Inaugurate the People!

More than 400 protesters turned out in Santa Cruz for a march and rally to coincide with the 2nd inauguration of George W. Bush as President of the United States. People gathered on the steps of the County Courthouse and heard musicians and speakers, before collectively taking an oath of office as President Pro-Tem of the United States. In place of the traditional Christian Bible, folks swore on a copy of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States."

Having been duly sworn-in, the racous crowd of new Presidents marched to the Town Clock, site of the Collateral Damage statue. There were drummers and singers. Speakers cited a need for better health care, slammed Bush's environmental record, and called for an end to the US military occupation of Iraq. George McGovern, former South Dakota Senator and the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in 1972, addressed the crowd, saying that members of the Bush Administration are masters of fear and deception.