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A crowd of anti-Sarah Palin protesters gathered in Midtown Anchorage soon after the Republican nominee for vice president left Alaska to resume campaigning in the Lower 48.


The Saturday protest in front of the Loussac Library appeared bigger than any Anchorage has seen in recent memory. The crowd looked to be in the high hundreds at least, and organizers said they counted 1,500. It included roughly 100 counter protesters supporting Palin.

Planning for the protest began as discussions over coffee by a small group calling itself "Alaska Women Reject Palin." As recently as Friday, the group thought it possible that just 10 people would show up to the event. But it went viral on the Internet, with friends forwarding e-mails to friends, and people saying they saw a chance to vent their frustration over what several called the myth of Palin.

"Sarah Palin frightens the hell out of me. I don't want her anywhere near the White House," said Marybeth Holleman of Anchorage.

Protesters had a wide range of beefs with the governor. They included backers of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, abortion rights proponents, advocates for wolves and polar bears, opponents of the Iraq war, and people who said Palin is not ready to be a heartbeat from the presidency.

Alison Till, a geologist in Anchorage with the U.S. Geological Survey, said issues such as energy and global warming require solid and unbiased science to make good decisions. Palin's opposition to listing the polar bear as threatened under the endangered species act and her support of teaching creationism in public schools are not the hallmarks of someone who relies upon solid science, Till argued."She is unqualified," Till said.

Many in the pro-Palin group said they heard about the event on the Eddie Burke radio show on KYBR AM in Anchorage.
Palin opponents said the Burke show also inspired many of them to show up after Burke gave out cell phone numbers of protest organizers on his show.  "We were bombarded with all kinds of hateful, abusive, intimidating phone calls," said Charla Sterne, one of the organizers.

Burke was at the Saturday protest, carrying a sign that said "Alaska is not Frisco." He said the women sent out the phone numbers in a press release about the protest, and he didn't realize they were personal cell numbers.
Burke said he's apologized for calling the Alaska Women Reject Palin group "maggots."

There were signs that said "Bush in a Skirt" and signs that said "Palin for President."
Many chanted "O-bam-ah," while, on the other side of the street, the chant was "Sar-ah!" Drums pounded and drivers honked solidarity with one camp or the other.

MrsBee