Article

Political activists campaign to oust Bush

By Christine Szudzik - Staff Writer

The Ithacan (Ithaca College Newspaper)

April 08, 2004

It’s hard to get political activists to agree on anything. But in a group that meets above Autumn Leaves Used Books, the sentiment among members is the same: Bush Must Go.

More than 150 people and organizations met at the Ithaca Peace Summit when Bush Must Go campaign was founded last April. The group is committed to the ousting of the 43rd president and the creation of a community movement devoted to peace, justice, social equality and grassroots democratic participation.

One of the founding members, Pete Meyers, said dissatisfaction over the war in Iraq made people think about other things Bush has done that made them uneasy.

“That was definitely a pivotal moment because there were so many people outraged about the war, feeling like Bush was taking us on the wrong track,” he said.

Michael Casaus, a graduate student at Cornell University, said he got involved with the group last fall after he grew frustrated with what he called Bush’s total mismanagement of the country.

“In a way, I felt helpless sitting at home, reading the newspapers, listening to the 24-hour news networks and reading the news on the Web,” he said. “I needed to do something. I couldn’t sit back and let this man ruin my future and the future of my children.”

With passions running high, the group mobilized, acquired headquarters on The Commons and launched its first effort: bold yard signs proclaiming “Bush Must Go!” with a blank white space on the bottom of the sign designed for a specialized message.

The group provides stickers with slogans like “Make Living Wage Jobs, Not War” and “Bush Lied; Thousands Died.”

The group had 1,000 signs made and has already sold 650.

“It can really raise the level of presence for the campaign,” Meyers said. “They’re the most simple message: ‘Bush Must Go.’ People see it every day.”

Beyond yard signs, the group has held speak outs, sponsored a “Take Back Your Country” film series and tabled on The Commons. It plans to hold a poetry jam, another installment of the film series and a swing-state phone drive in the near future. It is also traveling to Scranton, Penn., on May 8 to register voters.

Casaus organized the film series with an eye toward mobilizing young voters of color in the Ithaca community.

“After each film, we will have discussions about the film so that we can all begin to realize that people of color have an important role to play in electoral politics in this country,” Casaus said.

Bush Must Go does not support one particular presidential candidate, but is trying to promote awareness of Bush’s faults.

“It’s more to bring awareness to get Bush out of office,” Meyers said. “It’s probably going to be through Kerry, but in no way are we a front for that.”

Meyers said the group is trying to appeal to as many different voters as possible, which can be difficult to achieve in political movements.

“With this, it hasn’t been a challenge,” Meyers said. “I’ve seen people coming out of the woodwork for this.”

While some of those people coming out of the woodwork may be from Ithaca College, the main campus activist groups are shying away from proclaiming themselves anti-Bush.

Young Democratic Socialists, Students for a Just Peace and IC Change sponsored a teach-in Tuesday, titled “One-Term President,” but their goals go beyond that. They want to sustain an active social justice movement long past the November elections.

Junior Brett Miller, a member of all three organizations, said being anti-Bush is only part of what the groups want to achieve.

“I think at this point, getting Bush out of office is so absolutely necessary that it’s probably coming off as being just an anti-Bush campaign,” he said. “But I don’t think that’s what it is, and I hope it’s not seen as just being that. It’s much more than that, and much more important than that.”

Ithaca’s long-time progressive-friendly atmosphere helps Bush Must Go thrive. Ithaca, which was named America’s most enlightened city by “The Utne Reader” in 1998, has hundreds of active social groups and even gave 20 percent of its votes to Ralph Nader in the 2000 election. However, there is no direct affiliation on campus.

The group has seen some local opposition, including letters to the editor in The Ithaca Journal and vandalized yard signs.

“Somebody went on somebody’s lawn, took their yard sign down, cut off the ‘Bush’ on both sides and put ‘Queers must go,’ and put it back up on the lawn,” Meyers said.

Whatever outcome November brings, Bush Must Go hopes to have convinced otherwise politically apathetic Ithacans that a grassroots political campaign can really make a difference.

“If you want people to head to the polls, you have to make politics relevant to their lives,” Casaus said. “Show them that what happens at the global, affects the local and vice versa. Show them that their vote counts. That you have to hold politicians accountable. That politicians work for ‘them,’ not the other way around. That is why this campaign is so very important.”