When angry Democrats attack - MN Republican Party website documents multiple incidents

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From todays (10/11/04) Mpls RED Star Tribune

Political sign-stealing: Mischief or conspiracy?
Mark Brunswick, Star Tribune
October 11, 2004

Conspiracy theorists and amateur criminologists take note: If you're sleuthing to get to the bottom of the Great Political Yard Sign Heists of 2004, pay attention to the crimes' proximity to high school homecomings and Halloween.

Police say the culprits in political yard sign thefts and vandalism are most likely not scheming political operatives but teenagers out for a joy ride -- dirty tricksters more like Eddie Haskell than G. Gordon Liddy.

In Eden Prairie, a woman frustrated by the theft of her John Kerry yard signs put a video camera next to the window and caught teenagers in the act as they slowed to a stop and pulled the sign out of the yard.

Eden Prairie police report discovering two groups of teenagers stealing and defacing yard signs, prompting Police Chief Dan Carlson to warn parents on his Weblog to watch the trunks of their cars for caches of yard signs and "indications of an abnormal interest in the campaigns."

Damaged signsRichard SennottStar TribuneThe culprit videotaped in the Eden Prairie case was eventually identified by a police school liaison.

While cautioning that authorities take such crimes seriously, Carlson said there is little purpose in devoting scarce police resources to the problem. Criminal prosecutions are unlikely. Since parents notified of the latest escapades gave those involved a stern talking-to, most of the thefts have stopped, Carlson said.

"A yard sign isn't worth that much, a couple of bucks, maybe. We have to investigate, but we're not going to set up a task force or anything," he said.

Change of tone

The residents of one house on East River Road in Minneapolis have taken their Kerry sign and put it inside their door. On the lawn two signs have replaced it, saying: "They stole the last election, and now they stole my Kerry-Edwards sign! Vote Nov. 2."

Erik Larson, an assistant professor of sociology at Macalester College in St. Paul, said North American political campaigns seem to be uniquely individualized, with people wearing buttons or putting out lawn signs rather than attending large rallies.

Larson, who teaches courses in political sociology and criminal behavior, said research shows that most of the thefts are committed by groups of adolescents or by individuals just beyond adolescence. For many who might feel marginalized, it is a way of making a political statement.

"This isn't Karl Rove [President Bush's key political strategist] coming up with a plan to do this. But these are individuals who don't have a means of mass participation in campaigns. This is something they can do," Larson said. "These signs have important symbolic meaning."

In Lancaster, Pa., this year, several teenagers were caught stealing Bush-Cheney yard signs. When asked why they did it, they said they were Democrats.

In Duluth, large lawn signs supporting President Bush were defaced at the home of Bob James. Words such as "Nazi" and "liar" were sprayed on the signs and a swastika was spray-painted on James' sidewalk. Other vandalism also was done to James' property. Three high school boys turned themselves in to the Duluth newspaper after the paper wrote about the incident.

In Cobb County, Georgia, last month a Republican state Senate candidate admitted that he approved a plan to steal his opponent's signs after dozens of his signs were stolen. He went on to win the election with no Democratic opposition.

In Minnesota, officials for the Kerry-Edwards campaign say they have recorded 600 incidents of signs being stolen or defaced.

Randy Wanke, communications director for the Minnesota Republican Party, said there may be no empirical evidence of an increase in thefts but the "tone" of the incidents appears to have become more hateful. Wanke blamed incidents such as DFL Rep. Phyllis Kahn's stealing of campaign literature as setting the wrong example. Kahn, a 32-year legislative veteran, pled guilty last month to taking campaign brochures for Republican House member Lynne Osterman from some New Hope doorsteps in July and replacing them with DFL literature. "No matter what their ideology, people have to know that they can express themselves. That's what this country is about," Wanke said.

The state's Republican Party has included a link on its Web site to something it calls "When Angry Democrats Attack!" posting pictures of vandalism and defaced Bush-Cheney signs, though there is no clear evidence that Democrats were the culprits. In one case, a Richfield woman's Bush sign was burned and portions of her deck were set on fire. The Republican Party is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.

Panache

In other cases, there is a certain nonpartisan anarchic panache to the thefts. In one of the Eden Prairie cases, yard signs from both Bush and Kerry were stolen.

"If you went to bed with a Bush sign in your yard, you would wake up with a Kerry sign in your yard, and vice versa," said Pat Brink, communications manager for the city of Eden Prairie.

If there is a perception that thefts are on the rise, it may be because there are more signs out there. A new state law overrides all city ordinances that previously restricted the number of political signs, and many political activists are loading up their lawns.

Rep. Peter Adolphson, R-Minnetonka, the author of the bill, said he has heard of no problems with the new law but admits it may be providing added fodder for vandals and thieves. His own reelection signs have been vandalized in an area near Hwy 7.

"Finally we just left it up, defaced. That's left more people energized than if we replaced it with a clean fresh sign that would just be spray-painted again," he said.

Not all candidates end up angry over the theft of their signs. Duluth City Council Member Donny Ness recalls a run for office in 1999 when a number of his yard signs were taken. He didn't suspect his opponents but could never figure out who was behind the thefts.

Recently, though, a musician friend scanning the Internet came upon a surprising discovery. On the Web site of Minneapolis-based band Semisonic, buried in a series of photos of rehearsals in 2000, a red and white "Ness for City Council" sign hangs on the wall behind drummer Jacob Slichter.

"You have a nationally known band that at the time was all over MTV and VH1 and there it is, a lawn sign from a Duluth City Council campaign. That's pretty neat," said Ness, a DFL at-large council member, who has jokingly suggested that the group must have taken all his signs.

A flattered Ness said he plans no new security for his signs.

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