With signs and shouts, critics have their say

Kyndell Harkness, Star Tribune

Protesters stood outside of the Target Center where President Obama was going to speak about health care.

Strong police presence kept the noisy conflicts otherwise peaceful.

By MIKE KASZUBA, Star Tribune

Last update: September 12, 2009 - 10:23 PM

At times outside the front of Target Center, Steve Jelinek and the others who came to protest President Obama's visit on health care appeared to be surrounded.

Their ranks were in the hundreds -- some holding signs that greeted Obama with simply "U Lie" -- while those filing through the barricades to cheer on the president numbered in the thousands. And while they shouted, Obama organizers used battery-powered megaphones.

But neither side backed down Saturday, and as the crowd left Obama's speech, more than a few stood nose to nose as police moved in to keep them separated. "You all don't even know what you're fighting for," one man, holding a cane and leaving the rally, yelled at the protesters. "Go home."

Jelinek, of Minnetonka, was not buying any of it. "I believe in bottom-up" individualism, he said, watching the crowds face off. "I believe you look to yourself first to solve your problems. Then, your immediate family and then your church community.

"The federal government is last," he said.

With at least 150 police officers -- some on horseback -- patrolling around Target Center, the war was fought mainly with words.

Sue Jeffers, a conservative talk radio host, said police confronted one protester who she said was carrying a concealed gun. But, she said, "it was not like he was going to go in and shoot somebody."

Though police reported few incidents, two men in wheelchairs squared off across from Target Center. "You're a socialist -- sorry," said the man in the wheelchair waving a bright-yellow "Don't Tread On Me" flag. The other wheelchair occupant cursed and motored away.

Mark Nyberg, a Robbinsdale resident holding a large Obama sign, shook his head in disbelief. "I'm not an extremist," said Nyberg, a health clinic technician. With his wife working at Wells Fargo, he said, "we got more insurance than we need."

"But there's a lot of people who don't have anything."

Many protesters had other causes featured on a colorful array of homemade posters. One sign said, "War Criminal"; another read, "Obama, Show Us Your Birth Certificate," referring to a persistent but unsubstantiated belief among some protesters that Obama is not an American-born citizen.

"I'm extremely frustrated with people like this," said Dave Rosene, 55, of Brooklyn Park. But Rosene baited the protesters by walking in front of them with a sign that read, "Conservative = Wrong."

Protester Bryon Bjornson conceded, "We didn't have a real big turnout. We were outnumbered."

Mike Kaszuba • 651-222-1673

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