In Denver, Opposition to Iraq War Binds Demonstrators

Democrats like to say that theirs is a "big-tent" party, welcome to members of all stripes. The same description, it seems, applies to their protesters.

As delegates began flooding into Denver yesterday for the start of today's Democratic National Convention, hundreds of antiwar demonstrators marched from the state capitol to the Pepsi Center, the convention headquarters. But just about all they shared was a march route and an opposition to the war in Iraq.

The demonstrators were an extraordinarily varied lot, promoting a mishmash of conflicting agendas and opinions. Many were sympathetic to Obama and the Democratic platform; others advocated an overthrow of the two-party system. They ranged from soft-spoken, 1960s-vintage antiwar activists to younger radicals, bandanas covering their faces, voicing objection to the very existence of the United States.

"It's a protest against [President] Bush and [Vice President Dick] Cheney. It is in support of Obama," said Karen Hriso, a retirement plan administrator from Denver in her late 50s.

The demonstration, which began with a morning rally at the capitol featuring prominent antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, was far smaller than anticipated - organizers had a permit for 25,000 people, according to Denver police, but only about 1,500 showed up. Another protest rally and march was planned for later yesterday afternoon.

As of mid-afternoon yesterday, police reported few problems and no major arrests.

The protests added to a day of preparation and anticipation for the Democrats' big week, which will build to a crescendo on Thursday night, when Obama formally accepts his party's nomination for president. Members of the media, expected to number 15,000, swarmed the area, and police held a firm grip on the city, cordoning off the entire area around the Pepsi Center.

At a separate outdoor fair nearby, an earnest folk singer crooned on a stage of sunflowers, as environmentalists pitched solar-heated water and organic baked goods.

At the protest rally, familiar chants filled the air: "Whose streets? Our streets!" Another went, "Stop the torture, stop the war, this is what we're fighting for."

Some demonstrators were dressed up as Bush, Cheney, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in shackles; others wore a giant polar bear costume, meant as a reminder of global warming.