On Tuesday, President Bush vetoed a spending bill which included a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, and grassroots organizations have rallied to show their displeasure. Protesters with a few national and local networks gathered Wednesday at the Ames Veterans Memorial to give speeches and hold signs out to passing honking cars.

“The American people are demanding something be done to end this war,” said Charlie Wishman, organizer for Iowa Citizen Action Network. He said that by vetoing this bill, Bush was disregarding his constituents.

Sue Dinsdale, the mother of an Iraq veteran and resident of Huxley, talked about her experience going to speak to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. She said although they were already going to recommend withdrawal, having spoken with veterans and the families of veterans “gave them the moral authority to do what they needed to do.”

“They’re standing strong and I hope they continue to,” she said of Pelosi and Reid.

She also said she checked the Department of Defense Web site each morning, and on the morning of the rally the official American death count was 3,355.

“It just hurts to see that,” Dinsdale said. “Those are human lives, those are the children of other moms and dads.”

The crowd of about 20 drew numerous honks and yells, and some people slowed to take pictures.

Hideo Tachibana, Ames resident, attended the event just to see the memorial and had been surprised by the rally. He had his picture taken with several protesters and their signs and expounded upon his time serving in Japan in World War II.

Burkett McInturff, Des Moines resident, likened what happens next to a “showdown” between Congress and the president.

“Now we’ve got to see what Congress is actually going to do about it,” McInturff said.

With the veto happening Tuesday and the rally happening Wednesday, protesters had one day to prepare, alerted by Moveon.org and the Iowa Citizen Action Network, part of the national organization Americans Against Escalation in Iraq.

“It’s amazing that so many people will show up with less than 24 hours notice, because they’re so outraged,” Wishman said.