Occupy the Overpass

Once upon a time, all you had to worry about was delinquents dropping rocks or other objects onto cars from overpasses. Now you have to deal with Tea Partiers. Their latest fad is holding weekend protests on overpasses across the country, waving signs and urging drivers to honk if they support the impeachment of President Obama. These demonstrations are inspired by a website called Overpasses For America. Their contention is that Obama is liable to impeachment for a number of offenses, from the Affordable Care Act's alleged violation of the First Amendment to the administration's failure to rescue diplomats from the terrorist attack on Benghazi to the appointment of officials without the consent of the Senate. It all seems unlikely to make a great impression -- the Albany newspaper only caught on this weekend that protests had been going on for several weekends already -- but it's bound to appeal to some people's moral exhibitionism. It's all legal, apparently -- except in one part of Wisconsin where the protesters have been forced off the overpass because they supposedly create a traffic hazard by distracting drivers. Inevitably this ruling looks like political persecution by those affected, and in that bitterly divided state I wouldn't be surprised if partisan vindictiveness lay behind that decision. As far as I know, no one needs a permit to go up there and display signs. If that's the case, if people really feel a need to silence these clowns, the best idea may be to get to the overpass ahead of them. The left is supposed to be good at occupying stuff, and in these cases possession may prove to be at least nine-tenths of the law. On the other hand, I suppose two factions fighting up there would really distract drivers, and you never know what might come crashing down into traffic.