A few hundred people showed up at the protest site to protest the Bush/Cheney inauguration today, and C-SPAN2 had cameras there so that we can see what took place. And, it was an interesting show.
A.N.S.W.E.R. was the very prominent sponsor, and Brian Becker, labeled by C-SPAN2 as Answer Coalition National Coordinator, summed up what they were all about with this line:
"If you believe that the 1% of the population who owns 40% of the wealth has control over that wealth as an element negating democracy, then you should be at this demonstration, because the wealth of society should go to meet human needs and to serve the people and not George Bush's rich corporate crooks who are his main constituents."
Well Brian, most of George Bush's constituency aren't rich, corporate, or crooked. And, democracy can survive quite nicely with some rich folks in it. They don't negate democracy. Just ask George Soros.
But the rally, being the open tent type, allowed crowd members to give short speeches. But, one of the people who never left the stage was a young woman identified as Peta Lindsay, ANSWER Coalition National Student Coordinator. She was the master of the mantra, the chairman of the chants. [Don't you mean "chairperson"? - ed. Well, that would certainly fit the mood better, but as Ms. Lindsay obviously knows, at today's rally word flow trumps accuracy.]
"HEY HEY, HO HO
THIS RACIST WAR HAS GOT TO GO!"
My favorite of the audience speakers was a young woman from Kansas who said that the reason she was there was because she was tired of explaining to her five year old why he has to see so much murder on tv. Apparently, she was talking about the tv news about the war in Iraq. But, it brought to mind the image of a young droog strapped to a theater seat with eye lids propped wide open forced to watch films of ultra violence and red groovy while listening to Beethoven. So sad. Hopefully, she turned off the telly when news of that tsunami came on.
More chanting:
"BUSH CHENEY GO AWAY
RACIST, SEXIST, ANTIGAY!"
One audience member from New Jersey took it as an opportunity to do a rap audition. But, his song paled compared with the chants Ms. Lindsay came up with. Here are more:
"OCCUPATION IS A CRIME
FROM IRAQ TO PALESTINE!"
"NO BLOOD FOR OIL
U.S. OFF IRAQI SOIL!"
"GEORGE BUSH YOU CAN'T HIDE
WE CHARGE YOU WITH GENOCIDE!"
"RICH MAN'S WAR
POOR MAN'S BLOOD!"
"HEY BUSH, WHAT DO YOU SAY?
HOW MANY KIDS DID YOU KILL TODAY?"
"NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE
U.S. OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST!"
"MONEY FOR JOBS AND EDUCATION
NOT THE WAR AND OCCUPATION!"
"HEY BUSH, WE KNOW YOU,
YOUR DADDY WAS A KILLER TOO!"
"BUSH SAYS GET BACK,
WE SAY FIGHT BACK!"
"BUSH SAYS MORE WAR,
WE SAY NO WAR!"
The speech makers tried hard. One man identified as a veteran ended his speech with "give peace a chance, and don't give George Bush a chance." Well, they can't all be zingers.
The star of the show was Cynthia McKinney, who Neal Boortz refers to as "the cutest little Jihadist in Congress." She was very thankful to A.N.S.W.E.R. for all of the support they gave her, and she was glad to be back from exile. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out who in the world would vote for her. But, she was brief. She ended with this: "We should export books, not bombs. Doctors, not depleted uranium. Dignity, not dictatorship." Uh, Ms. McKinney, wasn't Saddam a dictator? And, aren't seeds of democracy trying to grow in the Middle East? Why do you want to fight that?
But, all in all, Peta Lindsay was the hands down champ of the one liners. Her laptop must be loaded with them. If bumper stickers could win elections then she'll be in office soon. (Hint: Cynthia McKinney's district would be easy picking.) Let's end with this one. All together now:
"AIN'T NO POWER LIKE THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE
CAUSE THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE DON'T STOP!"
Check your local schedule. C-SPAN2 is going to re-run it tonight at 8:00 Eastern.
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