New Haven Independent

Shooting video on behalf of the group organizing the protest, Connecticut Opposes War, Quickmire said, “We need to stop the insanity, and John McCain is the Republican who’s making the most noise about staying in the war. He has some perverted idea of what victory is, and he seems to be completely unfazed by the killing of thousands of people on both sides.”

On the other side of the issue, Orange resident Lawrence P. Czajkowski, a 30-year Army veteran, said he supports McCain “because he’s the only one who’s stood up for us, when the Democrats and these people — these phonies here [referring to the protesters] — wanted to give up. He’s the only one who stood up and said, ‘We have to win.’” He also yelled at the protesters, “Go home!

When some responded, “We are home!” Czajkowski, said, “Then go to Iraq!” Click here to listen to the interchange.

Former Democratic Party state Chairman George Jepsen focused his ire on “Independent Democrat” U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, who recently endorsed McCain for president. Jepsen said he’s supporting Hillary Clinton, “but the point here today is to oppose the war and to remind people that Joe Lieberman said he would support a Democrat in 2008. A lot of Democrats supported him [in 2006] believing that, and basically it’s a thumb in the eye of every Democrat in Connecticut.” Jepsen, who chaired Democrat Ned Lamont’s campaign against Lieberman that year, said he fully expected it, but a lot of other people were deceived.

Caroline Usher (pictured on the left), drove down from Glastonbury with two other young women. She said she wished that Lieberman would just go away, “but since he’s already in there, the only thing I can hope for is for him to change his policy and come back to when he cared about the environment.”

Jocie Kluger (pictured on the right), a senior at Glastonbury High School, said, “We’re spending so much money on this war, which is causing so much destruction. Meanwhile, in Hartford, you have a failing school system. These kids should be entitled to the same education I am, so they need that funding, which would be a lot more productive than killing millions of people.” Click here for more of her thoughts on the contrasts between her town’s well-funded school system and Hartford.

Loud booing erupted from the crowd when Lieberman was driven, in a car with darkly tinted windows, down Park Avenue through the two rows of protesters and in the main entrance of the college. He was glimpsed making the peace sign and blowing kisses to the crowd.