Angry about economy, Iraq, hundreds protest Bush visit

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- About 300 protesters -- some carrying signs for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, but most angry about the economy and the war against Iraq -- were outside the convention hall where President Bush spoke Thursday.

"There is so much to protest," said Bill Moretini, 69, of Kansas City, a Dean supporter who opposed the war in Iraq.

"Of course we support our troops," Moretini said. "We don't want them to die. We want them home. But we should not have been involved in a pre-emptive war."

Inside the downtown convention hall, Bush said the economy was showing signs of progress.

Outside, Melinda Scrivener, 29, of Kansas City, described herself as a "victim of the Bush economy" as she handed out fliers in support of Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. Scrivener said she was laid off in January from her job at HNTB Corp., a Kansas City-based architectural and engineering firm, and has not been able to find a new one.

Other protesters included members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Kansas City Iraq Task Force, which helped draw the large crowd of protesters Thursday by encouraging groups that oppose the Bush administration to demonstrate.

Brad Grabs, a spokesman for the task force, said the money the United States is spending in Iraq would be better spent on education and other domestic programs. "Our objective now is just to expose the true consequences of this war," Grabs said.

Rudy Chavez, president of IBEW Local 124, which represents 2,200 area workers, said the U.S. economy has deteriorated while federal budget deficits soared.

'Time to go Bush'

"If we had a deficit to create jobs, it wouldn't be so bad," said Chavez, who carried a sign that said, "2.7 million jobs lost, 6.2 percent unemployment Bush economy. Time to go Bush."

Other people carried signs that ranged from the simple "I need a job" and "War is not the answer" to the longer "No jobs. Bad economy. Record deficit. Health-care costs up. Cuts in Education. Vote the son-of-a-Bush out."

One man, who quickly walked through the crowd, carried a sign that said, "Support our troops and our war."

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On the Net

Kansas City Iraq Task Force: www.kciraqtaskforce.org/