From Edison, New Jersey:

EDISON -- President Bush will be coming to Edison today, and New Jersey residents on both sides of the political spectrum have been diligently preparing for his arrival.

On the GOP side, the Republican State Committee has organized a fundraiser and sold tickets for $300 and photo opportunities with the president for $5,000.

Various Democratic groups, meanwhile, have come together to organize protests near the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center, where the event will be held.

Before Bush speaks to the crowd of supporters, a group of Democratic organizations will greet passers-by with an event of their own -- a demonstration from the parking lot next to the Holiday Inn and Harold's Deli on King Georges Post Road.

"The president coming to New Jersey is really a slap in the face, we feel, to the vast sentiment among most New Jerseyans," said Eve Weissman, an organizer for New Jersey Citizen Action, one of the primary groups involved in the event. "New Jerseyans really feel that the Bush agenda is not in sync with the values of New Jersey working families. ... And we really want to call attention to the fact that New Jerseyans are really upset with the current state of affairs in Iraq."

Rep. Frank Pallone, D-Long Branch, Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Metuchen, and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, D-Union, will speak at the rally. The demonstration will involve Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, the Teamsters Union, Democracy for America, the New Jersey Stonewall Democrats and the New Jersey Impeach Group. Speeches will go from 3 to 4 p.m.

Township police, meanwhile, will be working with the Secret Service, the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office, the state police, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and the township police auxiliary to provide security for the event, township spokesman Jerry Barca said.
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The New Jersey Stonewall Democrats, a grass-roots gay rights organization, will protest the president's stance on homosexuality.

"This administration has been horrible for the gay community and has used us as a scapegoat," said Joan Hervey, the communications director for the Stonewall Democrats. "We want to show him how we feel about him."

The New Jersey Impeach Group's message is clear: They'll be demonstrating because they want to impeach the president.

"Not only do Bush and (Vice President Dick) Cheney have to go, they have to be impeached, removed, indicted, prosecuted, convicted and put behind bars where they can do no more harm to our country or our world," said Stuart Hutchison, an organizer for the North Jersey Impeach Group, one of three in the state.

The group has started a campaign to get the state Legislature to introduce a resolution to impeach, Hutchison said.

"This country is on the brink and if Bush goes any further, it could fall right off," he said.

From the New Jersrey Courier News.

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