Politics: Bush Visit Protests in the News
Hard to believe 1200 people. The church doesn’t look that big and the news reports didn’t seem to show that many. But, I was over freezing with the diehards, not with the comfortables.
| R News More than 1,200 people gathered in downtown Rochester to protest President Bush’s social security plan. A rally was held inside and outside of the First Universalist Church. It was organized by the In This Together Campaign: New Yorkers United to Protect Social Security. It began after Mr. Bush left Rochester, but those involved say they’re more interested in getting their message out to the general public. Amy Schramm of Rochester explained, “I think he already knows that a lot of people don’t like him, but I think that we’re trying to get across to the other Americans who still might believe it what he says.” |
| Democrat & Chronicle About the same time, about 750 opponents to the plan gathered at the First Universalist Church downtown. They had planned to meet at the Liberty Pole but moved to the church because of the rain. Evan Engel, 19, of Brighton seized on Bush’s promise that the reforms won’t affect people born before 1950. “What about my generation?” he asked. “This plan is going to take trillions of dollars. That’s a debt my generation is going to be stuck with.” Karen Lee-Byfield, political chairwoman of the United Auto Workers Local 1097, said Bush is trying to “sell a bill of goods,” based on the false premise that Social Security is on the verge of collapse. Jim Thompson worried that the protest’s message would get lost in the glow of the visit. “Bush seems to have a hypnotic allure,” he said. |
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