Tuesday, December 21, 2004
STORIES
•Bush Opponents Plan Quiet Inugural Protests•GOP Hopes Bush Inaugural Builds Party Coffers•Bush Picks Three for Inaugural Fundraising•Pageantry Planned for Bush Inauguration •Inauguration Deemed Special Security Event
WASHINGTON — As President Bush's team works furiously to get ready for the 55th presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, events are also being planned in protest of the president's big day.
The nation was strongly divided about issues like the Iraq war, the War on Terror and the economy during this year's presidential election between Bush and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. Though the election is over, some of the president's detractors say they aren't done complaining.
"For the past four years, the Bush administration has tried to silence the voice of the people. We are coming to Washington on Jan. 20 because we want our audience with the president," said Jet Heiko, a 31-year-old activist from Philadelphia who launched www.TurnYourBackOnBush.org on Nov. 3, the day after the election. "We hope to inspire people to keep turning their backs on the Bush administration and its policies."
Heiko's group anticipates that more than 10,000 people from 41 states will come to Washington on Jan. 20 — the day of the swearing-in ceremony, a parade and various balls — to "turn their backs" on Bush as the president rides by them on the parade route.
"We want to be clear," Heiko said. "We are not turning our backs on our country, we are turning our backs on Bush."
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