disturbing the comfortable

Cheney's neighbors topple his effigy during protest

08/13/2007 @ 8:30 am

Hundreds of anti-war activists gathered near Dick Cheney's home at an exclusive Wyoming country club to protest the vice president's role in leading the US into Iraq.

Chanting, "No more Iraq war," and "Impeach Cheney first," protesters gathered outside the Teton Pines Country Club, where Cheney typically spends the month-long August recess. They brought along a 10-foot-tall paper-mache sculpture that featured Cheney holding a fishing poll in one hand and an oil well in the other.
In a video posted on YouTube, a protester climbs the effigy and places a noose around its neck. Protesters then pull down the Cheney likeness in a scene reminiscent of Iraqis and US troops toppling a statue of Saddam Hussein after the fall of Baghdad.

"We organized it because of the war in Iraq and what an injustice it has been," Walt Farmer, a retired Air Force captain and registered Republican, told the Casper Star Tribune. "The Vice President has received a pass in Jackson long enough. We want to let them know we don't approve of the war or how they play fast and loose with the Constitution."

Protesters carried signs that said "Bush-Cheney, War Profiteers," "Feel safe yet? Violence breeds violence," and "At least the war on the middle class is going well," the Tribune reported.

One of the protesters, Cindy Knight, said she has a son in the military and came to voice displeasure with the administration's war policy. Knight's son has served in Afghanistan.

"I don't want him to lose his life in the Iraq war," Knight told the Tribune.