. Can't he realize these things make him look awful?

Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

UPDATE:
Corrente has all the contact information already complied.