It took just 60 steps for John Whitehead, head of the Rutherford Institute, to earn national notoriety as Keith Olbermann’s “worst person in the world.” Sixty steps is what Congressman Tom Perriello estimates to be the distance between the front door of his office in the Glass Building and the sidewalk where protestors can legally demonstrate.
On December 14, in response to an appeal by the Rutherford Institute to Perriello to relocate his office so as to facilitate up-close protesting, Olbermann, host MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” lambasted Whitehead.
Whitehead, as might be expected, was delighted.
“I accept with great humility Keith Olbermann’s conferring me with the ‘World’s Worst Person’ gold award,” he said. “However, I am surprised that Rep. Tom Perriello hasn’t come to my defense. Perriello, Olbermann and others should be reminded of what Voltaire once remarked, ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’ That is precisely the issue of concern when it comes to Tom Perriello’s failure to facilitate the free speech rights of his constituents.”
On December 10, Whitehead wrote a letter to Perriello asking him to relocate his local office to an area that is more First Amendment-friendly.
In the letter, Whitehead says that he was approached by members of the Jefferson Tea Party and the UVA College Republicans who questioned the restriction of their right to free speech.
The Glass Building, located on Second Street, is private property on which a variety of businesses are located, such as Speak Language Center, Bittersweet and Spin City Dance Studio, among others.
During the fall when protestors expressed their disapproval of Perriello’s voting record on health care, among other issues, they were asked not to petition in the private parking lot. Rather, they were instructed by the police, on behalf of other business owners, to relocate to the public sidewalk, a short distance away.
Whitehead argues that although the interests of private property owners need to be protected, “unfortunately, it is your choice of office location that has hindered the ability of citizens to effectively communicate concerning issues of the utmost importance to you, Congress and the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States.”
On December 17, Perriello responded to Whitehead’s concerns. In a letter, Perriello explains that his “top priority,” while looking for an office location, was “to make it convenient and accessible.”
Perriello wrote that “the essence of your argument appears to be that at 60 steps, the public sidewalk is too far from my front door to allow people” to petition the government. “I don’t believe the facts bear out this conclusion.”
Perriello’s three additional offices around the district (Martinsville and Danville) are in buildings—although the offices do not have store fronts—with immediate sidewalk adjacency, unlike the Charlottesville office, which is surrounded by a parking lot. Perriello’s Farmville office is located in the back of the building, while the public sidewalk is located in the front of the building, at Longwood University.
Whitehead responded to Perriello’s letter on December 18, saying the constituents are still concerned that they can’t freely express their grievances. Moreover, Whitehead has sent “pocket-sized” copies of the Constitution to Perriello’s office. “I would encourage you and your staff to familiarize yourselves with the document that Abraham Lincoln referred to as ‘the only safeguard of our liberties.’”
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