Terminal A Eye Opener
Is President Obama unwelcome at Bush Intercontinental Airport?
Remember those Obama-with-a-Hitler-moustache posters that were so prominent during the health care debate? They are back and on full display at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Supporters of radical left-wing politician Lyndon LaRouche set up and man a display in the baggage claim area of IAH's Terminal A, holding the Hitler-Obama signs and asking passersby to join their cause of impeaching Barack Obama.
While the signs are generally associated with the anti-government Tea Party, LaRouche and his followers actually ascribe to what they call the FDR philosophy. They want a single-payer government-run health care system, a Roosevelt-inspired intense jobs corps for the unemployed, a national bank and to bring back the Glass-Steagall Act, which kept investment banks and depository banks separate.
Of course, when a storied anti-Semitic and his followers compare the elected president to Hitler, it's not just political disagreement, it's a disgusting slur, and a horrible representation of our city for visitors and residents alike to be greeted with upon arrival.
KHOU's Brad Woodward asked whether the display, which brings up strong feelings from all sides of the political spectrum, is legal. According to Woodward, airport policy permits non-profit groups to solicit on a first-come, first-serve basis. The groups are then assigned specific locations. Airport rules forbid these groups from "draping or attaching materials" to any area surface. The LaRouche supporters follow this by merely propping up their signs.
Of course, the airport is taxpayer funded (and posts a sign that says it does not support or endorse the views of the group). It is still a public space — and the first amendment still applies.