Bill Rittenberg stands behind his sign at the Take a Stand rally on the east side of the Capitol on Tuesday afternoon. “The war is damaging our country and all of humankind,” Rittenberg said. “If the American people insist that Congress cut funding, the war will end.”
Peace activists did not get discouraged Tuesday when U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, did not attend the Take a Stand campaign. Instead, they brought in a replacement in the form of a life-size poster of Rogers.
The poster, which included a dialogue bubble with the words, “Will you share with me how you feel about Bush’s War in Iraq?” was placed on the steps of the Capitol.
Mike Webb, spokesman for Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, or AAEI, said the group included the poster of Rogers because they knew he was not going to show up to the event.
“People want to tell (Rogers) how they feel … now they can,” Webb said.
The AAEI event was a culmination of a 10-week program in 15 states and 40 congressional districts.
Rogers was unable to attend the event because of his busy schedule, said Sylvia Warner, a spokeswoman for Rogers.
“(Rogers) is meeting with true constituents,” Warner said. “These are partisan organizations. They get funding from Democratic organizations. They are focused on one thing — winning an election.”
Webb, however, said AAEI is not sponsored by Democrats but is funded by progressive organizations. The campaign is made up of local peace organizations, students, veterans and individual peace activists.
Military Moms for Peace, a new organization composed of mothers with children overseas, was one of the local organizations attending the rally. Co-founder Elizabeth Jesse and others held a bake sale to raise money to print material about the war in Iraq.
“We want to raise awareness and support mothers who have children in harm’s way,” Jesse said.
Jesse was one of the last speakers on the steps of the Capitol. After her speech, she removed two doves from a wicker basket and released them.
Chris Singer, who is involved with the Peace Education Center, in Lansing, is another peace activist who was not expecting to see Rogers at the campaign.
“I didn’t think he’d have the courage to face his constituents,” Singer said. “We haven’t been able to get a meeting (with Rogers) or anything.”
The protesters speaking out against Rogers were able to do so because of First Amendment rights, Warner said.
“These people are taking advantage of that opportunity,” Warner said.
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