Thousands of political activists from all over the country united in the nation’s capital last week to demonstrate their opposition to President George W. Bush. Groups representing a range of anti-Bush interests took part in what was referred to as a “counter-inaugural” event schedule long enough to rival the Republican Party’s inauguration agenda.
One such group, “Billionaires for Bush,” sponsored several inauguration soirees, including the “Re-Coronation Ball” at Club Platinum and an “auction” of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Social Security.
“We use satire to dramatize how the policies of the Bush administration benefit the top open percent at the expense of everybody else,” DC Billionaires Coordinator Ivan Tital said. “We dress up in tuxedos and ball gowns and act like the hyper-wealthy.”
On Wednesday night, the group joined CODEPINK Women for Peace outside the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Woodley Park for the Texas State Society’s Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball. “We greeted the participants as they went in,” CODEPINK activist Nancy Mancias said. “Our mascot was there. We have a Halliburton mascot, Hallibacon. We all dressed up as corporate swine.”
Members of CODEPINK and the Billionaires joined thousands along the inauguration parade route Thursday afternoon. Braving through snowy weather and tight security, they held signs and chanted such phrases as, “Champagne is flying while soldiers are dying.”
Sady Sullivan, volunteer media coordinator for political action group Turn Your Back on Bush (TYBOB), was inspired by participants’ fervor.
“They came in buses through the snow, drove down from New York, flew in from California, drove up from Florida,” she said. “There were three buses that came from some place in Wisconsin. It took them 24 hours [to arrive] but they were pumped to be there.”
TYBOB participants demonstrated their disappointment with President Bush by physically turning away from the President’s motorcade as it passed them. An estimated 5,000 attendees took part in the quiet act of defiance.
“The beauty of this action was that it was non-partisan, not affiliated and didn’t require T-shirts, buttons or signs,” Sullivan said. “It broke down a lot of stereotypes. Because it was so simple, everyone could participate.”
Several other groups also used silence to deliver their message. D.C. Anti-War Network (DAWN) hosted a “die-in,” in which participants laid in the streets like corpses and carried cardboard coffins draped with American flags to remind observers of the death caused by war.
“I guess I thought they had a good point, but it was just maybe not the best way to articulate it,” Georgetown student Travis Danysh (CAS ‘05) said. He added, “Lying in a street and getting up to yell at people who disagree with you does not seem like a way to get anything done.”
A variety of ideals defined the multiple protestor groups. Michelle Stillwell-Parvensky (CAS ‘07), who also attended the inauguration, observed that some organizations expressed their aversion to Bush through inefficient techniques.
“There was a dichotomy between people wanting to make an impact and influence the wider public, and those who just wanted to get their rage out,” she said.
Sullivan, however, noticed a sense of unity among the disparate groups.
“CODEPINK, DAWN, Military Families Speak Out, Goldstar Families-so many different constituencies participated. This was something that was really collective,” she said.
Tanisha Douglas (CAS ‘07), a member of Georgetown University Peace Action, expressed optimism about the effectiveness of the parade demonstrations.
“Peace Action is about taking action for peace,” she said. “By going to the march, students were doing exactly that. [Bush’s policies] are not the ideals America stands for. We marched for those ideals [that America really stands for].”
Activists show no sign of disappearing after last week’s inauguration. Billionaires for Bush recently held a national meeting to discuss its 2005-06 legislative agenda, and TYBOB’s Sullivan says a “wonderful network” of participants has developed, which will enhance TYBOB member involvement over the next four years.
“We will be very present, ready to mobilize,” CODEPINK’s Mancias said. “This wasn’t just an inauguration for the president, but also an inauguration of the peace and social movement.”
