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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cheers, jeers for Bush


President Bush's limousine passes protesters assembled along the parade route during the inaugural parade in Washington on Thursday.
 (Reuters / The Spokesman-Review)
From staff and wire reports

Anti-Bush protesters walked backward through downtown Spokane and jeers competed with cheers in Washington, D.C., where demonstrators lined the inaugural parade route Thursday.

In Spokane, a coalition of activists opposed to Bush’s policies on the war in Iraq, the environment and the economy mustered about 150 people for a march that ended with a rally in Riverfront Park.

Many of them walked backward at least part of the route from the federal building to the park to show the direction they say the country is heading.

“If somebody misses the symbolism, help ‘em out here,” said organizer Rusty Nelson of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane. “We’re not whining, this is not our inaugural bawl. We need to use our First Amendment rights or lose them.”

Tom Jeannot, a Gonzaga University philosophy professor, urged the crowd to speak up to prove the Bush administration does not have a mandate for the war in Iraq. Saddam Hussein didn’t have weapons of mass destruction, even though Bush and other officials insisted that he did, Jeannot said.

“We have an administration that plays fast and loose with the truth and doesn’t even have the courtesy to wink,” Jeannot said.

Karin Hilgersom, a Spokane Community College liberal arts dean, urged people to fight for a livable wage and economic justice. Attorney Maurina Ladich said they should contact their senators to vote against Bush’s choice for attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, because of his legal stances that condone torture.

Chase Davis of the Sierra Club called on the crowd to fight Bush administration efforts to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to support a national policy that encourages renewable energy sources.

Across the nation in Washington, D.C., mostly peaceful protesters staged a variety of events, from a “die-in” by 17 people near the White House to satirical thrusts by “Billionaires for Bush.” One group, Turn your Back on Bush, did just that with a silent gesture as the president passed by.

A small group of apparent anarchists threw sticks, oranges and other objects at police two blocks from the parade route, and one man was arrested for assault. Police, using pepper spray, waded into the group at Seventh and D streets.

Sharpshooters lined the roofs of the Labor Department and other buildings, police on horseback and others with bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the parade route, and soldiers screened the public at dozens of checkpoints.

Anti-Bush organizers worried that the unprecedented security for the inauguration, with 100 blocks of downtown locked down and security checkpoints everywhere, would stifle dissent. But they found different ways to make their presence known.

At the parade’s start, at Third Street and Constitution Avenue, hundreds of sign-wielding protesters chanted “shame, shame,” and “four more wars,” as Bush’s motorcade passed, easily drowning out supporters. One man played taps on his trumpet while two young men unveiled a large cardboard coffin draped in an American flag.

Signs ranged from the humorous to the angry: “1,369 US Dead in Iraq – Party On, George,” “What Would Jesus Bomb?,” “Inaugurate, Then Impeach,” “Nope, No WMDs Here” and “Real Eyes Realize Real Lies.”

One block away, several hundred protesters who had obtained a permit for their own bleachers chanted “no peace, no justice” as Bush’s motorcade sped by.

And three blocks from the White House, near the end of the parade, several protesters burned a flag and rushed a security gate, which angered Bush supporter Kelly Martin of McLean, Va.

“That was anti-American,” Martin said.

People who had no strong political views but just wanted to see history had a difficult time getting close to the parade.

“Security is really intense, and there are more protesters than I expected,” said Mary Kate Moore, 16, a member of a school group from Poughkeepsie, N.Y. “I understand the right to protest, but I think of an inauguration as a celebration for the whole country.”

Bush supporters dominated many blocks along the parade route because they’d purchased tickets for bleacher seats. Others stood uneasily in their long overcoats near groups of demonstrators.

Emily Hanson of Nashville, Tenn., shook her head at a group of demonstrators: “Don’t they know the election is over? Hey, they lost.”