10-Foot-Tall Anti-Romney Neon Sign Erected In Newbury Park Neighborhood
NEWBURY PARK (CBSLA.com) — Complaints poured in Monday about a 10-foot-high wooden structure and neon sign in a quiet Newbury Park neighborhood that says "Romney's Racist Heart Dotcom. Save the GOP."
"It's obnoxious. It's an eyesore here. I wish it was gone," said one neighbor.
Steven Showers, 59, built the display after doing research into Mormonism after it became apparent that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would get the Republican nomination for president, according to the Ventura County Star.
"I love it. It's the way I designed it," Showers said.
Showers, who describes himself as white, a Republican and Christian, told the Star, "I was stunned to find out that the Mormon religion is a white supremacist, anti-black, racist ideology."
According to Showers' website, the following ideology is "embedded" in Mormon doctrine: "White skin indicates a pure character before God. Anything less than white skin indicates a corruption of character before God. Black skin, according to Mormon Doctrine, is an indicator of the worst corruption of character before God."
Incensed, Showers spent most of the month building the 10-foot-high sign with the large red, flashing neon sign that says, "Romney's Racist Heart Dotcom. Save the GOP." The structure was completed and plugged in Thursday, alongside a window sign in red neon lights that says, "Romney's Racist Heart Dotcom."
Members of the Church Of Latter Day Saints deny the racist doctrine and say they were disappointed in the sign.
Since Friday, Showers has gotten several complaints from neighbors upset about the sign's size and political message. A Ventura County code inspector also left notice that the monument was a violation of zoning laws.
"I find it appalling. For someone to do something like this in a neighborhood, especially like our neighborhood. I can't believe the government even allowed it. But he has a right to say what he wants, but people also have the right to be wrong," a neighbor said.
The smaller 24-by-24 window sign is available for $800 via Showers' website. According to the site, the word "racist" flashes on and off and will "become a valuable collector's item, associated with an historic event in American political history, increasing in value in the years ahead."
Showers said he plans on keeping the sign up, at least until the end of the Republican National Convention.
