Protesters Interrupt McCain-Palin Event

Protesters Interrupt McCain-Palin Event
Washington Wire - Wall Street Journal
September 18, 2008

Laura Meckler reports from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on the presidential race.

Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin got a new, less friendly reception today: protesters loudly chanting and interrupting her remarks. She didn’t seem to know how to handle it.

As Palin spoke, three young women began chanting, “Palin, Palin, get off our backs! Women’s rights are under attack!” They barely got the first round out of their mouths before the crowd drowned their words with shouts of “USA! USA!” and “We want Sarah!”

Things took an angry turn as the crowd closed in on the protesters. One man stepped within inches of one of the women, shouting “USA! USA!” to her face and appearing to shove her toward the exit.

“He was kind of pushing me. We were nonviolent so we couldn’t do anything about it,” Laura Kacere, a senior at the nearby University of Iowa, said later.

Meantime, Palin awkwardly tried to continue with her remarks even as the crowd continued its chants and police escorted the women out.

Later, while John McCain spoke to the crowd, another set of protesters—Kacere said they were from the university, too–again interrupted. The audience again responded with loud chants. But McCain, more experienced at the art of protest, paused and suggested that what Americans really want is for people to listen to one another.

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Protesters Interrupt McCain-Palin Event