Flag protesters make Barnes farewell a bittersweet one

MARIETTA - Outgoing Gov. Roy Barnes toasted his supporters with a formal reception Sunday, but several dozen protesters against the new state flag tried to turn the goodbye ceremony into a victory celebration for those who helped boot him from office. <br> <br> The Democratic governor called about 200 supporters and staffers to a Marietta hotel where he hugged supporters and danced to a country band playing for the crowd. <br> <br> Arriving guests were greeted by about 30 demonstrators outside who waved ``Bye-Bye Barnes&#39;&#39; signs and shouted ``Scalawag!&#39;&#39; at drivers turning into the hotel. <br> <br> Barnes was defeated for re-election in part by people angry over the way he engineered a legislative vote in 2001 that reduced the Confederate emblem on the state flag to just one of several small icons. <br> <br> ``Roy Barnes, go on up to New York City with Bill and Hilary Clinton! That&#39;s your element!&#39;&#39; shouted Tim Pilgrim, 37, who used a bullhorn to berate guests at the semiformal event. ``Y&#39;all are eating crow casserole for dinner tonight, aren&#39;t you?&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Several protesters pointed to a Confederate cemetery right across the street as one of the reasons they came to protest the man they&#39;d already helped defeat. <br> <br> ``What Barnes did was about the most devious and un-American thing I&#39;ve ever seen,&#39;&#39; said Jim Dean of Atlanta. ``He was running the whole state with a handful of people in a closed room, instead of letting the people decide.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Inside, the outgoing governor seemed relaxed and little bothered by the ruckus on the street. Barnes was dogged his entire campaign by protesters wearing Confederate gray and waving the 1956 state flag, but he insisted even after losing that changing the state flag was the right thing to do. <br> <br> To drive the point home, perhaps, Barnes&#39; parting gifts for donors and staffers were photo books in a black velvet bag featuring the new Georgia flag. <br> <br> ``We certainly respect their right to be out there,&#39;&#39; Buddy Darden, a former Democratic congressman and longtime ally of Barnes, said of the demonstrators. ``Their taste, now, that might be a little questionable. Roy Barnes has a clear conscience about the flag, and he&#39;s moved on.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The issue is now the responsibility of Gov.-elect Sonny Perdue, a Republican who favors a state referendum on the flag. Fans of the old flag plan to remind him with a much bigger rally at the state Capitol on Jan. 14, the morning after Perdue is inaugurated, that they helped put him in office. <br> <br> ``Sonny Perdue&#39;s a man of his word, and we&#39;ll have the right to vote on which flag we choose to represent us,&#39;&#39; said Billy Bearden, 38, who drove from Bremen to catch a last glimpse of Barnes. <br> <br> ``He could&#39;ve been a hero, instead of demonizing us,&#39;&#39; Bearden said. ``He should&#39;ve just let us vote.&#39;&#39; <br>

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