Who says Utah’s voting populace doesn’t matter?
Thousands of people, including several U students, showed up in Washington Square for an anti-Bush rally on Wednesday, one of a number of organized protests in downtown Salt Lake City that accompanied the first overnight-presidential visit since George W. Bush entered office five years ago.
President Bush didn’t even visit Utah on the campaign trail, figuring (correctly) that a victory in the ultra-conservative state was a foregone conclusion. Many U students, some voting for the first time, discovered to their dismay that their presidential vote held little value here. Though a few resourceful souls managed to trade their votes with citizens in key-swing states, many anti-Bush voters felt betrayed by the democratic process.
Yesterday’s protests gave many of them the opportunity to share their voice and, in a sense, respond. The fact that the turnout for the anti-Bush rally was larger than the pro-Bush rally illustrates the unique dynamic of Salt Lake City-where a majority voted for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in 2004-and confirmed reports that positive campaign results shouldn’t have led Bush to expect a friendly welcome here.
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson proclaimed, “We are distressed at what our president, his administration and our Congress are doing to, and in the name of, our great nation,” as supporters erupted. Granted, much of Rocky’s speech mirrored the one he gave during last year’s presidential visit, but it was nonetheless both interesting and encouraging to witness the fervent support of such divergent viewpoints during the week’s proceedings.
Tonight, Bush himself will speak at the Salt Palace in front of an invitation-only audience after a public rally on Wednesday in support of Bush that includes-among other things-the singing of former “American Idol” contestant Carmen Rasmussen.
Two U figures-Erica Torres, a student and immigration-rights activist, and Deborah Daniels, director of the Women’s Resource Center-played prominent roles in the largest of Wednesday’s rallies, delivering key speeches on major issues affecting the Salt Lake populace. Their efforts-and those of other students who attended and showed their support for any of the events-cast a positive light on the political involvement of the U and the importance of national politics to the Salt Lake City populace.
However you feel about the president or the war in Iraq, the face-to-face exposure with Bush and his associates gave students the chance to hear what he had to say without the filter of local and national media.
Hopefully you were able to at least stop by a protest or two, and if you weren’t, hopefully your regret will spur you to attend any future protests organized in our great, and politically diverse, state.