The young, old and Abraham Lincoln showed up to Rep. Cliff Stearns' Gainesville office Thursday afternoon.
About 25 MoveOn.org activists attended a planned protest at the Campus USA Credit Union at 1900 SW 34th St., which houses the congressman's office.
The protesters' goal was to persuade Stearns to tell his Republican colleagues to create job programs, raise taxes on the rich and avoid cuts to programs like Medicare.
The event is part of a national campaign in which the group organized 441 protests in 48 states, said Karen Epple, 57, a spokeswoman for the protesters.
The protesters first gathered in the parking lot, signs in hand, waiting for the clock to hit 4:30 p.m., their scheduled time to go in and speak with Jean Clough, Stearns' district aide.
Among the protesters was Lew Welge, who came dressed as Abraham Lincoln.
He did it, he said, to garner attention. The costume also tied into his talk in Stearns' office, during which he read aloud a passage from the book "Did Lincoln Own Slaves?"
Upstairs, protesters clustered into the small office space. Most supported Epple as she spoke about the U.S. Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, better known as the Super Committee.
The Super Committee's goal is to come up with a plan to reduce the nation's deficit.
Epple said that Clough listened as the largely liberal constituency made its requests.
Some, like 79-year-old Charles Willett, were openly critical of Clough's boss.
"I do not respect this Republican Party," he said. "I do not respect Mr. Stearns."
Epple said she is fully aware the words of the crowd - and her own - may fall on deaf ears. That doesn't stop her.
"We gotta try," she said.
The MoveOn.org protesters stayed for roughly an hour. Some brought signs, which displayed mantras including "Be fair to workers, tax the rich," and "Cut bonuses, not teachers."
Brian and Amy Klepp, Gainesville residents who brought their 7-month-old daughter, Lumen, who wore a pink shirt that read, "Momma is not on 99% welfare, but your bank is."
Stearns issued a statement in response to the protesters.
"Although I am in Washington, D.C.," it reads, "if I were in the Gainesville office I would let them know that I voted against the ‘bailout of Wall Street' and that I am working to promote job creation and reducing our $15 trillion debt."
Seven-month-old Lumen sits in the arms of her father, Brian Klepp, during a MoveOn.org protest in U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns' office Thursday. MoveOn.org members were supporting Occupy Wall Street.
