Sign Fracas at Edwards Rally Spurs Sniping (phillyBurbs.com)

By BRIAN FARKAS

The Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Phil Parlock says he's a peaceful guy who doesn't mind carrying a Republican sign to a Democratic rally. Others say he has a history since 1996 of attending Democratic rallies in West Virginia for the sole purpose of provoking the anger of the party faithful.

On Thursday, the Huntington real estate agent said, he hid nine Bush-Cheney signs under his pant leg and took 3-year-old daughter Sophia and 11-year-old son Alex to a rally for Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards. An older son manned the van outside the rally with a larger Bush sign.

When it came time for Edwards to leave Tri-State Airport, Parlock said, he gave his children signs to proclaim their support for Bush. Just as quickly, the signs were ripped out of their hands and torn apart, he said. Two more signs were thrust into their hands. Again, Edwards supporters tore them away, he said.

'It was like a feeding frenzy,' the father of 10 said Friday. 'I didn't want to have Sophia being defeated and I told her to hold up the sign, but they kept going after the last shred.'

Sophia broke into tears, and the image of the child resting on her father's shoulders with a torn Bush sign in her hands was caught in Associated Press photographs.

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