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"They must have just recently changed their policy," he mused, adding that the officer who had asked him to remove the fans had quietly indicated that he is a Dumas supporter. I asked him what reason was given for the ban, and he said that he was told it because Nightfall is held on private property. We shared a question or two about the sidewalks, and the street, both of which are clearly city-owned.

When the main act started with "The Star-Spangled Banner" (dominated, as was the rest of the night, by trombones), conversation paused while candidates, supporters, and your blogger stood in respectful silence. (No, I did not place my hand over my heart. It was the National Anthem, not the Pledge of Allegiance. And no, I did not wear my flag lapel pin. But Joe Dumas did take off his cap, for the record.) A minute or two later, I got to meet longtime Chattanoogan.com columnist Mike North. It's always fun, as a left-libertarian, to triangulate to commonly held positions with "Republitarians" such as these.

I had been wondering why I hadn't seen any "tabling" at Nightfall by the Vote for Change organization, which, though it is backed by the Barack Obama presidential campaign, is purely a voter registration drive, regardless of the registrants' own political views. Has the Downtown Partnership banned them as well?

And I guess it's possible that when the event utilizes the public footpaths and roadways, those elements do turn, temporarily, into private property; but, come on, with early voting starting later this week, what is so wrong with a little politickin' along with the pickin', as long as everyone has a chance to be heard? It would seem like the Partnership would encourage civic activity.

What do you think? Should campaigning be off-limits at Nightfall? I can see prohibiting fund-raising, because the vendors and sponsors have dibs on concertgoers' dollars; but I'm asking about kissing babies and handing out bumper stickers.

(Please note: Joe Dumas has purchased advertising on this blog, as you may have noticed. I encourage any and all candidates to do likewise. Additionally, some regional candidates are advertised through other means, such as Google's AdSense. The presence or absence of paid advertising by a political candidate does not in any way construe an endorsement (or not) of that candidate by this website. However, this blog has made, and will make, voting recommendations to readers. There is no connection between the advertising and the recommendation.)

Thanks for your coverage of "The Great Fan Ban of 2008." We are supposed to have freedom of speech in this country; and while no one is required to allow others to campaign on their private property, certainly public streets and sidewalks should be fair game for all candidates to get their name and message out. And if non-profits like CDP are truly civic-minded, they should welcome political speech connected with their events.

"Fan Bans" and sign-stealing (from private property as well as public), which has also occurred recently, are infringements on freedom of political expression. Everyone has the right to publicly support his or her candidate as long as he or she is not interfering with the equal right of others to do the same.

Whoever owns the property that an event is on has the right to establish whatever rules they care to enforce. But if the candidates were standing on the street, there should be no problems...unless there is a city ordinance stating so.

Thanks Joe for filling us in. What a mess! I could see there being a problem if the candidates were holding up their signs around the stage, but standing on the sidewalk? I wonder how much of the area is considered part of the event? Could the candidates have gone across the street by the post office? I wonder if candidates are allowed at the Betsy Smith Strut?