In advance of the GOP convention at the end of this month, New York City is being plastered with stickers that read "I'm Gonna Kill the President" - supposedly an advertisement for a new off-Broadway play staged by the anti-war protest group United for Peace and Justice.
"It's the name of a new comedy to run in the East Village during the Republican Convention," WABC Radio's George Weber reported Tuesday morning.
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Weber called the box office to find out what could be funny about the murder of an American president, and got this recorded response:
"Howdy," chirped a spokesman. "You've reached the information and instruction hotline for 'I'm Gonna Kill the President - a Federal Offense."
The unidentified voice goes on to explain that the play is the story of a young man's plot to kidnap the president in hopes of sparking a revolution that installs a puppet Democracy - featuring real puppets.
The play also includes an audience participation segment where theater-goers are supposed to crank call the White House to demand that President Bush end the war in Iraq.
"If you're some kind of law enforcement agent or official, hang up now," the information hotline concludes. "There's nothing illegal happening here. Just some old-fashioned, constitutionally sanctioned fun."
After Weber's report, WABC's "Curtis & Kuby Show" was deluged with callers outraged over the radical thespian stunt.
Even Communist lawyer-turned-commentator Ron Kuby sounded irked, explaining, "Generally speaking, you cannot directly threaten the president's life." While the play might be "on the proper side of the First Amendment," he said, "it's not by much."
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