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Tea Party March on DC Draws Somewhere between 2 million and 60,000 People. Go figure.
A number of Reasoners were in the crowd at yesterday's Taxpayer March on Washington to cover the event (look for a Reason.tv bit in the coming hours). Like myself, Matt Welch was surprised by the turnout, which was gigantic. Welch is ready to eat his hat if the crowd wasn't "at least a healthy six figures."
Press accounts are pegging the crowd at somewhere between (get this) 60,000 (ABC News) and and "in excess of 75,000" (local officials) 1.2 million (local police agency estimates) and 2 million people (ABC News again, Fox News, The Daily Mail, and various other outlets).
I confess to having no way of checking or even evaluating these stats, but from my view of the proceedings (and having attended various events over the years), my sense is that 60,000 is way low and 2 million a stretch by a huge factor. Crowd counts are notoriously difficult and always pumped up or down for various reasons.
That said, the three takeaways I had from the event comport with Welch's from yesterday's post: First, the crowd was truly huge. Second, the crowd was from all over the place (both geographically and ideologically). And third, the crowd, well-behaved and stunningly normal in the main, was genuinely pissed off at out of control spending and government policies. "Stop spending," was the basic answer to any questions about what Congress and the president should do come tomorrow. Throw the bums of either party out come next fall was the second most-common answer.
Some Guy|9.13.09 @ 7:58AM|#
Fark had it at 6.7 billion.
I just wish that I could genuinely believe that these people would
be there protesting if the guy doing all the spending had an R next
to his name. I'm sure a handful would, but nobody I've personally
met that identifies with the Tea Party movement strikes me as more
than a Fox News parrot.
jester|9.13.09 @ 7:58AM|#
Sample errors are overrated. Besides, Obama-hating takes on forms disturbing even to this website of ultimate tolerance.
jester|9.13.09 @ 8:01AM|#
The cream of what Some Guy says is essentially true. Is this truly a libertarian reaction or is it a Glennnnnnn Beckian pandemonium.
|9.13.09 @ 8:03AM|#
When people with jobs are out protesting, then you know the government is really screwing up.
Ann|9.13.09 @ 8:14AM|#
The organizers--if you can call such an ad hoc thing
organized--seem to have blown it.
They missed the news cycle.
They should have had a reasonable crowd-count out by 6pm yesterday
to make the morning papers.
They didn't, and the papers got away with printing "thousands"
instead of "hundreds of thousands".
I'm even shocked by how little FoxNews has covered it.
Part of the problem was the Beck-effect. By having Beck so
involved, other news organizations can write it off as his private
story, a Fox story, or as an artificial thing that he put
together.
|9.13.09 @ 8:15AM|#
Looking at the aerial shots, it's not unreasonable to guess well
over a million, especially when compared to aerial shots of
previous well-attended gatherings.
Whatever the actual number, this was not a disappointment nor a
failure. Nor was this "manufactured," as I've heard some
claim.
...
bigcitylib|9.13.09 @ 8:25AM|#
As of the 9th, organizers expected about 25,000 to 50,000. To think they screwed up by even a factor of ten is not credible. So when you look at the more likely numbers, they hauled in as many people as U2 plays to on a typical night. And U2 fans pay their own way.
anarch|9.13.09 @ 8:33AM|#
The only way to know with certainty how many people attend such
events is to appoint a government agency to count them.
And the only way to obtain an accurate count is to set up secure
gates with biometric identity scans and distribute electronic
ankle-bracelets to monitor the individuals' movements during the
event, so that no one is counted twice after leaving and returning.
Taser-equipped to keep the peace.
And the only way to determine the significance of their
participation - motivation, position on the political spectrum,
depth and steadfastness of commitment - is to conduct a background
check on each applicant. Which will require pre-registration six
months in advance in order to obtain an individual parade permit.
For a hefty administrative fee.
And then keep track of them forever after. In fact, just don't let
them out again once they're in.
|9.13.09 @ 8:41AM|#
Press accounts are pegging the crowd at somewhere between
(get this) 60,000 (ABC News) and "in excess of 75,000" (local
officials)
I believe that the pegging most folks in the press are doing these
days is this.
NSFW
@|9.13.09 @ 8:43AM|#
Ann | September 13, 2009, 8:14am | #
I'm even shocked by how little FoxNews has covered it...other news
organizations can write it off as...a Fox story...
You can't have it both ways, Ann. And if you don't think FOX News
has been all over it, you haven't really been watching.
Tricky Prickears|9.13.09 @ 8:46AM|#
Somebody's just going to have to sit and count them one by one from the satellite photos. I'm sure the NSA will know exactly how many people were there.
@|9.13.09 @ 8:47AM|#
anarch | September 13, 2009, 8:33am | #
The only way to know with certainty how many people attend such
events is...
...by their Washington
Post coverage. They pegged the crowd at zero. Never
happened.
Jozef|9.13.09 @ 8:52AM|#
The organizers--if you can call such an ad hoc thing
organized--seem to have blown it.
They missed the news cycle.
I fully agree. They should've waited till Jon Stewart went back on
air. Without him, I've got no idea what's going on in domestic
politics; I was unaware there was any protest planned, and if it
weren't for Hit & Run I would've never known it happened.
(Okay, I'm exaggerating a little; I saw it on Drudge first, but
given that I can't stand any of the news channels and the local
paper - AJC - is concerned only with Georgia's win over the
Gamecocks, I must agree that the even't timing was very
unfortunate.)
jester|9.13.09 @ 9:02AM|#
Million man march means...
Not just any run of the mill appearance. I heard audience-goers
were promised a double bill of Journey and Ted Nugent.
Tricky Prickears|9.13.09 @ 9:08AM|#
USC beat Ohio State. Serena lost her temper and her match.
What protest?
Yeah, it was a big sports day. Michigan and Notre Dame.
One of the biggest rivalries in college football.
|9.13.09 @ 9:12AM|#
I was there. We were told to meet around 8am freedom plaza. By 9:15 we managed through the metro and had to wait in line as the doors opened on the subway car. It was one continous steam of happy "angry mobsters". I've never seen so may people waitng in crowded lines so polite and happy. Up the stairs and out into the Pennsylvania Ave. Just people packed all the way to the Capital Stairs. The big message....Can you hear us now!....
jester|9.13.09 @ 9:29AM|#
Ted is as nuts now as he was when I saw him at Cal Jam II at the
Ontario Motor Speedway back in '77.
Gun rights are cool but not for 'raids'. He loses me there.
'Raids'-is he really killing cockroaches?
TomGalt|9.13.09 @ 9:36AM|#
The D.C. Town Council and Park Service did their best to block the event by scheduling a competing event with loud rap on the mall nearby, and refusing to grant permits to the TEA organizers.
jester|9.13.09 @ 9:44AM|#
Why would the Park Service try to block the event when their valets faced some serious tip money? Sounds like a scandal to me.
Suki|9.13.09 @ 10:07AM|#
I'm sure the NSA will know exactly how many people were
there.
I think you want NRO, unless you are counting cell phone
conversations mentioning the words "bomb" and "Hamas."
There is a triathlon in DC today with 6,000 or so registered
competitors. Compare photos and see what is closer, 60,000 or
millions.
|9.13.09 @ 10:13AM|#
If Nick knew of an original source for the higher crowd estimate he should have posted it. Instead he provided a link to an article which claims "as many as 2 million protestors," but also provides no link to a source. As Slate is reporting it, a crowd estimate of 1.5 million was a "rumor."
Suki|9.13.09 @ 10:14AM|#
There is a triathlon in DC today with about 6,000 registered competitors. Compare pictures.
Mike M.|9.13.09 @ 10:15AM|#
I was there, and I was guessing somewhere between 100K and 200K,
though I'm no expert head counter.
One of the problems is that this particular event was several hours
long, and there were still people who were just arriving there when
I decided to leave after four hours.
Suki|9.13.09 @ 10:17AM|#
No Gaza question on this thread either?
Okay, so where would you rather live, in Gaza or in the Freedom
Park during a Tea Party Protest?
|9.13.09 @ 10:22AM|#
I traveled to DC for the March on DC 09/12/09, never protested before but it made me very PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! People from all 50 states doing what we fear will be taken away...Freedom of Speech!
Suki|9.13.09 @ 10:25AM|#
PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!
There might be a song in that. Someone think up a catchy tune to go
with it? Put in a passage that goes with a big fireworks
explosion.
old rpm daddy|9.13.09 @ 10:38AM|#
There were 653,292 people. Using satellite imagery, I counted
fingers and thumbs, then divided by 9.8 (to account for amputees).
Simple enough?
I know, I know, old joke...
|9.13.09 @ 10:40AM|#
There might be a song in that. Someone think up a catchy
tune to go with it?
Suki, I've already sworn a blood oath against Lee Greenwood for
that song, don't make me go after you, too. :-)
Joe M|9.13.09 @ 10:47AM|#
I would tend to trust the police estimate, because they use a calculation that is pretty reasonable. If I'm not mistaken, I think they get an estimate of the total area that is covered, then divide it by something like 4-5 square feet per person to get a headcount.
Colin|9.13.09 @ 10:48AM|#
Reading the headline from AP you would think only a few thousand
wackos were at the rally. And a corresponding article told how
Obama really stirred the crowd in Minnesota and how he may have
moved the debate in his favor.
It's too bad that we no longer have a wire service that simply
reports the news instead of shaping it.
Suki|9.13.09 @ 10:49AM|#
Suki, I've already sworn a blood oath against Lee Greenwood
for that song, don't make me go after you, too. :-)
Firing up the Naga signal for him to protect me since beloved
boyfriend is too hung over to shoot straight. lol
Mike M.|9.13.09 @ 10:51AM|#
...by their Washington Post coverage. They pegged the crowd
at zero. Never happened.
Yeah, in almost 40 years, I don't think I've ever seen the
so-called "mainstream media" in the tank for anyone the way they
are for Obama.
It's so obvious now that they've decided they're simply going to
refuse to report anything that makes their Messiah look bad or
shows that not everyone agrees with him. It's utterly pathetic.
Colin|9.13.09 @ 10:52AM|#
I wonder how someone can scientifically determine the size of a crowd. Is it even possible? Are these organizations just guestimating off the top of their heads?
Suki|9.13.09 @ 10:56AM|#
I wonder how someone can scientifically determine the size
of a crowd.
Try the Climate Change Scientists. They know the temperature to
within 1/100th of a degree from 200 years ago.
Art-P.O.G.|9.13.09 @ 10:57AM|#
Colin, I think with a lot of cameras and satellites and some badass software...
Eric Dondero|9.13.09 @ 10:58AM|#
And the question remains; why weren't more organized libertarian
groups involved?
Where was the Libertarian Party presence?
Nice that Reason was there in force, but where was Cato?
Thankfully, Freedom Works, Americans for Prosperity and others who
helped organize the events are being identified as "libertarian
groups," in most media accounts.
But it's a damned shame that more deeply movement groups like the
LP were so absent from the protest.
MESSAGE TO LIBERTARIAN PARTY: You all blew this one. You should've
been there.
Suki|9.13.09 @ 11:04AM|#
And the question remains; why weren't more organized
libertarian groups involved?
HAHAHAHA! The close-knit group of anti-social anarchists was absent
too.
Tricky Prickears|9.13.09 @ 11:05AM|#
Yeah, in almost 40 years, I don't think I've ever seen the
so-called "mainstream media" in the tank for anyone the way they
are for Obama.
I guess you've been living under a rock.
I don't take, very seriously, the media or the press in this country, who, in the case of the Persian Gulf War, were nothing more than unpaid employees of the Dept. of Defense. And who, most of the time, function as kind of, an unofficial public relations agency for the US government.
Tricky Prickears|9.13.09 @ 11:09AM|#
Try the Climate Change Scientists. They know the temperature
to within 1/100th of a degree from 200 years ago
Actually, they can. Just like they determine the amount
of rain by studying tree rings, they can determine the temperature
by reading ice
cores.
Hugh Akston|9.13.09 @ 11:16AM|#
I must have refreshed my GoogleNews homepage five times already and there is not one mention of this event. I guess you libertards are making stuff up again. I'm going to go ask the tough questions about it rhetorically and post them on YouTube.
|9.13.09 @ 11:21AM|#
Donderrrrroooooooo
Donderrrrroooooooo, Donderrrreeeeee, Donderrrrriiiii,
Donderrrrr-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
|9.13.09 @ 11:29AM|#
And the question remains; why weren't more organized
libertarian groups involved?
What's it to you? You're a neocon warmonger.
-jcr
|9.13.09 @ 11:30AM|#
Watch this traffic cam timelapse and tell me there isn't at
least 200,000 people there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoPud1TeubM
Tricky Prickears|9.13.09 @ 11:31AM|#
I must have refreshed my GoogleNews homepage five times
already and there is not one mention of this event.
Damn, don't you guys get it? It wasn't news worthy
because no one got killed, beaten, sexually assaulted, abducted, or
bombed.
The New York Times|9.13.09 @ 11:32AM|#
they're simply going to refuse to report anything that makes
their Messiah look bad
Suck it, fascists! If we don't mention it, it never
happened!
Being The Paper Of Record™ has its advantages.
|9.13.09 @ 11:36AM|#
I just wish that I could genuinely believe that these people would be there protesting if the guy doing all the spending had an R next to his name. I'm sure a handful would, but nobody I've personally met that identifies with the Tea Party movement strikes me as more than a Fox News parrot.
True, but hardly a GOP phenomenon.
Seen any war protests lately? We have 130K troops still in Iraq.
That's more than there was before "the surge". All other nations
have withdrawn theirs. Afghanistan (Obama's war now) -
I was pissed about government spending and the fool's
missions in Iraq (representaive democracy tha can stand onb its own
feet) and Afghanistan (still don't know WTF our goals there are)
during Bush the Lesser's administration and am still pissed
now.
I only go to protests to pick up the ladies. Dem women are easier,
GOP women are kinkier.
Tricky Prickears|9.13.09 @ 11:37AM|#
I must have refreshed my GoogleNews homepage five times
already and there is not one mention of this event.
Although, I id hear a report of someone distributing
pictures of auto fellatio. That, surely should be news worthy.
Hugh Akston|9.13.09 @ 11:38AM|#
It wasn't news worthy because no one got killed, beaten,
sexually assaulted, abducted, or bombed.
Also, no one
cried.
wayne|9.13.09 @ 11:44AM|#
Throw the bums of either party out come next fall was
the second most-common answer.
In my opinion, this is the only answer to our political problems
that will change things. Not only must we "throw the bums out", we
must throw them out repeatedly, for the next ten elections or so
(maybe for all elections), because entrenched power inherently
corrupts all incumbents. That solution will not work, however,
because us "voters" are are too busy worrying over our own lives to
worry much over the lives of others. We are fucked; it is human
nature.
@|9.13.09 @ 11:44AM|#
no one cried
But she did threaten to "shove this fucking ball down your
throat."
Foot fault, America...or racism?
Art-P.O.G.|9.13.09 @ 11:45AM|#
I only go to protests to pick up the ladies. Dem women are easier, GOP women are kinkier.
Mac? Or is that Dennis?
Tricky Prickears|9.13.09 @ 11:47AM|#
...because entrenched power inherently corrupts all
incumbents.
In my state we couldn't even get a law passed that would
identify the incumbent candidate on the ballot.
Suki|9.13.09 @ 11:49AM|#
APOG,
Mac? Or is that Dennis?
Mac chicks are kinkier. Never heard of a Dennis, sounds like Dell,
pretty vanilla. ;)
Joe M|9.13.09 @ 11:51AM|#
We seriously, seriously need term limits. Maybe two terms for senators, and five terms for representatives. That's plenty generous.
Art-P.O.G.|9.13.09 @ 11:57AM|#
Mac chicks are kinkier.
Oh yeah. Artsy chicks.
Foot fault, America...or racism?
Somehow, I blame John MacEnroe.
@|9.13.09 @ 12:01PM|#
How about term limits for journalists? Americans rank them just above lawyers and car salesmen for trustworthiness. When national journalists cite the angry mobs, they fail to realize that much of that anger is directed at them. They are failing to do their jobs at a critical time in our history. Journalists have become lying, partisan, fact-spinning politicians. Shame.
Some Guy|9.13.09 @ 12:03PM|#
Thankfully, Freedom Works, Americans for
Prosperity and others who helped organize the events are being
identified as "libertarian groups," in most media
accounts.
That's just what we need, for people to lump us in with Glenn Beck.
That's sort of like someone being proud to have Fred Phelps
represent Christianity.
Some Guy|9.13.09 @ 12:16PM|#
True, but hardly a GOP phenomenon.
Seen any war protests lately? We have 130K troops still in Iraq.
That's more than there was before "the surge". All other nations
have withdrawn theirs. Afghanistan (Obama's war now)
Not saying that they aren't just as bad, but I haven't see any
anti-war protests since well before the elections. Seems that dead
soldiers don't matter much if your 401k is down a bit.
I was pissed about government spending and the fool's missions
in Iraq (representaive democracy tha can stand onb its own feet)
and Afghanistan (still don't know WTF our goals there are) during
Bush the Lesser's administration and am still pissed
now.
I get why why should have been in Afghanistan. I just wish we
hadn't fucked it up so colossally. I imagine it might have gone a
lot better if we hadn't thrown all our treasure and troop readiness
at Bush's daddy issues.
In my opinion, this is the only answer to our political
problems that will change things. Not only must we "throw the bums
out", we must throw them out repeatedly
I always vote against the incumbent for any election below POTUS if
my only choices on the ballot are D & R. For POTUS, I have
higher standards than the lesser evil, so I have yet to ever vote
for anyone on the ballot. Last year I got 3 votes for myself, would
have been 4 if my wife wasn't sick.
|9.13.09 @ 12:22PM|#
Serena knows the rules of the game. Telling a tiny Asian
lineswoman that she was going to shove a raquet down her throat is
a no-no.
Go Wozniacki!
Joe M|9.13.09 @ 12:40PM|#
You know what's odd? Everyone has it backwards. All the people
protesting excessive spending now should've been doing it when Bush
and the GOP were running things, and all the anti-war people should
be protesting now. It just makes more sense to agitate for causes
when the party that is ostensibly sympathetic to your positions is
in power.
Because Obama "knows" that all the protesters aren't people that
voted for him in the first place, so ignoring their demands isn't
going to cost him anything.
The reverse is true for anti-war people. They have a much better
chance of getting their position heard with a liberal in power, yet
they contentedly sit on the sidelines, letting him continue, almost
exactly, all the policies that Bush had in place.
It is truly just a red team vs blue team bunch of nonsense. Just an
excuse to bitch about the other guys. Sad.
tankrunner1123|9.13.09 @ 12:43PM|#
I also share Some Guy's concern because one of the main purposes of the Campaign for Liberty movement is expose how wrong and stupid the neocons are. I dont know about any of you guys but I still dont buy into Beck's full 180 from neocon to Libertarianism, I just dont. Its too convient in my opinion. If the neocons hijack the movement then we will be right back where we started. Of course we wont know that until election time.
|9.13.09 @ 12:46PM|#
Watch this traffic cam timelapse and tell me there isn't at
least 200,000 people there.
I don't know how to count crowds, but that was an assload of
people. Shoulder to shoulder, nuts to butts.
|9.13.09 @ 12:47PM|#
we, the people, are not concerned with how the so called "media" decides to cover the historic march on 9-12. With NO media coverage, we all came to DC. Over a million with NO FREE public transportation, no FREE media advertisment, no FREE hype. We came on our own time, with our own money to protect ALL Americans. Even the ignorant kool-aide drunk ones who love the left because they are told to but actually do not know a thing about what is being stripped from them. I was there. Easily over a million people watch this. It is a time lapse of SOME of the time Americans were filing in.http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/09/12/HP/R/23055/Conservatives%20to%20march%20on%20Washington.aspx
|9.13.09 @ 12:52PM|#
Thankfully, Freedom Works, Americans for Prosperity and
others who helped organize the events are being identified as
"libertarian groups," in most media accounts.
You do understand "libertarian" is the new "fascist" on the Left,
right?
Tricky Prickears|9.13.09 @ 12:57PM|#
Joe M
It's called reverse prejudice. The belief that the group or party
that you belong to can do no wrong.
But there is definitely a trend, on both sides, that both political
parties are full of shit. The next few years shall be interesting,
indeed.
|9.13.09 @ 12:58PM|#
MESSAGE TO LIBERTARIAN PARTY: You all blew this one. You should've been there.
Beck didn't send them an invitation.
Seriously, I get creeped out sometimes by the guys in the Tea Party
movement. They're not libertarians, they are social conservatives,
anti-immigrationists, and permanent warfarists. Fiscal restraint is
only an afterthought to them.
|9.13.09 @ 1:17PM|#
At least
CNN is making a bold statement about its own collective
journalistic priorities.
Because, really, who cares why these people are doing what they're
doing. It's whether or not they're motivated by racism that
counts.
|9.13.09 @ 1:17PM|#
It's called WAKING UP. It's called having a desire to go back to the Constitution that gave YOU the privilege to have all that you have and the freedom to have more. You should try studying your constitution and having a revelation concerning how free you are and how free you could be. Then look at other countries that have a gov't that runs already in the direction that ours is headed with gov't taking over everyones lives and all types of businesses, taxing (or taking) your earned money to support themselves. Wake up punk. Wake up.
|9.13.09 @ 1:23PM|#
Hmm...by Fox News's conservative estimate, all sentient life
from our own and several nearby galaxies was in attendance, while
the NYT says a few dozen crackpots at most.
Charles Johnson posted a few totally not cherry-picked pictures of
some genuinely batshit insane people who were there. I'm not buying
his unspoken assertion that his was a representative sample, but
those pictures are still sad.
I like Matt Welch's and Nick's postings about the protest.
Refreshingly non-hysterical.
|9.13.09 @ 1:24PM|#
It's called WAKING UP. It's called having a desire to go
back to the Constitution that gave YOU the privilege to have all
that you have and the freedom to have more. You should try studying
your constitution and having a revelation concerning how free you
are and how free you could be.
Fuckin'-A, dude, this isn't Daily Kos. You can lose the Glenn Beck
routine.
|9.13.09 @ 1:31PM|#
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2009/09/circle_the_wago.php
And this is the typical reaction. It's so disturbing to me that
artists and supposed skeptics go so easily along with the "racist"
claims. I guess I'm expecting too much from people.
Bruce Majors|9.13.09 @ 1:45PM|#
You know the mainstream media are lying about the protest. The
Washington Post, for example, usually has no problem reporting
actual numbers given as estimates by march organizers, the Park
Service,the Capitol Hill police,etc.
Today it just says "tens of thousands." The vagueness is their way
of obfuscating.
Here is an overhead video shot of the marchers going down
Pennsylvania Avenue. Many people came later and by alternate
routes, or did not march but just went to the Capitol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoPud1TeubM
JB|9.13.09 @ 1:46PM|#
The Left has made it clear: anyone who doesn't want all
government, all time, in every orifice is racist, evil, etc.
Well fuck them. They are going to be in for quite a shock when
people actually start fighting back.
liberty 2010|9.13.09 @ 2:12PM|#
I was there. Lots of democrats as well as republicans. This was a huge crowd that would make the state-run media and Axlerod astroturfers really jealous. Just folks who have had enough of the dictatorial policies of the political class in general and now the communist agenda of today's democrat leadership.
radical|9.13.09 @ 2:21PM|#
big "word" to libertarian party/cato/others blowing it. i am as libertarian as any and i don't watch fox news and especially don't watch glenn beck. i found out about this event a day before it happened... on yglesias' blog (of all things). that tells me something about the crowd... *sigh*
|9.13.09 @ 2:25PM|#
I still dont buy into Beck's full 180 from neocon to
Libertarianism, I just dont.
I still don't buy Bob Barr's alleged conversion.
-jcr
|9.13.09 @ 2:33PM|#
Yeah, the libertarians should be out there in greater force. It's a great opportunity to introduce people to libertarian ideas. A lot of these people are not partisan, there and independents and democrats, they are open to different ideas. It's stupid not to be out there just because a handful of creeps are there, and it's stupid not to be out there to shout down the handful of creeps.
Mountain Steps|9.13.09 @ 2:36PM|#
I went to the tea party event at our state capitol. Pictures can
be seen on my blog http://mountainsteps.blogspot.com
I can't speak for why others went - but I can tell you this is the
first type of event like this my wife and I have ever attended. And
we did it out of concern for our children's future and the future
of this country.
The economic collapse that started in Fall 2008 shook us to the
core and woke us up. Since then we've been reading voraciously
anything and everything we can about libertarianism, economics, and
self-reliance and independence, and I can tell you that I now
identify myself as a libertarian instead of just an independent.
I'm still learning about how to approach different issues.
I never protested the out of control spending of Bush because I 1)
didn't fully understand the scale Bush was doing it (because of his
shady accounting practices) and 2) I really thought the next
president (whoever he was) would bring it under control. It still
seemed manageable until last Fall.
I lost what little hope I had in the Republican party when they all
voted for the first round of bailouts! and I lost all respect for
McCain when he voted for the bailouts filled with Earmarks and
Pork!! Only a week before he had promised to veto those kind of
bills and let everyone know who was adding earmarks. This was still
under Bush, by the way. Since then the governments actions make me
more and more concerned and looking at the National Debt Clock and
the Obama Administrations own calculation of the debt in 10 years
(close to $20 Trillion!) makes me fear for my children's
future.
Those are my reasons for attending - take it as you will.
@|9.13.09 @ 2:41PM|#
It's a movement without a consistent, coherent philosophy. As such it is doomed to fail in the long-term. Not that the short-term consequences of this noise-making haven't had some effect on policy-making and the national debate. The left was caught flat-footed this summer and now they are on the defensive. That's always a good thing.
tankrunner1123|9.13.09 @ 2:52PM|#
I still don't buy Bob Barr's alleged conversion.
-jcr
__________
To tell you the truth I was pulling for Dr Ruarrat.
Plant Immigration Rights Suppo|9.13.09 @ 2:56PM|#
"It's a movement without a consistent, coherent
philosophy."
I disagree. It may look that way but in truth, it is a movement
with MANY consistent, coherent philosophies. They just don't all
agree with each other. There are many different kinds of people
protesting for many different reasons. There are Objectivists
there. There are Glenn Beck supporters with their "9 Values" and
"12 Principles". There are Goldwater types there and Missesians.
There are Rothbardians. They may not all agree with each other but
this does not mean they do not have consistent philosophies of
their own.
Here is a link about the 9 principles and 12 values
http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/912-project-glenn-beck-preaches-9-principles-and-12-values
24AheadDotCom|9.13.09 @ 3:08PM|#
FYI: I just added an update to my comprehensive post about
yesterday's tea party. Scroll down to the 9/13/09 UPDATE
section.
I swear, if the Dems were just a little more competent, they'd use
the second of those points to guarantee that the "parties" won't go
anywhere.
freeforall232|9.13.09 @ 3:30PM|#
@Eric Dondero - There were many libertarians there:
http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/libertarians-join-912-tea-party-march-on-washington-display-republicans-equal-big-govern
I'm a libertarian and while I agree with the principles of the "Tea
Party" movement, I attend, and speak at, my local county commission
meetings and have yet to see any of these tea party protesters
there speaking out for a restoration of Constitutional
principles.
It seems the nuts and bolts of our Representative Republic are lost
on these groups when they'd rather protest than get involved. Then
again, it may just be cynicism on my part.
|9.13.09 @ 3:44PM|#
Why can't they use some of those fancy satellite imaging like they did with the Obama inauguration?
|9.13.09 @ 3:44PM|#
I was there all day, working very close to downtown. NO WAY was there even 100k people there. 2 million people were here for inauguration, it wasn't even close. Good turnout, but 2 million is a joke.
John Calvin|9.13.09 @ 3:48PM|#
"Why can't they use some of those fancy satellite imaging like
they did with the Obama inauguration?"
Because Obama is the Messia and these people are heretics who
reject his divinity. They should be burned at the steak.
Rhywun|9.13.09 @ 4:11PM|#
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2009/09/circle_the_wago.php
"As I've said before, the picket-sign sentiments of the yahoo
teabaggers -- who had a big protest rally yesterday in Washington,
D.C. -- aren't just despicable. They also allow you to at least
comprehend (i.e., obviously without sympathizing) why the Russian,
Chinese and Cuban Communists made a point of imprisoning and wiping
out the teabaggers in their cultures after they took over in 1917,
1949 and 1959."
Just wow. Thanks for pointing out that you're obviously
not sympathizing with murderous dictators.
J Williams|9.13.09 @ 4:11PM|#
ABC never said 2 million. The organizers of the event announced
that (falsely) on stage and then the Daily Mail took it as
fact.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/protest-crowd-size-estimate-falsely-attributed-abc-news/story?id=8558055
asti|9.13.09 @ 4:37PM|#
what j williams said. there has also not been a police estimate.
several sources have reported that the police refused to give an
estimate. the 1.2 million claim seems to have materialized out of
thin air. the only estimate given by anyone is an unofficial one
from the fire department reported by abc.
fox definitely has never reported 2 million. they've been saying
"tens of thousands" like everyone else. the washington times
reports that organizers claimed 75,000 after the rally.
i believe parks & rec is working on an estimate, but i'm not
sure. it would be interesting to see aerial photos of the mall,
those are usually a pretty good way to gauge.
Rhywun|9.13.09 @ 4:58PM|#
the 9 principles and 12 values
Is that something like "The Three Represents"...?
Anyhoo, it seems to me that Principle 2 directly contradicts
Principle 4 and Value 11.
M o n k e e |9.13.09 @ 5:09PM|#
unless its to be ironic
seriously these cunts are the walking definition of
anti-libertarianism
social conservatives who think its cool to use government to
manipulate the economy to achieve their gaybo socially conservative
ideas
seriously
don't
British conservatism is all aboot the classical liberalism
these cunts are just like Sarko or Berlusconi
gay bo wankers who love government
fuck em and don't link to them unless its about some pop ho in a
bikini
seriously don't
it reflects badly on reason
|9.13.09 @ 5:13PM|#
Folks ... not only did the Washington Post cover it, it was the
lead story on the FRONT PAGE of the print edition today:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/
Yes, it's no longer prominent on the website front page, but that's
par for the course; news websites are always replacing stories.
It's hard to find on the fox news homepage too.
I really, really don't understand the persecution complex going on
here.
|9.13.09 @ 5:20PM|#
Nick pointed out the that there is a consistent philosophy to the movement: Stop the crazy ass spending. All of the secondary motivations apparently aren't strong enough or widespread enough to generate the masses we saw yesterday. I would change the Tea Party name to something like: it's for the grandchildren.
|9.13.09 @ 5:29PM|#
75,000? One football stadium? I'm calling it half a million because it's easy to say, even if it was only 200,000 or so.
|9.13.09 @ 5:49PM|#
Check out the site for an accruate estimate based upon the Park
Services Chart and March Arial Photots.
http://moderateinthemiddle.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/aerial-views-added-d-c-police-close-roads-to-buses-people-on-footestimate-1-2-millionl-abc-cant-count912-party-on-patriots/
24AheadDotCom|9.13.09 @ 6:00PM|#
Every PolicyPrescription from the TPers is like something you'd
see in this.
Let's face it: the TPers are giving the impression
(chicagoboyz.net/archives/9188.html) that they not only don't care
about their unemployed (fellow?) citizens, but they're sneering at
them.
It could be worse: they could have staged a "March Demanding that
ABC Broadcasts [TV show name] In High Definition!" through
Bangladesh.
I mean, really: we've got two wars going on, millions of Americans
are out of work, millions of foreign citizens are squatting here
contrary to our laws, and all the TP loons ultimately care about is
being able to upgrade their big screen TVs.
Just go Galt already, no one's going to miss you.
|9.13.09 @ 6:25PM|#
Shit, LW, I would have thought multi-trillion dollar deficits would bother you. You won't have to worry too much about the immigration threat when we're a third world country too.
|9.13.09 @ 6:51PM|#
"I confess to having no way of checking or even evaluating these
stats"
If only there were some kind of Silvery Nate you could turn to when
it comes to questions of statistics....
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/09/size-matters-so-do-lies.html
|9.13.09 @ 6:57PM|#
I bet we get the most accurate count of a Washington crowd ever, thanks to the internet and unemployment.
|9.13.09 @ 7:00PM|#
I fully agree. They should've waited till Jon Stewart went
back on air. Without him, I've got no idea what's going on in
domestic politics; I was unaware there was any protest planned, and
if it weren't for Hit & Run I would've never known it
happened.
Same here. I did't know anything was going on until I saw the
protestors on the Metro last night.
Did H&R choke big time on telling anyone about it until after
the fact or did I miss it? A little advanced notice would have been
nice, not that I could have gone anyway.
Re protestors on the Metro: Santa Claus looking fellow with a sign:
"The givernment isn't Santa Claus and I'm not your stinkinn'
elf."
Excellent. People were taking pictures.
radical|9.13.09 @ 7:06PM|#
something occurred to me earlier today:
what do the gays thing about all their enlightened left wing bros
using "tea bagger" as a derogatory term? seems kind of anti-homo if
you ask me
Mike M.|9.13.09 @ 8:07PM|#
Because Obama "knows" that all the protesters aren't people
that voted for him in the first place, so ignoring their demands
isn't going to cost him anything.
Obama has made it abundantly clear that he doesn't care a whit what
the American people think of his agenda; he intends to try and push
it all through as fast as he possibly can, by any means necessary,
public opinion be damned.
The primary intended audience of yesterday's event wasn't the lying
coward Barack Obama, it was the corrupt cretins on the other end of
Pennsylvania Avenue, most of whom have to face reelection in a
little over a year.
Suki|9.13.09 @ 8:29PM|#
I was there all day, working very close to downtown. NO WAY
was there even 100k people there. 2 million people were here for
inauguration, it wasn't even close. Good turnout, but 2 million is
a joke.
How could you possibly estimate the totality of the crowd if you
were in it?
Maybe look at a picture or two taken from afar, like the one on
this story.
|9.13.09 @ 8:32PM|#
I was at the tea party in DC yesterday. I am not trained in counting attendees at such events, but 60,000 was way too low and 1,000,000 was way too high. My uneducated guesstimate is 200,000 +/-. It's very hard to tell with folks both coming and going at the same time. And of course I did not spend much time trying to figure a headcount. I was enjoying the experience too much for that. I had never been to anything like that and did not know what to expect. I found it was one of the high points of my life.
Rhywun|9.13.09 @ 10:16PM|#
what do the gays thing about all their enlightened left wing bros using "tea bagger" as a derogatory term?
I'll field this one. Teabagging has nothing to do with sexual
preference. I suppose at least one male needs to be involved, but
the bagee can be any gender.
Suki|9.13.09 @ 10:57PM|#
I'll field this one. Teabagging has nothing to do with
sexual preference. I suppose at least one male needs to be
involved, but the bagee can be any gender.
This is true and I am no more a fan of teabagging than I am of the
Dutch oven.
|9.14.09 @ 6:19AM|#
I was there. My brother lives in Maryland. So me my daughter and a couple of buddies went up there. It was truly awesome.
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MNG|9.14.09 @ 7:58AM|#
Iirc the National Park Service has a method for doing these crowd estimates that's pretty sound (not perfect though of course), but it may take a while for it to come out.
|9.14.09 @ 9:43AM|#
Actually, there were six people taking part. Special effects were employed by Rethuglicans to make it appear that tens of thousands were involved. The next planned Tea Party will have 14 actual participants and will be enhanced to show a crown of 9 billion.
|9.14.09 @ 9:57AM|#
I was there, the crowd wasn't just what you see in the traffic
cam.
We joined the march around 9:30 at 900 st. I was on the left side
of the capital, near the largest tree and that area was
packed.
People were coming from all directions and they kept flowing in for
3 hours.
The media isn't biased, it's complicit in the fed govt
corruption.
Around 2 million easy, based on seeing 100,000 crowds at OSU
games.
|9.14.09 @ 10:02AM|#
"http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2009/09/circle_the_wago.php
And this is the typical reaction. It's so disturbing to me that
artists and supposed skeptics go so easily along with the "racist"
claims. I guess I'm expecting too much from people."
You're expecting too much from the crowd at Jeffrey Wells' site. He
drove off the intelligent commentators a year ago in what even he
called a "Stalinist purge" and just has drooling leftists ranters
now. At least the funny part is that he can't stand them either and
regularly reams them, throws them off, etc. But he's learned the
first rule of totalitarianism-- after you execute the independent
thinkers, you only have morons to talk to.
|9.14.09 @ 11:06AM|#
We were there and proud to be part of it, the best people, the best signs and the best ideas. Throw them all out, set term limits and get the corruption out of politics.
|9.14.09 @ 11:30AM|#
You can bet the NSA or the military was asked to have a live satellite feed taken of the DC area. Then a grid overlay could be applied to the area in question to get an accurate grid count of the people there. If I was chief of staff for a possible wanta be narcissistic socialist dictator type, thats exactly what I would do.
Neve|9.14.09 @ 11:54AM|#
I live down the street and decided to walk thru. Having been at many DC marches and the recent inauguration, clearly no where near 1 mil or even a half a million. A million protesters almost shuts down DC. If you weren't downtown, you would not have known it was going on. 50-70K looked about right, the number of people who would be going to a Skin's game at RFK is about right.
|9.14.09 @ 11:55AM|#
"MESSAGE TO LIBERTARIAN PARTY: You all blew this one. You
should've been there."
The Libertarian Party is completely dead as a political entity.
This only further proves what had become evident a while
back.
It's too bad.
|9.14.09 @ 12:00PM|#
The WAPO used to advertise: "If you don't get it, you don't get it". This was so true, the WAPO didn't report anti-Democrat news, and their readers were totally clueless.
|9.14.09 @ 12:11PM|#
The 912 March was larger than the anoiting of barac. baracs now in new york talking to wall street. look if he wanted to stop the destruction of our 401Ks all he had to do was tell maxine walters and barney frank to shut up and that were not going to force banks to make loans to our irresponsible constituents. barac needs to regulate maxine walters and barney franks mouth but he doesn't because he is one of them.
|9.14.09 @ 12:18PM|#
A mall policeman told my sister, who was there, that it was the 3rd largest gathering on the mall in American history. He said that there were over 2 million people, and that they had ways of knowing that.
|9.14.09 @ 12:24PM|#
Let those democrats minimize the impact of the rally and activism of ordinary americans. They will be surprise what hit them after 2010 election and they will be out of jobs soon.
Invisible Finger|9.14.09 @ 12:43PM|#
It's a movement without a consistent, coherent philosophy.
As such it is doomed to fail in the long-term
Are you talking about the protest on 9/12 or Obama's presidential
campaign?
|9.14.09 @ 1:15PM|#
"I just wish that I could genuinely believe that these people
would be there protesting if the guy doing all the spending had an
R next to his name."
I think quite of few "R" voters did that last fall by voting for
HopeyChangey, mistakenly believing that he would fix the mess, not
quadruple (and counting) it.
|9.14.09 @ 1:49PM|#
I was there. the article is correct and i believe there was over 1 million. I met people from all over the country that came there on their own. I could not afford it, but I did it because I wanted to be there and every single person i met said the same thing. we are not extremists - we are ordinary people who are fed up with the corruption in washington from BOTH parties. I can guarantee you that the white house knows how many people were there, no matter what they report. It was huge - U2 concert? are you kidding? I was there and no one will stop me from going again and again and again. I traveled from Iowa and I promise you for every person like me who went, there are 100 who wanted to go but couldnt. Think whatever you want, but we are only going to grow stronger
|9.14.09 @ 1:52PM|#
I was there with my family for the entire thing. Somewhere
between mid 6 figures and 1 million seems right to me. It was
simply enormous, like $1 billion used to be. ;-) I've been to the
Rose Bowl a few times which holds somewhere around 104K and this
was several orders bigger than that as far as we could tell.
For folks who wonder why no huge protests by our side against Bush
policies - listen to Rush today. Republicans never threatened our
lives and our way of life the way the Democrats (meaning the far
left in Congress who are writing all the horrendous legislation)
are doing. Republicans never said they would take operations away
from the elderly to fund healthcare for illegals and those wanting
free abortions. Additionally, conservatives carry the American flag
proudly. Show me a march or protest where the left carries the
American flag proudly. They're more likely to burn it. There were
also tons of proud vets there, old and young. We love our military.
These are all huge issues for the 912 crowd that the left and the
MSM cannot begin to deal with in any intellectually coherent
way.
Most I talked to at the march and rally disbelieve everything from
the MSM, want smaller government and lower spending, and want our
liberties and responsibilities for our lives kept intact. Everyone
I talked to DOES hate Obama, but if you mentioned McCain you heard
even more vitriol. However, this WAS a conservative/libertarian
crowd, not a liberal or Dem crowd. In that, Beck is 100% wrong and
Rush is 100% right. (Don't get me started on Beck. This was a great
thing he did but I find I can't stand him.)
The American media has to downplay the numbers because admitting
and facing the truth is not possible for them. Downplay the numbers
and paint us as dumb racists. I happen to know MANY of us there are
former lifelong lefties. I am one. Good luck with this strategy of
misrepresenting the Tea Party crowd. The MSM and the Dems do so at
their extreme peril.
We'll be back, even bigger next time.
|9.14.09 @ 2:17PM|#
Well folks I was there, I live in the DC area and have been to several events on the Mall, such as the fireworks, SOME marathons etc and I can tell you this. The crowd was well over 75,000 people, sorry that is way too low, I think the metro police are probably the closest at perhaps 1.5 million. Pennsylvania avenue was closed for three (3) hours with marchers from Freedom Plaza, that, in and of itself, is incredible. Simply take this away, a lot of very nice and polite people marched in DC to express their dissatisfaction with our government (both parties kiddies). Politicians take note, change is indeed coming.
|9.14.09 @ 2:20PM|#
There could not have been more than 100k at that event, and some of that may have been carryover from the annual Black Family Reunion event that was on the Mall.
mro|9.14.09 @ 2:35PM|#
The report is accurate. I am a professional with a master's degree in engineering. I work for a living and nobody told me to be there. It was indeed huge and the crowd was indeed "normal." It was moms, dads, professionals, etc. who are sincerely and deeply concerned about the sharp turn to the left, the soaring, astronomical debt and fantastical thinking about health care. We all agree that it needs to be fixed and that was stated several times at the rally. But the liberals do not understand basic economics and they are adding to the problem.
|9.14.09 @ 2:44PM|#
"Republicans never said they would take operations away from
the elderly to fund healthcare for illegals and those wanting free
abortions."
Dingdingdingdingdingding! There it is!
I was there Saturday. If this had anything even remotely tangential
to do with abortion, then I'm Bear Bryant.
Were 2006 and 2008 not enough for you social-conservative
types?
|9.14.09 @ 2:47PM|#
I was there. Drove from NC. I worked in D.C. 5years ago and have ever seen the metro so jam packed even on a busy weekday. I know there were at a minimum 1 million people there. I didn't see any news media at all. It was great! I hope this govt. keeps minimizing us, we will only get larger. You can find a time lapse video on youtube from the begining. This was real grassroots, I didn't get payed either!
|9.14.09 @ 2:50PM|#
What does being an engineer have to do with it? What does
working for a living have to do with it?
"Normal"?
What report?
|9.14.09 @ 3:41PM|#
I was at Obama's inauguration in January (about 1.8 million people, I think the number was pegged at). I was also at the protest. I think 60,000 is low, and 2 million is ridiculously high. I was estimating between 125,000 and 175,000. All around the Capitol and down Pennsylvania Avenue was crammed with people, and then there were others spilling out onto the Mall. Definitely a six-figure turnout, in my informed opinion.
|9.14.09 @ 3:50PM|#
Talk about parrots! Your Foxinoia and the power you have
bestowed upon Glenn Beck are incredible. Did you ever stop to think
that Americans are generally pissed off about runaway government
and that they do not accept what the Democrat Party is offering up?
I was shocked not to hear more of the 'racist' staple being used as
well.
While I am at it. If Obama cant stand up to Glenn Beck how do we
expect him to protect American Interests with he deals with Putin
or Ahmedinejad?
|9.14.09 @ 4:29PM|#
"Were 2006 and 2008 not enough for you social-conservative
types"
Were 2006 and 2008 not enough for you fiscal-conservative
types?
Are you willing to swallow more until you finally beat the bogeyman
who will help you into submission? The enemy of my enemy is my
friend.
|9.14.09 @ 4:32PM|#
"and some of that may have been carryover from the annual Black
Family Reunion event that was on the Mall"
Which no doubt led to the accusations that the crowd was all white.
Do you guys even think about what you write before you write
it?
|9.14.09 @ 5:18PM|#
I work above what was the protester's route on Pennsylvania Ave.
Rough but realistic guestimate:
Anywhere from 100K to 250K showed up. Huge variance in numbers, I
know, but defintely more than the highest "official" number I saw
of 75K.
|9.14.09 @ 5:24PM|#
I was there. I also attended the Liberty Summit on Thursday at
the DC Armory.
The best succinct description of the Tea Party movement was made by
one of the people involved with the first Tea Parties of February
27th. There are 3 issues:
1. Constitutionally limited government
2. Fiscal responsibility
3. Free markets
Dick Armey had the funniest line of the day, IMHO. There are only 3
groups of people who (are allowed to) spend other peoples' money:
children, thieves and politicians.
|9.14.09 @ 5:39PM|#
JQT
I'm not trying to denigrate the idea of strategic alliance. I just
never cease to be amazed at the way the True Believers somehow
manage to work "abortion" into everything.
Speaking only for myself, I have a difficult time trusting people
who claim that their political activism is a mission from God.
emjem1963|9.14.09 @ 6:00PM|#
You guys must live in dreamland. I was there & photographed
the event. I'd be surprised if there were more than 30,000.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emjem1963
I've been to many rallies on the Mall. This one was smaller than
ones the Park Service estimated at 50,000. Let's see what the
Metrorail ridership numbers say.
http://www.wmata.com/rail/disruption_reports/archived_service_reports.cfm
Once they come out for the 12th in a few days, we should see
numbers equaling those of the Jan 20 inaugural if you guys are
right.
Mike F.|9.14.09 @ 6:07PM|#
Why do people identify with political parties? Just to argue on things they don't understand? Can't I pick and choose the things I want to believe? I believe that the number of marchers was REALLY BIG and the administration is doing themselves no favors by dismissing concerns... again. It's Nixonian in it's blindness.
|9.14.09 @ 6:47PM|#
"Some Guy" dismisses the Tea Party demonstrators as "Fox News parrots." Maybe so, but under our Constitution, each Fox News parrot has the same right to vote as every insightful and sensitive progressive who is beholden to none but hers/his own conscience. Right now, those Fox News parrots seem a lot more incented to vote than those who so casually dismiss them. The Administration and Congress should not be quite so quick as "Some Guy" to dismiss these people if they want to keep their jobs.
|9.14.09 @ 8:00PM|#
Trouble, I'm actually not a social conservative, I'm a Mark
Levin conservative. (Figure that out, if you're able.) However, a
fair amount of signs mentioned abortion (as relating to ObamaCare)
- and in case you haven't noticed, President Stupidly Himself is
now denying that the bill will cover abortions. Wonder why he has
to do that?
You don't want your taxes paying for our soldiers killing the enemy
most likely - well I do. People are welcome to abortions (I was a
card-carrying member of CARAL for years) but I'm against taxes
paying for any. People differ. Hey, you can dis the SoCons but they
were coexisting peaceably (isn't COEXIST one of your precious
slogans?) with the FisCons just fine on Saturday. It was a
Lovefest. But if you lump all Tea Partiers into 1 category, you'll
miss the tsunami about to hit you. Too many of us are former lefty
Dems who remember all the lies and tricks. Unlike the Left, who
have never been righties, we understand the opposition -
intimately.
What's really scaring the Left is they elected an unqualified,
unaccomplished, immature ideologue who is in way over his head, and
they're left holding a big bag of poo, and more and more people are
seeing and understanding this every day. And now conservatives are
rising up and using the Left's tactics against them. Lefties are
squealing like stuck pigs. Yep, payback sure is a bitch.
Juan|9.14.09 @ 11:50PM|#
I was there. Most of the people I spoke to want a completely new
administration and Congress: They are not for either party, knowing
both parties have ignored the "budget," the Constitution and the
Bill of Rights. "Flip the Hill."
How wonderful to see all the young people! They sometimes admitted
to having voted for Obama-change but not this kind of change - they
know the government does not manage well, and certainly wanted to
voice their opinions on excessive spending.
I walked blocks and blocks, just to get in line. At 4 PM, a
policeman unoffically said 2.1 million. He said more than the
inaugural. There were so many people who had to stand on the side
streets. Traffic was backed up. Aerial photographs can give us the
better figure: Univ. of Ill said 1.7 million.
If there were independent candidates in 2010 - they would
win.
"Absolute Spin Corrupts!"
An astroturf from SC.
|9.15.09 @ 12:02AM|#
If everyone commenting here saying they were there the crowd must have been at least 2 Brazilian.
|9.15.09 @ 2:24AM|#
I support the 9/12 Tea Party Patriots. To be fair to history, we
have to stand for the truth. There is nothing to be ashamed of with
the awesome turnout on 9/12/09. However, the actual truth in
pictures below, shows that far more people were at President
Obama's inauguration back in January, then were at the 9/12 Tea
Party march. The pictures below show more dense crowds at Obama's
inauguration, without cardboard signs etc which cause people to
spread out more. Also, the crowds at the 9/12 event did not go past
3rd St, which were reserved for an annual "Black Family Reunion"
that had set up the large white tents that you see in the Tea party
photos:
9/12 photos from Capitol steps:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2633/3914299074_28fdec29a2_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3507/3914298834_f23314cb42_b.jpg
Obama inauguration photo from Capitol steps:
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/44_01_21/4405_17676915.jpg
more photos of Obama inauguration showing massive density:
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/44_01_21/4402_17676747.jpg
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/44_01_21/4403_17681689.jpg
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/44_01_21/4420_17682573.jpg
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/44_01_21/4417_17672257.jpg
|9.15.09 @ 5:27AM|#
This discontent has been growing all year...and it's going to
get worse. As more people will be adding their voices of discontent
when the inevitable inflation that results from the deficit kicks
in.
The crowd was huge, probably close to a million when I compare the
aerial view to views of other rallies worldwide with similar
attendance.
|9.15.09 @ 5:30AM|#
That crowd doesn't add in all the people who couldn't make it and attended local rallies in solidarity. Like me. There were close to a thousand people just at the rally I attended in SoCal. And they were all over the country.
|9.15.09 @ 4:12PM|#
Most of the ridiculous reasonings I've read as to whether there
were 2 million or 2 doesn't matter- if you were not there. If you
were sitting in front of a t.v or belly up to a bar, you're
interest or knowledge of what freedom truly is is slightly skewed.
America is about coming together for the common good of the
country, freedom to persue your happiness free from
persecution.Tell me this " are you happy when a police officer
pulls you over? " Are you happy when you get a letter from the IRS?
"How bout when you look at your pay check and 1/3 of it is gone (
providing you work). How about when someone you work with doesn't
even speak English? How bout when your VOTING Ballot is in 10
different languages? These are the things we should be concerned
about...........and I'll keep marching till it's right. There's
only ONE Constitution!
Don't be a sheep!!! Think for yourself
|9.15.09 @ 5:01PM|#
"Yeah, in almost 40 years, I don't think I've ever seen the
so-called "mainstream media" in the tank for anyone the way they
are for Obama."
"I guess you've been living under a rock."
>>>Sorry, I don't agree. If you remember, everyone from
Bill Clinton, to Hillary, John Kerry, Al Gore, etc...etc... All
believed there were WMDs in Iraq.
Perhaps the media was in the tank for the Democrats back then
too... just believing whatever Bill, Hillary and John said. Since
BOTH SIDES agreed, they just reported. If Bill, Hillary and Kerry
said there were no WMDs, the media would have surely investigated
thier *sses off.
Hmmmm?
|9.16.09 @ 1:20AM|#
There was no problem of any kind obtaining permits. That was
done back in May and Park Service went through the process with
organizers cooperatively. Permits were not for any specific number.
There were 2 and they specified areas.
The day before the march organizers were informed Freedom Plaza
would not be available - although it was included in the original
permit - due to a yearly picnic event which always comes on that
Saturday of the month. Organizers agreed to cede the use of the
spot they had a permit for provided alternate plans could be
implemented. It meant moving some of the pre-event speakers into
the regular roster, but it worked. Both groups - and the picnic
group was a very small group - used the area cooperatively.
Partially due to this change the police asked our group to start
the march early as the build-up of people (originally intended to
be focused in Freedom Plaza) was impeding flow into the area and
blocking more of the side streets than they felt advisable. It was
fine. Police & others did a good job.
|9.17.09 @ 1:01AM|#
Actually, via a series of map overlays, we determined that there were 1,239,367 people present. Give or take a couple.
W. E. Messamore|9.17.09 @ 6:06PM|#
Nick, here are photos of the event cross-referenced with the
National Park Service's schematic for estimating turnout at Obama's
inauguration:
http://www.humblelibertarian.com/2009/09/how-many-people-were-in-attendance-at.html
It was definitely over a million.
emjem|9.20.09 @ 3:13PM|#
OK, the Metrorail numbers are out. They indicate an increase of
about 40,000 riders on 9-12. And there was another, much larger
event on the Mall on 9-12, the Black Family Reunion. I took video
of the day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcQ8kmxrujs
And if you're comparing 9-12 to 1-20, I was at both events. Here
are photos my wife took from the same spot on each day:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emjem1963/3937478887/
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