(New York City) -- The people lined up along the streets outside Madison Square Garden looked as if they were watching a parade, and at times the anti-Bush protest march was like one, too. People on stilts. People in costume. People with balloons. But unlike a parade, the marchers were angry, carrying protest signs and yelling "No More Years!" and "Bush is a Liar!"
The march, held the day before the Republican Convention opened on August the 30th, was organized by a coalition called "United for Peace and Justice." The New York City Police department does not make official crowd estimates, but unofficial estimates said somewhere between 140 and 500-thousand people marched. This march was the only protest march to get a permit from New York City. Protest marches and rallies, approved and not, carried on throughout the week. More than 1800 people were arrested, the most protesters ever arrested at a Republican or Democratic Convention. One police officer was kicked in the head at one demonstration and was seriously injured.
The delegates' schedules were printed in the newspapers, so it was easy for protesters to find them. But delegates did not always see the protesters. When the Massachusetts delegation went to the Broadway show "Bombay Dreams" on Sunday night they expected the show to be fun and entertaining. They did not expect protesters. Delegates were forced to inside the Broadway Theatre, until police on motorcycles cleared the area.
While police tried all week to keep protesters away from delegates, they were not always successful. When asked if he saw any protesters, Darrell Kierby, the mayor of Bonner's Ferry, Idaho joked "Yes -- and I knocked their teeth out!"
Security was very tight to get into Madison Square Garden, where the actual convention was held. Those admitted had the right credentials around their necks, had their bags checked, walked through metal detectors and were sniffed by highly trained bomb-sniffing dogs. Even with the tight security, some protesters got credentials and managed to crash some events. On Tuesday, the second night of the convention, a Yale student tried to enter the vice president's box. He was quickly arrested by Secret Service agents. On Wednesday a group of about 12 AIDS activists with Republican youth volunteer credentials got into MSG and disturbed a speech by White House Chief of Staff Andy Card during the afternoon Youth Convention. They were also arrested. A few other protesters were removed for going onto the floor during the Convention. GOP officials are investigating and hope to find out soon how these people got credentials.
On Thursday night, at least four protesters got into the Convention Hall. Two of them were near the DAYTIME's seat in the press stands. At least two others got onto the Convention floor and protested during Bush's speech. Delegates tried to make noise over them by cheering and yelling "Flip-Flop, Flip-Flop" and "Four More Years". GOP officials are investigating and hope to find out soon how these people got credentials. Each credential has its own separate number, so they should be able to find to whom the credentials were issued.
Not all protesters were against Bush. Republicans got chances to protest, too. There were a lot of boos when delegates saw Michael Moore, director of the documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" up in the press stands on Monday night. Moore, who was covering the Convention for the newspaper USA Today, waved and laughed when the crowed booed him. A woman reporter said that security guards surrounded Moore and wouldn't let other reporters talk to him.
The Republicans did not have to make their own protest signs. They just shopped at the Grand Old Marketplace in the New York Hilton. They could buy a lot of anti-Kerry and pro-Bush memorabilia from the Convention, including buttons, posters and t-shirts.
A group of friends from upstate New York were selling "W" catsup. "We were having barbecues and every time we used Heinz we were giving money to Teresa [Heinz] Kerry," one explained. The 15 friends each "put in a little money" and made the catsup to sell at the Convention for $3 a bottle.
"I just wanted to buy a bottle because I'm taking it to breakfast in the morning," one customer explained. The hotel has "Heinz catsup and we fussed at them this morning."
"A lot of Republicans have been saying for a lone time John Kerry flip-flops on the issues," said vendor Tim Agne of Tempe, Arizona. "So my friends and I thought it would be good to come out here and sell flip-flops."
Agne was wearing a set of pink flip-flops around his neck. "One flip-flop says ‘For' and one ‘Against'," he explained. "And then it just lists the issues: War in Iraq, Tax Cuts, No Child Left Behind, Medical Marijuana, Gay Marriage, NAFTA."
By the last day of the Convention, Agne lowered the price from $25 to $10 a pair. Agne said it was still a good product for people who don't like John Kerry. They can put the flip-flops on, he said, and then "...they can 'stand' on the issues."
