(Batesville, IN) – About two dozen demonstrators lined the sidewalk by the downtown Batesville Village parking lot on the Fourth of July as part of a “Take Back the Flag” community rally put on by Ripley County Democrats.
“We are out here today because we feel like the meaning of the Flag has been co-opted by one political party in this modern day, and not even that party entirely, but really more like an extremist, far end of that political party,” said Ripley County Democratic Party Vice Chair and Statehouse candidate Victoria Martz. “So we’ve come out here today to say, ‘We’re standing to take back the Flag.'”
Martz took particular issue with President Donald Trump’s tax cut and spending bill that was signed into law later that day…
“We just saw a bill get passed yesterday that’s taking money from the middle class, the poorest classes in America, just so we can give tax cuts to the wealthiest individuals in our country,” Martz said. “Not even the upper one percent but the upper point zero one percent. And that’s just despicable.”
Local resident Terry Flannery was on an opposite corner, holding a counter rally.
“We, the American people, voted to elect Donald Trump and to put Republicans in, and now they’re mad,” Flannery said. “I say we need to unite and not protest against each other.”
Flannery says she’s happy to see the Trump tax cuts – which were set to expire – become permanent.
“No, I do not 100 percent agree with the Big Beautiful Bill, but something needed to be passed, and I guess we’ll go from there,” she said. “But We the People, spoke by electing Trump and the Republicans, and that’s where we’re at today.”
In addition to voicing their opinions, people on both sides collected non-perishable food items for the Batesville Food Pantry.
