Controversial anti-Obama billboards showing children giving the finger to President Barack Obama have sparked outrage among passing drivers.
The three provocative campaign posters are on display outside a motorbike accessories store off Route 27 in Hanson, Massachusetts.
One shows a little girl raising her middle finger next to the message: ‘ Thanks Obama. You’ve spent my lunch
money, my allowance, my inheritance, 35 years of future paychecks and my
retirement. You Jerk. Vote Mitt Romney For 2012!’
Where’s my lunch money? One provocative poster shows a little girl raising her middle finger and addresses the President as a ‘jerk’ for over-spending
Another one of the politically-charged posters, supporting Republican candidate Romney, shows a smiling President with communist hammer and sickle symbols added to his shirt collar.
Beneath the picture are the words: ‘Somewhere in Kenya a village is missing its idiot. Obama – One Big A** Mistake America. Vote Mitt Romney For 2012!’
Eric Folsom, a father from a neighboring town, told local newspaper The Enterprise that it could put him in a difficult position when he passes by with his six-year-old daughter.
‘If she saw that, she’d say “Why is that little girl doing that? What does that mean?”‘ he said. ‘How do I explain that?’
‘Racist’: Another one of the signs at the busy intersection shows Barack Obama with communist symbols on his collar and says: ‘Somewhere in Kenya, a village in missing its idiot’
James Brown, of Brockton, said the signs outside Sullivans Inc were racist and ‘ridiculous’, and showed that the U.S. as a nation ‘needs to grow up.’
‘I don’t know how anybody can approve of that,’ said Mr Brown, a 28-year-old teacher.
‘If you want to support Mitt Romney, you can put up positive messages
for Mitt Romney rather than negative slogans for Obama. That type of
statement is real redneck. It’s regressive and not progressive.’
However, others found the boards amusing, honking or stopping to take pictures as they passed.
Stephen McGrath, a 26-year-old naval veteran from Plymouth, said: ‘People are sensitive nowadays anyway. I’ve seen (Obama portrayed) with Hitler moustaches. It’s hilarious, the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time.’
‘Bankrupt America…yes we can!’ Town officials say the signs are distracting for drivers and illegal, as the store’s owner has no permit to display them
The offending finger has now been covered over with packing tape and the authorities are debating whether the boards are even legal, since owner Robert Sullivan did not get a permit from the building commissioner to put them up.
Town official Bob Curran said the eye-catching signs could be distracting and dangerous for pedestrians and drivers.
Mr Sullivan’s lawyer, however, said he is protected under the First Amendment and that he is entitled to ‘free speech’.
The signs are just the latest anti-Obama displays to cause outrage.
Earlier this month, a protest was staged beneath an Indiana Tea Party billboard that compared Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden.
It read: ‘The Navy SEALS removed one threat to America. The voters must remove the other.’
Extreme tactics: The posters erected in support of Republican candidate Mitt Romney have been called offensive and ridiculous – but others find them funny
This is awful. This campaign is going worse then I thought. I think this is sending out the wrong message for our future voters of America. I mean using kids as a way to get votes is crazy. Who ever put these signs up needs to mature fast. There is a way to go about it and this is not it!