Protesters voice opinions outside McCain event

(Retiree Roadrunner)

Protesters voice opinions outside McCain event
Quad-City Times, Davenport, Iowa
October 11, 2008
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/10/11/news/local/doc48f0e4b816c2b409530158.txt

A group of about 20 protesters gathered Saturday morning outside the RiverCenter to voice their opposition to some of U.S. Sen. John McCain’s proposed policies and occasionally trade barbs with McCain supporters waiting across the street to get into the Republican presidential candidate’s rally.

The majority of the protesters were from Iowa for Health Care, which believes McCain’s proposal to tax employer-provided health-care benefits could result in 20 million Americans losing their health care coverage, said Andrew Mertens, a spokesman for the group.

Mertens said Saturday’s event was the fourth McCain rally the group has attended since spring.

“Not everybody who comes to these events is decided on Sen. McCain,” Mertens said. “There are a lot of undecided voters.”

Some of the protesters exchanged friendly verbal jabs with McCain supporters lined up across East 2nd Street to get into the event.

“Look at all these mavericks,” said Rudy Hernandez of Davenport, referring to the McCain supporters. Hernandez carried a sign protesting the war in Iraq and said he thinks Democratic nominee U.S. Sen. Barack Obama will end the war.

“I think Obama’s got a plan, and we need to see it come to fruition,” he said.

Hernandez said most of the verbal jousting was good-natured and an example of people exercising their right to disagree.

“This is what’s great about America,” he said.

About half a dozen of the protesters represented the Alliance for Retired Americans. They said they were concerned that McCain would privatize health care and Social Security.

Jim Hughes of Davenport, the Iowa vice president of the organization, said McCain’s health-care proposals would encourage employers to stop providing health-care coverage to their employees.