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Beating drums, a forest of picket signs and people in costumes and T-shirts emblazoned with such slogans as "America Can — George Bush Can't" greeted the president's bus as it rolled into Copeland Park.
Protesters lined the length of a city block, in some spots a half-dozen people deep.
"This is what democracy looks like," was one of the cries taken up by the crowd.
Guy Wolf of Stoddard, Wis., one of the local organizers of the protest, said he was "concerned about democracy" when the protesters were confined to the far end of the park, with fenced tennis courts between them and the stadium where the president spoke.
"First, we were served papers by the police department saying we couldn't use our loudspeaker system for our rally," he told the protest crowd, holding up a three-page document with yellow highlighting.
"Now they put us here behind this iron curtain," Wolf said, pointing to the tall chain-link fence around the tennis courts, which drew loud boos from the protesters.
Wolf assured the crowd that legal action would be taken, bringing a loud, long cheer.
Protesters had planned to hold a rally of their own at the same time as the presidential rally but had to settle for a less formal event and a bullhorn. Speakers still addressed issues such as the environment, labor, peace, senior citizens and veterans.
Richard Wieland of Holmen, Wis., was able to make two statements on his 12-foot-tall, two-sided protest sign.
The one side said, "Regime change begins at home," with the flip side saying, "We're making more enemies than we can kill."
Wieland said he had been part of protests elsewhere in the state. When asked how this one was going, he said, "It's been very orderly."
Along with his hand-lettered sign — "American Democracy or American Empire n Which Will It Be?" — Dwayne Voegeli of Winona, Minn., wore a Roman emperor costume to try to get his point across.
"I'm hoping to remind people of their history lessons," Voegeli said. "You can't be a democracy and an empire at the same time."
Not only was Voegeli able to get his issue noticed, but he ended up giving a couple people a mini-refresher course on ancient history when they said they didn't understand the sign.
Although 17-year-old Ricardo Alcantar of Norwalk, Wis., had a ticket to see the president, he found himself outside with the protesters. "I didn't know you had to have an identification card to get in," he said with a shrug.
Asked whether he minded being among the Bush detractors, Alcantar smiled.
"I actually like to hear what they have to say, too," he said. "That way, I know both sides of many issues, so I can make a decision for myself."
Although too young to vote, Alcantar said, "I don't want to be oblivious of what's going on in the world around me just because I'm a teenager."
While her wheeled cart carried an American flag and a "Support the Troops" bumper sticker, Janice Krick of La Crosse didn't seem to mind sharing the sidewalk with the protesters, either.
Krick said she has had several sons serve in the military and became a Gold Star Mother when one was killed. She was unable to get a ticket to the Bush rally but said she still wanted to show her support for the president.
She looked over at the protesters with a grin. "I've gotten in a couple debates," Krick said. "But I don't back down on what I believe."
Linda McAlpine can be reached at lmcalpine@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8220
