A small band of protesters representing the MoveOn political action group handed out flyers and waved signs near the Target store in Mooresville on Thursday, saying that they want to give Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his potential running mate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, a "pink slip."
Starting at 11 a.m., organizer Linda Simowitz of Mooresville and seven other people spoke with shoppers about the GOP ticket and expressed their support of President Obama.
Some of the protesters wore pink to symbolize the "pink slips" that they believe would result from a Romney-Ryan budget. They say the GOP plan would "cost the U.S. more than 1 million jobs in less than a year" and that "Romney and Ryan both believe the middle class should pay more taxes so the rich get richer."
The local protest was part of a nationwide effort Thursday by MoveOn, which claims to promote "progressive candidates" who "fight to put the American dream back within reach for all Americans."
"I'm here to support the president because I think he's done a good job throughout his term," said Bob Burghardt, a Cornelius resident who participated in the protest. "I think President Obama has been attacked unfairly in the news and in recent political ads and I'm afraid of what four years of the GOP will do to our country."
"Republicans want us to go back in time, to where Bush was president and to keep their 'trickle-down' economy," added Simowitz. "They think if we give money to the rich, they'll hire people and that's not true. The rich just get richer and the middle-class suffers.
"We want to keep the policies that Obama has put into effect so the economy doesn't melt down and fail. We don't want jobs to be sent overseas or reward companies who outsource. It seems like common sense, but it's falling on deaf ears."
The protest was not without incident. While handing out flyers, it was discovered that the participants did not have a permit and the police were called. The protesters moved away from Target and continued delivering their message elsewhere in the shopping center.
