College Republicans Take Flip Flop Protest to Boston Streets
by Jim Brown
July 29, 2004
(AgapePress) - A protest by conservative college students at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, has portrayed Senator John Kerry as a waffler on several important issues.
College Republicans from Massachusetts and from the group's Washington, DC, office have staged what they call a "flip-flop" protest. With some of their members dressed as large "flip-flop" sandals, the protesters walked the streets of Boston, informing passersby of John Kerry's inconsistencies.
Alison Aikele, communications director for the College Republican National Committee, says the protest was done in celebration of Kerry's changing positions on issues like the Iraq war, free trade, and homosexual marriage. While she says the demonstration has been "a good time" and "a lot of fun," she insists it also was about making a point.
"The purpose was to show that college students support a president like President Bush, who has conviction and sticks with what he believes in," Aikele says. "He sticks on the issues, and he doesn't flip-flop back and forth like John Kerry. So we came to just show our support for the president and to show the character of John Kerry."
The conservative student group's spokeswoman says a couple of the protesters walked around town in seven-foot-tall, bright yellow, foam flip-flop costumes, aptly labeled "Flip" and "Flop." And although they were heckled a bit, she says they did not encounter as much negative reaction as one would expect in "liberal territory."
In fact, Aikele says, "The reaction was pretty good from the Bostonians. A lot of them thought it was funny and comical, and they laughed and smiled." She notes that the protesters were repeatedly stopped by reporters, tourists, and even Kerry delegates, who wanted to take a picture of them.
The conservative student activists and their group plan to continue in their efforts to support George W. Bush's re-election bid. In late August, the College Republican National Committee will deploy 60 field representatives to campuses across the U.S. to recruit volunteers for the Bush-Cheney campaign.
