| Labor day protest 2003 bush Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/local/6671314.htmhttp://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/local/6671314.htm
Posted on Tue, Sep. 02, 2003 Protesters line the streets Bush's motorcade brings out critics, supporters alike, though message of presidential critics louder By Jewell Cardwell Beacon Journal staff writer Labor Day traffic flowed smoothly at the intersection of state routes 303 and 176 -- until 10 a.m.
That's when Richfield police and those from neighboring environs shut it down to vehicular traffic and cordoned off the sidewalks and grassy area with yellow caution tape like you see at a crime scene.
It was their way of corralling the clamorous and rain-soaked 400 or so foot soldiers who had come not to welcome but to protest President Bush's visit. He was en route to address the International Union of Operating Engineers at their training center in Richfield Township.
About a half-mile away from where Bush was speaking was yet another faction of folks with convictions more in step with his -- mostly Republicans who welcomed the president with open arms and signs that invited him to stay ``Four More Years.''
Some had come on their own volition. Others were urged to do so in an invitation from Summit County Republican Party Chairman Alex R. Arshinkoff.
It read: ``Anti-Bush protesters will be out in full force to demonstrate against the President. Although we cannot guarantee that you will see the President or his motorcade, it is crucial that we show the rest of the nation that Summit County fully supports the President.''
With them were members of Akron's Firestone High School band, who voluntarily showed up to perform for the presidential motorcade.
Still, it was the anti-Bush protesters -- mostly Democrats who were visibly angry with the nation's boss -- whose message was the loudest. They had more than a few choice words for him.
Their concerns ran the gamut: the president's economic policies, the war in Iraq, lack of health care, the job hemorrhage from the United States to Third World countries, and Bush's plans to privatize parts of the park system.
They carried signs -- ``My Job Has Been Bushwhacked,'' ``Bush Leaves No Millionaires Behind,'' and ``Hail to the Thief'' -- that underscored their angst.
William Burga, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO, fumed: ``Union members and workers in general are upset that this country is losing jobs every day. We're here because we're worried about the future.
``This administration is the worst as far as job creation since that of Herbert Hoover,'' Burga said. ``Right now (Bush) is promoting in Congress a rollback on overtime compensation for workers. He's trying to B.S. the people into thinking they're going to have more time for family.
``At the same time, he's talking about providing health care for the people of Iraq. Yet he's done absolutely nothing for the people here who are without health care -- people who have to choose between buying prescriptions or food,'' Burga said.
U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, the Lorain Democrat who serves the 13th District that includes Richfield, said ``Bush's response to every economic problem in this country is more tax cuts for the rich and to ship more jobs overseas. One out of 10 jobs in this country has vanished since he has been in office. That's 3 ½ million jobs nationally and almost 200,000 in Ohio.
``I think people understand that in four more years under Bush that the recession will only get worse,'' he said.
Brown also blasted Bush's plan to rebuild postwar Iraq.
``More than one-third of that budget is going to Halliburton,'' an inflamed Brown said, referring to the country's largest oil field service company.
Halliburton recently was awarded a major contract with an impossible-to-calculate dollar figure to rebuild Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney was the company's CEO from 1995 to 2000.
``When our soldiers do come back from Iraq, Bush plans to cut their veterans benefits,'' Brown said, his message amplified by a bullhorn.
``So, your role today,'' he said, ``is to register your friends to vote. We need you involved like you've never been involved before.
``Remember,'' Brown said, augmenting an old saying, ``if your neighbor is out of work, it's a recession. If you're out of work, it's a depression. When George Bush is out of work, it's a recovery.''
A spirited Jeff Seeman, a representative from the Stark County Peace Coalition who announced plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula, R-Navarre, in the next election, delivered taunts such as ``It's the Bill of Rights, not Suggestions.''
As passionate as the protesters were, cool heads prevailed.
Case in point was when 16-year-old Michael Devine -- visiting relatives while in Richfield from Elgin, Ill. -- inserted himself into the protest crowd, trying his best to neutralize their responses.
For the most part, his in- your-face, loud rhetoric was ignored by the masses and attributed to his youth.
Michael said he became political during the last election ``when I was in the eighth grade. Now I speak my mind.''
That was everybody's intention Monday. Content was what they couldn't agree on.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com
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