Posted on 08/21/2005 9:35:21 PM PDT by batter
Salt Lake City's Mayor Rocky Anderson used e-mail this week to call upon activists, Democrats and some of his top administrative staff for “the biggest demonstration this state has ever seen,” when President Bush appears before a national veterans convention Monday.
“There should be a collaboration of health-care-provision advocates, seniors, the (gay, lesbian and bisexual and transsexual) community, anti-Patriot Act advocates and other civil libertarians, anti-war folks, pro-Social Security advocates, environmental advocates, anti-nuclear-testing advocates, and anti-nuclear-waste-shipment-and-storage advocates,” the mayor wrote in the e-mail sent Friday.
The mayor, a Democrat who serves in an officially nonpartisan office plans to join the protest.
Bush will address the 15,000-member Veteran of Foreign Wars convention at the Salt Palace in downtown Salt Lake City just after 11 a.m. Monday. Anderson will give a welcoming address to the convention a few hours earlier.
Anderson says Bush's policies have been “disastrous to the country. If people could organize and speak out in an effective manner from the reddest state in the country, that would garner a lot of attention.”
Failing to speak out against Bush's damaging policies would be a mistake and send a message of “apathy and resignation,” the mayor wrote.
Anderson cites specifically cutbacks to federal Section 8 housing programs for the poor as Bush programs that have hurt local families. Budget cuts have left 120 fewer families with the ability to find affordable housing, he said.
The mayor also said he is not protesting the veterans organization.
“I'm extremely supportive of the VFW convention; I'm thrilled to have it in our city.”
But Jerry Newberry, VFW communications director said the protest is “unfortunate,” but that protests are a common occurrence at the group's conventions, particularly the president has spoken. He said, however, that he didn't know of any previous host-city officials that had participated in those protests.
Mike Parkin, the senior vice commander of the VFW's Atomic Post 4355 in Salt Lake City said the move makes Anderson look “very unpatriotic” and “despicable.”
Parkin, a Vietnam veteran who voted for Anderson but says he won't do so again, said such demonstrations give comfort to enemies of America and will be offensive to convention attendees.
Anderson disagrees with any notion equating a protest with a lack of patriotism.
“Patriotism,” the mayor said, “demands that people speak out when we see our government officials acting in such antidemocratic and deceitful ways to the people of our country.”
What the hell is going on in SLC?
When did SLC start to resemble SF?
Ping! - see the state board for plans or freep mail me.
Is SLC a liberal cesspool? I thought all of Utah was pretty conservative.
Like you, last-term nobody.
Why is it that people who wouldn't dream of entrusting someone like Mayor Anderson with Federal power will cheefully vote for him to control their children's schools, their local contracts, their business regulation, and their public representation? Is it just that he promised better goodies?
This may be the end of Rocky, the politician. He has absolutely no hope of holding a statewide elective office. People in this state are sick of him. The quickest way to get the TV channel changed in any household I'm familiar with is for Rocky to get on camera.
-Dan
As I understand it, Rocky could've been defeated if conservatives/Republicans would've turned out. In a sense, conservatives elected him.
He's been a flaming lib since he first got in. Even my left-wing aunts can't stand him and he's in his second term.
SLC has changed it hasn't been conservative for quite some time.
The best part is Rocky enjoys insulting those living in nearby counties by saying they pollute his air when they commute to the city.
I was in the market for a new car and decided to drive through the city and to a dealership in a different county (which had lower taxes to boot). I drove two vehicles back through his city enjoying my savings and the fact that I had polluted his city twice with no tax benefit to him.
LOL!
Hmmmm a Mayor that cost a city money for their own follies......send this POS the bill for the LEO's and Emergency Services overtime and make payment due in 30 days and or impeach the polidiot.
Sweet! Now maybe the ANSWER idiots will show up, turn it into a riot, as usual, and show the conservative state of Utah that their mayor is an RAT and that the DUmmie mob is what you get when you elect RATS or RINOS. IMO of course.
I suppose his voter base is west of the freeway ?
Well, if the prez is addressing the VFW, and the Mayor wants to protest that, we should let everybody know that the protest is for BOTH events.
How in God's name did the capital city of the state that W took by the largest margin in 2004 elect such a man for mayor???????????
Here is the e-mail address to let the mayor know how you feel. I sent mine already.
:-)
mayor@slcgov.com
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