Gov. Mitt Romney visited downtown Baton Rouge on Monday to attend a fundraiser event hosted at the Baton Rouge City Club.
The exclusive luncheon was only for individuals who had given at least $50,000 to Romney’s presidential campaign. Though Romney was not seen entering the club and was only briefly visible to the public eye when leaving the lunch, the fundraising event was met with demonstrations outside, mostly calling for the former Bain Capital CEO to release his tax records.
Demonstrators believed Romney has not been entirely forthcoming with his tax records through the years. Romney has, in the past, held offshore accounts both in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland.
Rancy Boyd-Snee, who was demonstrating against Romney, said she came out to “express [her] opinions to Romney and his supporters.”
Romney has been described as the “godfather” of Obamacare, despite his lack of support for the program, which he pioneered in his elected state of Massachusetts. Boyd-Snee described Romney’s opposition to Obamacare as “mindboggling.”
MoveOn.org, which has a local chapter in Baton Rouge, notified many demonstrators of the event.
Nazir Mohamed, co-sponsor of MoveOn.org’s Baton Rouge chapter, said his group was mainly at the event to ask for transparency when it comes to Romney’s tax documents. “It’s disrespectful to the state of Louisiana,” said James Bullman of the Democratic State Central Committee’s Young Leaders Program.
Bullman described Romney as a candidate who cares about the accumulation of wealth, not about the service of individuals.
If Romney is elected, Bullman said he does not believe he will be able to repeal Obamacare.
“It’s crazy for him to [oppose] it because three branches of our government have implemented and upheld this law,” Bullman said.
University alumnus Lewis Campbell came dressed to demonstrate in purple and gold attire.
“I’m here to poke a little fun at Romney,” Campbell said. When asked why he was demonstrating against Romney, Campbell said, “I really wouldn’t know where to start.”
James McNary picketed Romney with a sign that compared him to former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
The sign, which said “Idi Amin was a polygamist with a Swiss bank account who impoverished his own people. just sayin’,” was a play on Romney’s Mormon religion and his Swiss bank account.
McNary described Romney as being “bizarrely evasive” when it comes to his tax documents.
Courtney Horne, who was demonstrating with McNary, held a sign comparing the average
Louisiana income to the cost to attend Romney’s luncheon. The average Louisiana income was $38,446 in 2010. The luncheon was $50,000 per plate.
“This opens him up to a lot of mockery,” McNary said. Despite his early absence from view, Romney eventually emerged, and the crowd heckled the presidential candidate when he exited the premises.
Romney did not stop or speak to the demonstrators or journalists outside the club.
 
____ Contact Parker Cramer at [email protected]