BOSTON - This election is all about the Benjamins.

A street theater group, calling itself Billionaires for Bush, launched its limo tour of swing states in Boston, Massachusetts. (OLIVIER DOULIERY / ABACA PRESS)

So says the activist street-theater group Billionaires for Bush, which began in New York last year and has branched out to 60 chapters nationwide.

Dressed to the nines in tuxedos and flowing evening gowns, about a dozen pseudo-bluebloods gathered at the Old West Church on Wednesday in mock tribute to the president and vice president.

"We want to celebrate all the things Bush has done for us," said Phil T. Rich, noting $1.1 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthiest 1 percent and no-bid contracts to mega-corporations.

"We're all winners under this administration. Just some of us more than others," continued the top hat-wearing, cigar-smoking Rich, who, when he's not in character, is New York artist Andrew Boyd.

At the church, the Billionaires joined 10 other grassroots groups, including the League of Pissed Off Voters, DemSwingers and Mainstreet Moms Oppose Bush, with one aim - to defeat the Bush administration in the fall.

Of course, the Billionaires take a little different approach.

The evening before, they turned heads outside the FleetCenter with hundreds of make-believe money bags. "No justice, no problem," they yelled as they hoisted signs that read, "Leave No Billionaire Behind," "Wealth Care Is A Basic Human Right" and "Privatize Everything."

"At first, people don't know how to take us and they do a double take," said Boyd, joined at the church by fellow faux billionaires Mimi Nottieu and Monet Oliver d'Place. He said that head-scratching moment was exactly what the group wanted.

"We create a sense of curiosity, with people trying to figure out if we are real or fake. It's an open-mind moment when people take the time to consider our message," he said. "We're using humor to spotlight the truth about the Bush administration."

On Wednesday the Billionaires announced their "Get on the Limo" tour, taking their protests to the so-called battleground states. Boyd said his group would shadow the Bush campaign and hold "rallies for the really rich."

The group will conclude its limo caravan in New York in time for the Republican National Convention, and will stage a Million Billionaire March on Aug. 29.

© Copyright 2004 Knight-Ridder

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