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A group of about 50 protesters from a group calling itself Action NC gathered near the Duke Mansion at midday Wednesday to criticize Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and other GOP figures attending the fund raising event.
The group chanted its opposition to Romney and GOP policies, especially what protesters said was the presidential candidate’s support of the wealthy.
But a group of counter-protesters also gathered near the site, shouting support of the Republican ticket and its candidates.
Carolyn Rogers-Stone said she drove from Durham to protest the effect that she said Republican budget and tax proposals would have on low- and middle-income families.
“My biggest complaint is that (Romney and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan) have no empathy or common sense,” she said. “When you’re very affluent, you don’t have to worry about your next meal, a roof over your head, or your medical bills.”
The protesters urged Romney to release more of his tax returns, chanting, “We’ll show our returns if you show us yours.”
James Tyson, who said he was with 350.org and Occupy Charlotte, came dressed in a sort of tuxedo, to satirize Romney’s wealth and his alleged denial of climate change sciences.
“Mitt Romney is an active image-denier, in that he refuses to address the subject,” Tyson said.
Meanwhile, the crowd began shouting, “Romneyhood is no good.”
Earlier, Action NC said it planned to offer attendees fake checks for $250,000. That’s the amount protest organizers say millionaires would get in tax cuts in Romney is elected.
They base their claim on a study by Citizens for Tax Justice, a liberal think tank based in Washington. It reported that millionaires would benefit that much from an extension of President Bush’s tax cuts and other proposals by the presumptive Republican presidential candidate.
