"There should be rules"
"There should be rules"
"There should be rules"
"There should be rules"
Posted on 12/07/2004 10:07:49 AM PST by Phantom Lord
Flap erupts over photos of Bush at market stand
Democrat City Councilman Nelson Polite says the photos are inappropriate in a public place.
Others rally behind standholder.
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - David Stoltzfus says there’s only one reason he would take down the photos of President George W. Bush that he has displayed at his Central Market baked-goods stand.
Bush would have had to have lost the recent election. Instead, he beat Democratic challenger John Kerry to win a second term.
“If it were Kerry that won, he’d be up there,’’ says Stoltzfus, who operates the Upper Crust stand.
Doesn’t matter, says City Councilman Nelson Polite. “It should come down. This is a public market.”
Besides, says the Democrat, “Bush didn’t win here (in Lancaster City). It is like rubbing salt on a wound.”
Polite approached Stoltzfus on Nov. 12 and ask him to remove the pictures. The standholder has refused to do so, prompting Polite to say he will ask City Council to change the law so that all political items would be banned in public places.
Today, Stoltzfus pointed proudly to a photo of a smiling Bush, framed in green, that hangs above his stand.
The photo, attached to the stand portico with four brass screws, has hung there for nearly two years, since Stoltzfus and his wife, Nina, opened the market stand in March 2003.
They sell cakes, cookies and other baked items.
They also have a signed 8-by-10-inch photo of the president and first lady Laura Bush sitting on a shelf below, “right next to the pictures of my grandkids,’’ says Stoltzfus.
“I’m just trying to sell a few cakes and give honor to the president,’’ he says.
But Polite, a Democrat, says the photos should go.
When he approached Stoltzfus three weeks ago, he said the photo offended him and city Democrats.
Polite says he had received complaints from constituents who thought the photos were inappropriate, especially after the presidential election.
The market is public property and displaying political paraphernalia, no matter what the intent, says Polite, is inappropriate and divisive.
Stoltzfus is a Republican, but that hardly matters, he says. He displays the photo to honor the office, not the man.
Polite says political items do not belong in Central Market and if Stoltzfus refuses to take down the photos, he’ll take the matter before City Council to get the city law changed to ban all political items in public places.
“There should be rules,’’ says Polite.
Even if Kerry had won, he’d be asking Stoltzfus to take the photos down, says Polite.
A string of supporters, including Republican Mayor Charlie Smithgall and former Republican Mayor Art Morris, have made their way to the Upper Crust to offer their support to Stoltzfus.
“We have no regulations against it,” says Smithgall. “He is the president of the United States. If he wants to put a picture of (Democratic) Gov. Rendell up, that’s fine by me.”
Smithgall said Stoltzfus asked for a picture of him to hang up.
“I said, ‘Yeah, right.’”
Some of Stoltzfus’ fellow standholders are considering putting up photos of Bush in solidarity with Stoltzfus.
Kim Moyer, at the Lancaster Juice Company, says Polite was “out of line.”
“(Stoltzfus) has every right to put the pictures up. We pays rent here. Anyway, we’re in America.”
Market Master Ernie Thomas said there are no rules about hanging political items at market stands.
Even if there was, says Thomas, “That is our president, whether it is a Democrat or a Republican.”
Jim Zink, the owner of the Herb Shop stand, says he is a Democrat. But he’ll hang a photo of Bush to support Stoltzfus’ right to hang his.
“He has every right to hang it,’’ Zink says of Stoltzfus. He says it doesn’t offend him as a Democrat to see Bush.
Where's the airport closest to you. I want to fly up there and give you and Rick a big hug.
Thanks for the ping, and thanks for letting him know that there are a lot of people who are on his side. That guy who is crying about the picture of President Bush is a typical whiny *ss, liberal bed wetter. If they weren't crying about this, they'd be crying about something else. It's in their nature.
What a great smile this guy has! Love it!
Thanks from Solanco!
It's really very simple. If you don't like the way the man's business is presented. Don't patronize it. It's the American Way. Of course, more and more, the American way has become, "if you don't like how somebody does something, sue them to get your way."
His home-based business is doing so well that he will soon be opening up a bakery/delicatessen in Leola (another nearby town in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country).
Afterwards, we walked around the rest of the market and noticed that perhaps a full half of the other stands were proudly displaying pictures of the President. I strongly suspect that a good many of those pictures were hung after the Stoltzfus/Polite confrontation, as a show of solidarity.
Thanks for the ping and for taking the time to let this man know of the support that he has.
I've been saying for a long time that liberals are not just the opposition, they are the enemies of freedom. This is a prime example.
I thought only leftists harassed people in their private homes.
Bless you girl, you are so good.
I'm sure this gentleman will be enabled to carry on by your support.
t.
Every day and every way, the rats show why their mascot is a jackass.
"There should be rules"
"There should be rules"
"There should be rules"
once again, your thoughts embarrass you. no one mentioned harassment except you.
Thanks for the ping and great report. The people in Dutch country in central Pennsylvania are definitely salt of the earth kinds of people.
Mr. Stoltzfus sounds like a really nice fellow, and so do all the other people who are putting up pictures of the President to show solidarity.
Thanks for the ping :)
Thanks for the ping.
From the set of his jaw I'd agree, and truth be known, HE can say the same. Takin' it to the streets is what it's coming to and you're showing the way. Just an outstanding idea and a terrific way to show your/our support.
God bless you joanie!
FGS
So you're drunk. That explains it.
You are drunk? And posting on a public board? How terrible for your family. They have my deepest sympathy.
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