IMPRESSIVE TURNOUT IN DC FOR PROTEST
Both the Times and AP are equating the crowds turning out in DC to protest Obama’s policies with crowds turning out to see the president later today at a town hall meeting. Both are saying “thousands” have turned out.
Here’s AP’s and the Times notion of “thousands:”
According to CNN, the event got underway an hour and a half early because so many people showed up at the bottom of Pennsylvania avenue, there was simply no more room for new arrivals.
Pictures supplied by Fox and CNN appeared to me to show a crowd stretching all the way from the Capitol steps, back many, many blocks, stretching off into the distance.
By any stretch of the imagination, such a crowd should have been identified in “the hundreds of thousands.” And yet. here’s the Times report by Jeff Zeleny:
As President Obama flew to Minnesota on Saturday to rally support for his health care plan, thousands of protestors from around the country arrived here to demonstrate against the White House and Congress for what they say is an ever-expanding intrusion of government.
On a cloudy and cool September morning, scores of people waved flags and carried signs as they arrived in Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington for a march to the capital. The event was being billed as the culmination of summer protests at town meetings, where opposition to the president’s health care plan boiled over.
“Scores of people…?” Are you kidding me?
The DC Park Police stopped trying to estimate crowds years ago. But given the estimate for Obama’s inauguration by some (”more than a million people”), I would say the number of people out today comes close to matching the number on January 20.
More pics will be available later.
Most of this post originally appears at The American Thinker.
UPDATE
Stacy McCain just called and told me that Barbara Espinosa , a volunteer with Freedomworks, reports that the organization’s “metered” count of protestors is “more than 450,000.”
I think they missed a few hundred thousand but it won’t matter. The official media line will be “thousands” unless someone in an official capacity - police or otherwise - says differently.
My estimate was probably a little overenthusiastic, definitely not matching Obama’s inauguration crowds. But by any measure, an impressive turnout.
UPDATE II
Michelle Malkin reports that Capitol Police are estimating crowd at 1.2 million. ABC saying 2 million.
Can’t say where Malkin got the “police” estimate. And the ABC website has only the AP story where they have now upped their estimate to “tens of thousands.”
UPDATE III
Daily Mail hed - “Up to Two Million march to Capitol to protest Obama’s spending…”
Sorry, but that is certainly an exaggeration. This time lapse aerial sequence taken from where the march kicked off shows, in my opinion, less than a million marchers. A long time ago, a park policeman told me that 7 blocks of people shoulder to shoulder equals a half million marchers. Someone might want to correct me but it looked to me that there might have been 9 or 10 blocks of a massed crowd. Maybe less than that.
Of course, there were people already at the Capitol who didn’t participate in the march. And there were many late arrivals. It would be more accurate to place the total at between 750,000 and a million.
Impressive by any yardstick.
UPDATE IV
Well, there are estimates…and then there are, you know, estimates:
Carrying signs depicting President Obama as Adolf Hitler and the Joker, and chanting slogans such as “‘No big government” and “Obamacare makes me sick,” approximately 60,000 to 70,000 people flooded Pennsylvania Ave, according to the Washington DC Fire Department.
M’kay. That’s fascinating. To each his own, I guess.
They appear to be satisfied underestimating the number by a factor of 10. If there were on 60,000 marchers, I will run naked down Pennsylvania Avenue singing the Internationale while kissing an Obama poster.
Rick,
Thanks for trying to keep the Democrat party-MSM complex honest - but you do realize that you may have a better chance straightening out a dog’s tail, right :=)
There was a time when journalism was my first love. I shudder at the open and crass bias of the liberal media and remind myself why there are very few honest journalists.
We are all biased in our own ways, left and right. And it surely gets in the way of how we view things - journalists are supposedly “trained/advised” NOT to be like that, but we are kidding ourselves if we expect them to be any better.
With respect to the DC protests,I went over to the comments section at Greg Sargent’s PlumLine blog (he was with the Washington Post and TPM before) after seeing a link that showed that the DNC was sending out memos saying that they expected 2 million people !
The comments were almost uniformly vitriolic and condemned the grassroots protestors . Here is one actual comment from that thread
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/pelosi-dems-bracing-for-huge-turnout-at-glenn-becktea-party-gathering/
# roxsteady | September 11th, 2009 at 03:40 pm
Converse, I just said that to my sister. I don’t want to see anyone killed but, it would serve them right if someone got shot in the hand or their leg. The next tea party would likely draw even less out of fear!
The original comment was from “Converse” wishing that people would bring guns to the event.. and get this.. “accidentally” shoot themselves !
Converse’s original comments have been removed - I sent a scathing reply back to “Converse” that he should be ashamed to call himself a human being let alone an American.
My response probably prompted them to do so - and it was filtered - but they didnt do a good job of scrubbing the comments from “roxsteady” who echoes the sentiment.
And all these comments were made on the 8th anniversary of 9/11 - comments made by one American wishing harm and ill will to other Americans.
Can you guys atleast officially change the name of this country to the Divided States of America ? At least it would be honest if somewhat ugly.
Comment by Nagarajan Sivakumar — 9/12/2009 @ 12:36 pm
Got to love those annoying tea party demonstrators. Defying the will of Obama and his acolytes. Three cheer from Canada. I wonder if Obama pushed the number of attendees up with his insufferable media blitz this week? Cheers.
Comment by fern st albert — 9/12/2009 @ 12:40 pm
i don’t know where “official” estimates will come from.
the dc parks administration stopped giving out such figures years ago. this was in fact by congressional order, as it was decided that the actual number of people appearing at the million man march shouldn’t be allowed to mar that event’s meaning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Man_March#Crowd_size_controversy
not saying anything about the actual crowd size today or who’s estimate is more correct.
from just that one aerial shot there this is clearly the largest protest demonstration of right-of-center activists ever, and dwarfs pretty much any answer rally ever held in the capital.
Comment by jummy — 9/12/2009 @ 12:44 pm
While the DC march is vilified and/or marginalized by the MSM; Obama’s snake oil show to an astroturfed audience in Minneapolis will be touted as proof of massive support for Obamacare.
It no longer matters that the MSM is playing only to the left’s echo chamber, thanks to Fox, talk radio and teh intertubes we no longer need them.
Comment by BJM — 9/12/2009 @ 12:46 pm
Wonder how many millions turned out when you include the rallies in each state? I say let them continue to under report the actual numbers of Americans rising in opposition…. lulls them into a false sense of security.
Comment by Sue — 9/12/2009 @ 1:25 pm
Yeah, um - Malkin lied. It’s why she didn’t provide any link - and it’s not on the ABC website. There was never any ABC report or police report “estimate” of crowds even coming CLOSE to a “million”, let alone “2 million” - she just directly lied. Are we going to call her out on it, or what?
Comment by Mark — 9/12/2009 @ 1:39 pm
The Left (and to some extent parts of the Right) have been in denial about the wide appeal and political efficacy of the Tea Party movement. It’s as if the Left thinks it has a monopoly on grassroots protests.
Comment by Doug King — 9/12/2009 @ 1:40 pm
Um, no, Doug King.
The Right just has a monopoly on filling morons with debunked lies, getting corporations to pay $10,000 a POP to gather people together for “protests” that are CORPORATE-SPONSORED by Lyndon LaRouche, Dick Armey, the criminal organization, FreedomWorks, all who receive MILLIONS from the health insurance industry every year. You people are being PLAYED by the health insurance industry so they can continue to make billions off of you - and you don’t even realize it. You’re not defending “We the People” - you’re defending “Them the corrupt Corporations”. Good job! They’ve managed to get you to protest against YOUR OWN INTERESTS. lol
Comment by Mark — 9/12/2009 @ 1:46 pm
And before someone accuses me of being a “liberal” - I’m an independent.
I’m just apparently the only independent here who actually has the balls to call out the Right as well as the Left.
Comment by Mark — 9/12/2009 @ 1:48 pm
[...] THEY’RE HERE!!! … WOW [...]
Pingback by Tea party Shock and Awe … Washington, DC Tea Party … WOW!!! We the People March on Washington … | Scared Monkeys — 9/12/2009 @ 1:55 pm
Rick,
Good thing nobody listened to your earlier put-downs of the Tea-Party Movement.
Comment by Ad rem — 9/12/2009 @ 1:58 pm
Here’s what impresses me. I’m watching the live Fox news video about 15 minutes after the event ended. I watched the crowd thin out to the point where I could see the lawn.
There isn’t a speck of trash on the ground. Not a single piece of paper, food wrapper, anything. The National Mall is a perfect field of 100% green grass.
Contrast this to the mess left by the Obama supporters after the inauguration, when Obama’s supporters left, according to the Washington Post, at least 130 TONS of litter on the ground.
Go look up “inauguration trash pictures” in Google pictures to see the difference between liberals and conservatives.
Comment by jms — 9/12/2009 @ 2:22 pm
Mark:
Help me out. Where do I sign up for my $10,000 to protest against … (it doesn’t matter)?
Comment by Doug King — 9/12/2009 @ 2:29 pm
The mainstream media can say what they blinking well please about the numbers… OUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS know very well that there futures are in jeopardy. They should be applying for their new lobbyist jobs now.
By the way… Joe Wilson, I don’t care what Nancy “Antoinette” Pelosi says, DON’t APOLOGIZE.
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/12/2009 @ 2:31 pm
“Wonder how many millions turned out when you include the rallies in each state?”
On April 15th, by that calculation, there were 750,000 at those rallies nationwide. Today there was one main rally.
Comment by Travis Monitor — 9/12/2009 @ 2:36 pm
, getting corporations to pay $10,000 a POP to gather people together for “protests” that are CORPORATE-SPONSORED by Lyndon LaRouche, Dick Armey, the criminal organization, FreedomWorks, all who receive MILLIONS from the health insurance industry every year.
Mark,
Lyndon LaRouche is a lunatic from the far leftist fringe - and if you didnt know that and clubbed him with Dick Armey, i dont know what to tell you.
If you say FreedomWorks is a criminal organization, IT MUST Be one !
Oh, you independent Mark, some where your country’s founding fathers are smiling at your great intellect and “independence”.
Comment by Nagarajan Sivakumar — 9/12/2009 @ 2:37 pm
I found it interesting that Yahoo’s article identified it as a “mostly white crowd” as if discounting the people who attended because they are white. I saw a Church’s chicken ad during the Florida game with mostly “black people” in it. Does that mean Church’s chicken is a racist organization?
Comment by barryocarter — 9/12/2009 @ 2:38 pm
Major organization in NH here who unlike the terrorists from the left, has never had one email, money, sign, tshirt, bus ride or free lunch from FreedomWorks, insurance companies, the GOP or anyone else.
We are 100% grassroots, we don’t raise money and have no funding.
WE just SHOW UP because we are interested in FREEDOM.
Comment by NH — 9/12/2009 @ 2:39 pm
“I’m just apparently the only independent here who actually has the balls to call out the Right as well as the Left.”
Yawn. NO guts required to spew the sock-puppetry you can get on MSNBC nightly, or any leftie blog or HuffPo. Heck, the DNC will send you mails with Obama’s pic for your ‘useful service’.
As for “CORPORATE-SPONSORED by Lyndon LaRouche …”, ROFLMAO, that guy is a Democrat-socialist-anti-NWO-conspiracy-kook, about as far from corporate as you can get.
Comment by Travis Monitor — 9/12/2009 @ 2:40 pm
“I found it interesting that Yahoo’s article identified it as a “mostly white crowd””
They were speaking about Obama’s speech up in Minnesota, right? … no? hmmm.
Comment by Travis Monitor — 9/12/2009 @ 2:42 pm
I love it when the left, and/or also supposed independents claim that they”call people out”. you need to be on comedy central mark, what about calling out all the lefts lies and the current acorn fiasco-far more damaging that this march for all are freedoms
in reference to those who talked about wishing harm on anyone, be careful, reaping what you sow will be your fate.
wm
Comment by william mony — 9/12/2009 @ 2:51 pm
NH said: “We are 100% grassroots, we don’t raise money and have no funding. WE just SHOW UP because we are interested in FREEDOM.”
Some on the Left fallaciously assume nobody does anything unless it’s directly tied to economic self interest. I think they have a hard time fathoming conservatives can be poor or even value Freedom above money.
Comment by Doug King — 9/12/2009 @ 2:53 pm
“Today there was one main rally.”
There were also rallies nationwide today in every State, for those who couldn’t make it to DC.
I just returned from our rally in Phoenix…thousands showed up.
Sue is correct…I also wonder what today’s national turnout numbers will be.
Comment by VC — 9/12/2009 @ 2:57 pm
When this demonstration gets ignored and belittled, what do you think the conservative movement will do next? I’d say more demonstrations, and then even more.
If Congress uses the Democratic majority to pass Obama’s flawed Healthcare bill despite the protests and poll numbers against it, the demonstrations will become even larger and more “animated”. Such a bill, if passed, would seal the deal for conservatives in 2010 and 2012.
Comment by mannning — 9/12/2009 @ 2:57 pm
Mark, keep chompin’ on sand buddy… did all them big bad corporations do somethin’ wicked to you? Let’s see… who’s greedier… a room full of shareholders or a room full of incompetent Senators and Representatives that want to wreck everything for both those greedy corps and YOU!
You got a problem with the Corps (and I agree there are problems) then find their boards of directors. Got a problem with DC, then vote the kings and queens of greed out on their hairy behinds… except Joe Wilson, cause he’s my new hero! (and I am not his constituent)
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/12/2009 @ 3:00 pm
Um.. One question.
What exactly is being protested?
Comment by JerryS — 9/12/2009 @ 3:02 pm
Jerr… SPENDING US INTO OBLIVION… CAN U ADD???
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/12/2009 @ 3:04 pm
Good to see people are starting to voice their wright to free speech enjoy it may not have it much longer!!!!
Comment by Reed — 9/12/2009 @ 3:05 pm
Amazing!! Protesters showed up in DC to Protest Obama’s Health Care Scam and He Jets off to Minnissota, claiming to talk to them on the Health Care Plan. What he is Really doing is RUNNING Away from this Massive Display of The Public’s Displeasure of Obama, and his Heath Care Agenda. If it’s such a Great Plan Prez, Then Why won’t the Congressmen and Women be made to use the Same Health Care??? No Matter if Clinton told ya to NOT Pay Attention to Public Opinion, Well ya better Listen to this Public Opinion in DC this weekend.
Comment by Rod — 9/12/2009 @ 3:06 pm
Did you all hear that WH Press Secretary Gibbs claimed not to have known there was a rally in DC today?
He shrugged his shoulders and said he wasn’t familiar with this group.
HAHAHAHA….LIAR!!!!
Comment by VC — 9/12/2009 @ 3:11 pm
Elizabeth -
Um…
Fact 1: Most of the current deficit is directly related to the policies of George. W. Bush. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_08/019651.php
Fact 2: On every major measurement, the Census Bureau report shows that the country lost ground during Bush’s two terms. While Bush was in office, the median household income declined, poverty increased, childhood poverty increased even more, and the number of Americans without health insurance spiked. By contrast, the country’s condition improved on each of those measures during Bill Clinton’s two terms, often substantially.
The Census’ final report card on Bush’s record presents an intriguing backdrop to today’s economic debate. Bush built his economic strategy around tax cuts, passing large reductions both in 2001 and 2003. Congressional Republicans are insisting that a similar agenda focused on tax cuts offers better prospects of reviving the economy than President Obama’s combination of some tax cuts with heavy government spending. But the bleak economic results from Bush’s two terms, tarnish, to put it mildly, the idea that tax cuts represent an economic silver bullet. http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/09/closing_the_book_on_the_bush_legacy.php
So.. really… What are you protesting?
You obviously didn’t get the memo. The Obamabots have now dropped the notion that they are shocked…shocked I tell you, that anyone would protest anything about Obama and pretend they don’t know what the protests are all about. Sorry, you missed the new talking points. The new meme is that we are all angry white racists who don’t want things to change.
Please use current leftist talking points. Using old, stale ones are indicative of insufficient committment to the cause. So use your crayon and copy the new memes word for word. They’re all the rage, you know.
ed.
Comment by JerryS — 9/12/2009 @ 3:11 pm
I hate to burst your bubble but I’m a DC resident and was down in the area around 2pm..the estimates have been pretty accurate. Obama’s inaugural was a pain in the you know what..DC Metro came to a stand still.
Comment by dg — 9/12/2009 @ 3:16 pm
Marks not an independent! He’s one of those basement dwarfs being paid by Rham and Axelrod to troll these sites!
Comment by Bill — 9/12/2009 @ 3:22 pm
Bill, actually, that’s GREAT!
Mark could you put in a good word for Joe Wilson… tell em’ we want him as our TRUTH CZAR!!
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/12/2009 @ 3:27 pm
Why did the people not stage as large a protest when our young people were dying overseas and millions spent to help rebuild another country? This President is being attacked because he is black and not because of his views. It is obvious whatever he proposes will never be accepted by RACIST america
Please take your race card somewhere they will accept. We do not accept fake charges of racism on this site. This is a spin free zone and if you insist on smearing people without evidence of any kind or justification, you will be banned.
ed.
Comment by Cj thomas — 9/12/2009 @ 3:30 pm
And isn’t it amazing that it did not turn into a riot as most protest by the left do! Remember Seattle with I think it was the G8 summit. Also during the election I remember a bunch of leftist being thrown in jail during on of the conventions.
Don’t think that if you keep pushing that these people can’t get violent also. You leftist have been hoping for a revolution for years, be careful what you hope for. It is a scary time in this country, gun and ammo sales are through the roof. I have a good idea who is buying it and it’s not the pathetic left. I only hope that we get thru this without any of it being used.
Comment by Bill — 9/12/2009 @ 3:30 pm
As one that was there, we were all Americans today, politics didn’t enter into what we did. We believe our constitution is not being looked at anymore. We think the common people, are left by the wayside. The people in Washington live in a bubble and don’t listen to us anymore.
Comment by jane wharton — 9/12/2009 @ 3:46 pm
our jobs have been slowly taken out of this country for the last 25 years ever since they approved the trade agreement . so now we are no longer working and no one seems to know why ,seems like everyone went along with the trade agreement no one complained ,everyone was happy ,so you know eventually when all the jobs are gone we will no longer have health insurance ,or anything else to live . these jobs that are gone ,are gone for good why would they bring them back and pay us 10.00 an hour or more and cover our health insurance ,when they can pay someone else 25 cents an hour and not worry about health insurance . i am trying very hard to understand why this is all the fault of new president . please explain it to me ????
Comment by THERESA M — 9/12/2009 @ 3:49 pm
i agree with cj thomas it is very racist attitude! if obama was white you wouldn’t hear half the complaints . it is a real shame america is so racist because half of these people are brain washed,it’s called follow the leader and i do believe they are very lost and following the wrong leader and they have no common sense or education to think for themselves ! poor excuse for human beings!!
Comment by THERESA M — 9/12/2009 @ 4:05 pm
Facts presented… and….
Crickets…
Silence…
‘Nuff said.
Thanks for playing.
Comment by JerryS — 9/12/2009 @ 4:14 pm
Jerr,
Um…
Don’t think I said that Bush wasn’t responsible. But you cannot deny that BO is ALSO responsible.
1. We no longer can spend money on programs we cannot afford, no matter what your political position is on, say, healthcare.
2. Where we are NOW is the issue… doesn’t matter HOW we got here. So, again, I tell you the protest is about spending our way to a third world country.
3. As a healthcare professional, the notion that we can spend 900 bil to cover everyone, that MCARE has 500 bil of waste, and that we haven’t even discussed the boomers hitting the shelf is on its face ridiculous! BO CANNOT put this together in any way that makes sense. It is a fraudulent discussion to profess that all the noncovereds plus those moving onto the MCARE rolls and off the payrolls can occur without adding to debt that CANNOT be paid off by working, underscore working, Americans.
No, I am not defending Bush… but neither am I going to rollover for BO. We are engaging in generational theft ANY WAY YOU WANT TO ADD IT UP… and if you were intellectually honest, you could acknowledge the same.
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/12/2009 @ 4:23 pm
Vodkapundit at pajamasmedia.com has a photo of a sign from today’s protest.
The sign reads:
It doesn’t matter
what this sign says.
You will call it racism anyway!
Comment by Doug King — 9/12/2009 @ 4:28 pm
Elizabeth -
Actually, no. The protest was certainly not about spending, because if it was, you’d have been protesting for the last 8 years. That you chose only now to protest proves that. Steve Benen at Washington Monthly says it best:
“We learned today that right-wing activists don’t like government spending (except when Bush and Republican lawmakers spent freely), don’t like the size of government (except when Bush and Republican lawmakers increased the size of government), don’t like deficits and debt (except when Bush and Republican lawmakers added trillions to the nation’s tab), and don’t like czars (except when Bush used dozens of them to implement his agenda).
They don’t like health-care reform, though it’s not clear why. They don’t like gun control, though it’s not clear why they think anyone’s coming for their firearms. They also don’t like taxes, immigration, abortion, Muslims, the U.N., and the idea of “socialism,” though their understanding of the word is tenuous at best.
In other words, the point of today’s rally was to let the country know there are a lot of right-wing activists with right-wing beliefs. We knew that before today, but I guess they wanted to remind us.”
It certainly wasn’t about spending, or else the signs wouldn’t have read:
1. Nancy Pelosi: You can keep the Facism. I’ll keep the Freedom.
2. “Whoa Boys, I’ll take it from here” (a picture of Obama waving goodbye to several Muslim Terrorists with airplanes overhead.)
3. Impeach the Muslim Marxist
4. Oust the Marxist Usurper… Honduras Did It.
5. 1600 Marxist Way
6. James Clyburn - Racist (over a photo of James Clyburn. A Civil Rights leader from the 1960’s.
Seriously. It certainly WAS NOT about spending.
Comment by JerryS — 9/12/2009 @ 4:38 pm
My new hobby is listening to news outlets interview the protesters. Oh, and also reading their signs. It’s like being thrown into the intellectual pit of despair.
Comment by Chuck Tucson — 9/12/2009 @ 4:55 pm
You can make up any numbers you want to…it’s all just guesswork in the end..
Does having an “official” number really make any difference?…Or is it just bragging rights after the fact that’s important..
188 million registered voters in this country according to census reports…pick a number over 1% of that and you win the booby prize!
Like most protests of this size, there is no cohesive political philosophy or agenda evident..This particular one comes off as anti-liberalism…not much of a platform..
Elisabeth says:
“As a healthcare professional, the notion that we can spend 900 bil to cover everyone, that MCARE has 500 bil of waste, and that we haven’t even discussed the boomers hitting the shelf is on its face ridiculous! BO CANNOT put this together in any way that makes sense. It is a fraudulent discussion to profess that all the noncovereds plus those moving onto the MCARE rolls and off the payrolls can occur without adding to debt that CANNOT be paid off by working, underscore working, Americans.”
Elisabeth,
You should check into waste and fraud at the Pentagon…it dwarfs Medicare, running into the trillions of dollars..
Here’s a short video of Rumsfeld admitting that he doesn’t know where 2.3 Trillion dollars went the day before 9/11…it’s a good place to start..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kpWqdPMjmo&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Etttthink%2Ecom%2Fon%2Dsept%2D10th%2D2001%2Ddonald%2Drumsfeld%2Dadmitted%2Dthat%2Dthe%2Dpentagon%2Dcouldnt%2Daccount%2Dfor%2D2%2D3%2Dtrillion%2Ddollars%2Dth&feature=player_embedded#t=173
25% of the Pentagon budget cannot be accounted for at all…If you want to complain about fraud and waste, why go for the small fry Medicare??
You should be yelling for reform of the Pentagon…the savings there alone could finance universal healthcare and take a chunk out of the debt..
Comment by Moltenorb — 9/12/2009 @ 5:35 pm
Where were all you concerned Republican for the past 8 years, while Bush and his practiced deficit spending, two wars, and tax relief to the most wealthy. You were silent then and content to be a good Republican.
Now, after Bush threw us into a recession,forcing us to bail out wall street and banker, settle the war and correct health care, all in 8 months, you now scream foul.. Did you just finally wake from your vacume. I guess just for the sake of winning, the Republican would be happy, along with the insurance industry, they WIN… we tax payers lose…but they still have their health insurance and we don’t. Unless your wealthy, no one can pay for health insurance out of their own pockets…. That’s sad….
Comment by Mike Sawyer — 9/12/2009 @ 6:04 pm
Jerr,
How about “it’s the escalation stupid” (not u… just in general).
1. Iraq war spending… $800 billion over approx. 8 years
2. Bush’s bank bailout… $700 bil 1 year
3. Obama “stimulus”… $787 bil, including how many bils to ACORN… please don’t talk to me about fraud
4.Obama’s signing of the waste laden omnibus $410 bil
5.Obama’s planned spending for healthcare $900 bil (10 years… we’ll see)
If the gov’t wastes billions… whether it is defense or healthcare… why on earth DO YOU TRUST THEM WITH YOUR MONEY!!! Or for that matter with your healthcare? They are INCOMPETENT. Maybe not individually, but certainly collectively.
Calculate the impact of all this to our dollar, to our debt and the interest which we will owe on it, to the potential inflationary impact, to the little people who WILL pay the taxes for it, to the little people who won’t get jobs because of it… immeasurable.
I NEVER supported the kind of spending we did under repubs and I put my money where my mouth was… BUT it has multiplied so significantly in such a compressed period of time over the past year. I cut off my financial support of the repubs over their spending WELL BEFORE this past election, Jerr, will you do the same for your beloved porkers?
By the way, I dont have enough time to address vitriol… but really, that is the great big pot calling the kettle black!
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/12/2009 @ 6:30 pm
Dearest Moltenorb,
YOU make my argument beautifully… the government is so collectively incompetent that they should NOT be entrusted with our money… I don’t care whether it is defense, healthcare, education, the post office…
I’ve operated for years in an industry which has grown more expensive BECAUSE of Medicare. Prior to Medicare physicians were not made wealthy because of their profession. BIG corporations like GE were not making and selling million dollar pieces of equipment to every hospital, ambulatory center, practice on every corner… along comes MCARE and voilla. IF you understand the role of MCARE in getting us where we are today, then you could perhaps contribute rationally to the solution rather than relinquish it to the government.
No, the BIGGEST MADOFF in history is the GOVERNMENT.
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/12/2009 @ 6:47 pm
I do love singing crickets!
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/12/2009 @ 7:21 pm
What is the source for the picture? Was it taken today?
Thanks
Not from the antiwar protest of 2003:
http://www.trafficland.com/city/WAS/camera/9087/index.html
Traffic photo from earlier today. Insty has the shot on his blog:
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/85063/
ed.
Comment by John — 9/12/2009 @ 8:32 pm
I don’t think Obama knows how much trouble he is in.
He had better rethink his stance and quit listening to,
(by the way his coharts i guess are giving him VERY BAD advice) anyway, he has to quit listening to them and listen to the American people. If he goes ahead with this health bill, I am sure he will eventually pay the price. Come 2010, he will be out of luck on any of his future endeavors.
Comment by jdeldin — 9/12/2009 @ 9:08 pm
Gee..The N.S.D.A.P. had a lot of HUGE Rallies Too!! That is the Nazis by the way.. They Still didn’t get a plurality until Old, Foolish, Fat Hindenburg gave a dumpy little Austrian ex-Corporal the nod to become “The Leader”!!
In my view MOST of U.S. Voted FOR Obama!! WE WON, NOt You! Protest All You Want..It’s a Free Country. Meanwhile I gotta look for a job and health care. I’m not alone. As A Matter of Fact, I’m with the Majority.
Are these protesters all Bunged-Up about Health Care Reform, which is something almost EVERYBODY except some InBred Stumjumpers and GoatLovers WANTS???
Or is it really just a bunch of Greedy Old People (G.O.P.) who “Got Theirs and The Hell With The Rest of U.S.??
I’m a Redneck. I live in a big-time rural, Stars & Bars on The Pickup, hick town where God, Guns, and Gutts is still a Big Deal!! It’s a Red Town, Majority Republicans.. And WE STILL VOTED FOR OBAMA!!! ALL ofh the folks I know UNder 55 Voted for Obama! I saw a typical young Redneck Carpenter and guess what his T-Shirt had on it?? (Hint: He was NOT a Tea-Bagger!!0 Nope, he had a picture of Bush & Cheney that read; “Meet The F*ckers!!”
Sigh..COUNTRY Doesn’t Necessarily Mean DUMB!! I’m a proud, former Marine who owns guns & knives and misses my Frd Pick-up that I had to sell when I got laid-off. I love my Mom & Dad and go to church on Sundays.
I STILL VOTED FOR AND STILL SUPPORT MR. OBAMA!! (And so does my Good Buddy Mark who just voted Democrat for the first time in 34 years!!).
Get Over It!! Ya Lost!! And all this Rude Behavior and Shouting “Liar!” (FactCheck says Obama was right) will just alienate the Indies.
Good Luck by the way in getting Mitt Romney elected. I could give a hoot that he’s a Mormon. But your own Republican Jeezus Chrispies will sink him. Oh, and Mr. Wilson! I’m gonna send that Jarhead Skipper some of my stimulus check so he can send your ill-mannerd butt back home!! I thought South Carolinians had manners!! Guess that don’t mean Doodley-Squat to Congenital Simples Like YOU!!
Comment by Maquis — 9/12/2009 @ 9:14 pm
Elisabeth says:
“If the gov’t wastes billions… whether it is defense or healthcare…”
Health care fraud wastes billions…Defense fraud wastes trillions..
Huge difference…see how huge at this link:
http://www.ptm.org/uni/resources/ptmupdate/032309/conclusion.html
Elisabeth goes on to say:
“…why on earth DO YOU TRUST THEM WITH YOUR MONEY!!! Or for that matter with your healthcare? They are INCOMPETENT. Maybe not individually, but certainly collectively.”
The alternative is a worse in my opinion..
I can choose not to pay corporate profiteers to broker my health care…but I already pay the government in the form of taxes which I cannot avoid…No matter how “incompetent” the government may be, I am a shareholder in America, and I have to believe that our system can improve and evolve…
The logical alternative to democracy is corporacy…which is the thing you don’t take into account…Corporations have far too much influence in our government right now…and their only agenda is profit..
Those billions being defrauded from Medicare??…That’s the insurance companies, the Pharmacuetical companies, and the health care conglomerates stealing from the US taxpayer…Those Trillions in Fraud and graft at the Pentagon??…That’s the defense contractors stealing from the US taxpayer..
Our government has organizations that focus directly on corporate fraud…The National Procurement Fraud Task Force…The Inspector General…The Defense Contract Audit Agency…so it’s not like they are unaware that this is happening…they collect billions in settlements from corporations regularly…they’re not completely incompetent..
Between 2000 and 2005, procurement spending rose 86%, twice as fast as other discretionary spending, which rose 43%…federal contract expenditures now consume almost 40 cents of every dollar of discretionary spending..
More contracts….more fraud..
Procurement fraud squanders limited funds, threatens our safety and national defense, cheats American taxpayers, and harms the government at a time of concern for our nation’s security..
Know thy enemy Elisabeth.
The influence of profit hungry corporate interests on our politicians, and the fleecing of institutions that are supposed to use our tax dollars to benefit us is an insidious cancer which is at the root of most of the corruption and greed we see in government today..
Our politicians are bought and sold…no doubt about it…greed rules the day…but it’s big business that feeds the monster..
“All is grist for the mill”
Now I know that you’re anti-government right now for idealogical reasons as well as fiscal ones, but the government is not the enemy here. It’s this corporate fraud that bleeds our taxpayers, and corporate money that buys politicians which in turn stifles the government from doing its job of providing for the general welfare of the country..
Reducing corporate influence in government could restore us to a civil society, grounded in life-centered values rather than immediate financial gain..
I wont hold my breath for that to happen, but I’ll side with the government that the founders created before I’ll side with corporate behemoths intent on profit at any cost…every time..
Comment by Moltenorb — 9/12/2009 @ 9:40 pm
I think it’s time the democrates marching and opposing the health care bill hold up a sign to identify themselves as such. The administration and the media continue to refer to the crowds as republicians. It’s time they realized the crowds are united Americans fighting to save their country.
Comment by Barbara Tucker — 9/12/2009 @ 9:47 pm
President Obama,
Has made a big mistake in bailing out the banks with out making certain stipulations which would see individuals with less than perfect credit given loans.
I went to two banks inquiring about a $10.000 loan, the first thing they ask for was perfect credit, followed by collateral and other things not even the banks them selves have.
This is crazy, Mr.Obama is not helping the poor he is bailing out the rich, the poor are still loosing their homes, loosing their cars etc.
Mr.President,
You need to give a stimilus to the poor, cut a check from what you getting back from these banks and other institutions and send even $10.000 to each household, that will make us feel better, at least Bush put a few dollars in our pockets.
Under your administration I ended up owing the IRS.
You are going to have one angry nation if you don’t do excatly that!
Comment by Selvin — 9/12/2009 @ 9:52 pm
The picture in the blog entry above was cropped; the actual picture from the traffic cam at 14th and E shows shows Pennsylvania Ave all the way to the Capitol dome. The crowd appears to extend the entire distance in the shot that Michelle Malkin has on her blog.
100K is probably a generous estimate for that picture. It’s taken from 14th and E Street, probably on top of the Willard hotel. From there it is almost exactly 6000 feet to the capitol building, which you can see at the top left; you’re looking along Pennsylvania Ave. The street there is about 120 feet wide. A moving crowd has at least 6 sq. ft. per person when it’s very, very tightly packed; 10-15 sq. ft would be more normal.
(Putting those figures in perspective, if you’re in a crowd with one person every six square feet, it’s 22 inches from the tip of your nose to the back of the head of the person in front of you, and 29 inches from your nose to those of the people to your right and left. That’s very tight. For 10 sq. ft, it’s 31 and 38 inches.)
So if we do the math, that crowd is between 72,000 and 120,000 people. For it to be a million people, there’d have to be one person every eight inches in both directions.
My figures are very generous; the crowd you can see is probably less than 50,000.
Comment by Bob Munck — 9/12/2009 @ 10:07 pm
There was more people at Woodstock.
Comment by Moltenorb — 9/12/2009 @ 10:29 pm
60 to 70 thousand. That’s all she wrote. Two million is a wild lie based on some Daily Mail article written two days ago based on that item in the Plum Line. Malkin is a crazy liar. BTW we have pics of heaps of trash.
Comment by Rolfe — 9/12/2009 @ 10:43 pm
There has never been a more uglier period in modern time America. The display of Bigotry is down right shame full. All these people are using the so called Deficit as an excuse to parade their hatred towards a human begin. Their cause is very obvious it has nothing to do with his presidential ability. They have conjured up all kinds of nasty Ideas and false pretenses. If any those dumb ignorant inbreeds idiots could read , they would have know that the Government bail out of the number of banks that took place last year has reported a profit ! http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2009/08/report_of_tarp_bank_bailout_pr.html
Besides that why did they need a bail out from the start? Why not start the source of this Deficit? Oh it couldn’t have been the the enormous military deficient to go after poor Iraq which had nothing to do with the 911 attacks. I really wonder where all these inbred A-holes were when Bush named Saddam enemy number 1 for the attacks? Oh that’s right they full supported that BS right from the start. The biggest bait and switch to divert the truth. I don’t see these same people getting offended by waste of money ,Trillions of dollars. Its very ok to send our troops to go die(over 5,000 Americans) in a country that didn’t do anything to us. Let not forget the weapons of mass destruction that was used to Fool each and everyone in this country. These so freedom fighters are very selective to choice topics that have nothing to do with our Great President. Oh I am sorry yes there is their only reason, Hes black.
I would have more respect to these low life’s if they just came clean with the truth. Health care ,Deficit, socialism , he this hes that, is so far from the real reason why they are against our great President.
BTW Why haven’t these freedom idiots channel their anger at the fact that the REAL people responsible for 911 haven’t be brought to Justice for over 8 years?
Comment by SIck of biggots — 9/12/2009 @ 10:50 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Melissa L. Sutton and Larry Mazur. Larry Mazur said: Not a cup of tea anywhere! Penn. Ave BLOCKED and 4 security reasons thousands could not enter. http://tinyurl.com/q77aw5 #tcot, #teaparty [...]
Pingback by Tweets that mention Right Wing Nut House » IMPRESSIVE TURNOUT IN DC FOR PROTEST -- Topsy.com — 9/12/2009 @ 10:55 pm
Oh,and discarded flags. Piles of discarded flags. Sadly, most of them are those anti-American yellow snake flags. But Old Glory is representing in the garbage.
Comment by Rolfe — 9/12/2009 @ 11:05 pm
Moltenorb,
You need to study your history re: the founders and what they intended. As for corporate behemouths vs. government, PLEASE do not put words in my mouth. I don’t believe that the corporates should run the show, NEVER said that… what I DO believe is that the relationship between government, corporations and the PEOPLE is COMPLETELY out of balance.
1. Representatives, Senators and Presidents should behave as SERVANT leaders, emphasis on SERVANTS. In fact, corporate leaders should also adopt the same attitude. In well run organizations, that is exactly what happens. BOTH polticians and corporate elites have come to a place where they believe that they are worth more, know more, are entitled to more JUST BECAUSE OF WHERE THEY ARE. Nothing could be further from the truth. They are both in a fiduciary relationship because they were deemed competent to be there, but NEITHER is entitled to do more or take more than is necessary to complete the mission that was assigned to them.
2. Corporate elites are not in check BECAUSE they have weak boards of directors, they have unethical relationships with politics (ie. GE/NBC/Obama) and they are not APPROPRIATELY regulated!!! Certainly, many industries should be regulated… but that should be appropriate regulation not regulation for the sake of regulation or regulation tied to some politician’s self interest. Once regs are in place… enforce them!!
3.Politicians are not in check because we, the voters, have abdicated our responsibility. It is right and just to describe our elected officials as OUR employees. As such, they have STEWARDSHIP over the resources that they are PRIVILEGED to oversee. It’s not THEIR money… and those resources should not be squandered, misspent, or wasted. I work for a healthcare corporation… I spend money… it’s not MY money and when I spend it I am thinking of ONE thing… am I doing the right thing at the right time for our PATIENTS. If I am frivilous, because I want a nicer office or a company car who gets hurt? If I spend millions on unneeded equipment or I lose money that I just can’t find who gets hurt? The patients… because those resources were not spent appropriately toward the mission that was assigned to me. Because we provide care to the working poor… those who don’t qualify for MCAID but can’t afford insurance, the more I commit to my mission, the more patients we can treat. Why should our politicians be ANY different? Or our corporate leaders?
As for the billions vs. trillions, what are you saying? Because the gov’t wasted trillions in defense we should waste trillions on healthcare/shovel ready stimulus projects/community organizers/politicians special pet projects? I DON’T CARE… waste is waste… defense waste didn’t start with Reagan & Bush I, stop with Clinton, start back with Bush II, stop with Obama… who are you kidding. Your logic is flawed in my estimation because you are so fixated on the past, and perhaps your disdain for the military that you cannot seem to think forward to the future and what we are facing as a nation.
Finally, please check your bank account, your money market, your savings… whatever you have could you please take it and use it to feed/shelter/provide healthcare for, let’s say, a couple of thousand people? Maybe you are independently wealthy, but let’s say you are an average American with an average amount in savings… go do it… how will all of you live on that amount of money? Can you go borrow from China? Pay them enormous amounts of interest? Maybe you can print some up and devalue your currency so that your savings are now worth half… the point is YOU don’t have the money… neither do I. Neither does the US government. It’s NOT there.
The bottom line is that NO ONE in DC are making decisions to empower people… NO ONE. There are smart, ingenius ways to solve problems… but they won’t be coming from this government and I won’t argue with you… they didn’t come from the repubs either. It will require Americans, including those on both sides of the great divide, demanding that our SERVANT leaders AND our corporate leaders DO THE RIGHT AND JUST THINGS. That is what the demonstrations today were about.
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/12/2009 @ 11:10 pm
You want social security, welfare, food-stamps, medicare, and medicaid from the government? But, you don’t want health insurance? Refuse all of it. Please! Maybe then we can start saving and would not have to worry about those who drink too much tea with Glenn-Fatso, Sarah Pagan, Hannity-Weirdness.
Comment by Sue — 9/12/2009 @ 11:16 pm
Hey…I would have believed this mess and tea party sh$$ if it had happened in 2000 or 2001. But, after entering into two wars, hiding and reading my pet goose, giving tax breaks to the weathy, spending our money on foreign countries, the gas going up, not admitting we’re in a recession, Katrina, wire-tapes,and leaks to the media, I just realized you guys were too dumb to see it then. Perhaps the former Prez needed to just tan a little darker (and yes I pulled the card and I drink the so-called fruit punch). Your point is not even taken seriously. And “tea-party” protest? Do you even know the history? Who were they dressed up as? The same groups of people you don’t want to have health-care because you scared they would live longer and populate. And another thing, some of you guys complaining is so stupid because your conservative congressman/congresswoman has better healthcare than yourself. And they’re trying to keep it from you. You know you can’t afford a life-threatening situation. Stupid. Stop pretending it’s not a Sarah Pagan Klux meeting in the daytime!
Comment by Sue — 9/12/2009 @ 11:19 pm
Sue,
Thanks for your insight.. No. seriously. I “learned a lot” from you today.
Comment by Nagarajan Sivakumar — 9/12/2009 @ 11:35 pm
New to this site - lots of trolls here.
Funny how they all say the same things. Boring, actually. Doesn’t matter where you go, they all say the same stuff. Like junior high school typing class.
Comment by jodetoad — 9/12/2009 @ 11:50 pm
jodetoad, Thanks, man. You’re scintillating and original. You know what’s smarter than your comment?
asdf space jkl sem space. F*** off.
Comment by Rolfe — 9/13/2009 @ 12:03 am
I just cant wrap my head around this. Where were all these people when Bush was driving up the deficit by trillions??? It boggles the mind. how could you not want better healthcare??? I heard there would’ve been more protestors but there were hundreds of pick up trucks and hay wagons stuck on the highways headed toward washington. A bunch of rubes.
Comment by Dem4life — 9/13/2009 @ 6:24 am
Don’t be confused by Bush vs Obama driving us all into the hole. It’s the givernment stupid! We live in a one-party, two-faction system and part of their game is to keep us guessing who’s in charge or who’s to blame. Rep or Dem, it is government intervention and corruption that has led us into the current situation. They may do a differnt dance but they’re all dancing to the same music entitled “keep us all in power and keep the masses in check.”
Comment by robofox — 9/13/2009 @ 7:29 am
Elisabeth says:
1. “You need to study your history re: the founders and what they intended.”
I did that 35 years ago Liz…and I’ve been a student of history ever since…So why don’t you just tell me what it is that YOU think the founders intended, since you seem to think that you’re so much smarter than I am..
2. “Representatives, Senators and Presidents should behave as SERVANT leaders, emphasis on SERVANTS.”
That was my point…politicians cannot serve the people if their first alligence is to corporate interests..
3. “In fact, corporate leaders should also adopt the same attitude.”
Corporate leaders serve their shareholders Liz…not the public interest…They DO NOT take an oath to uphold the Constituion of the United States..
“Certainly, many industries should be regulated… but that should be appropriate regulation not regulation for the sake of regulation or regulation tied to some politician’s self interest.”
Which is what our president is trying to do…regulate industries such as health care, finance and insurance so that they better benefit the people..
4. “Why should our politicians be ANY different? Or our corporate leaders?”
You seem to have a basic misunderstanding of the difference between public service and private business Liz…maybe it’s you that needs to study her history..
5. “As for the billions vs. trillions, what are you saying?”
I’m saying that I don’t think that you know the difference between a million, a billion and a trillion…that’s what I’m saying…which is why I supplied you a link to clarify it for you..
6. “defense waste didn’t start with Reagan & Bush I, stop with Clinton, start back with Bush II, stop with Obama… who are you kidding. Your logic is flawed in my estimation because you are so fixated on the past”
Again…you show a basic misunderstanding between “waste” and “fraud”…they are two different things…try your dictionary for clarification…I was speaking to the costs of corporate fraud to the US taxpayer..
And first you tell me I need to “study my history”…then you say that I’m too “fixated on the past”…Make up your mind Liz..
7. “Finally, please check your bank account, your money market, your savings… whatever you have could you please take it and use it to feed/shelter/provide healthcare for, let’s say, a couple of thousand people?”
That’s not my job Liz…I pay taxes to the government to do that stuff…They have food stamps, government housing assistance programs, and our president is working on health care as we speak..
8. “The bottom line is that NO ONE in DC are making decisions to empower people… NO ONE. There are smart, ingenius ways to solve problems… but they won’t be coming from this government and I won’t argue with you… they didn’t come from the repubs either. It will require Americans, including those on both sides of the great divide, demanding that our SERVANT leaders AND our corporate leaders DO THE RIGHT AND JUST THINGS. That is what the demonstrations today were about.”
No…that’s what the presidential election was about…the demonstration was about pissed off people who didn’t vote for Obama…A healthy majority of registered voters decided they wanted the things Obama was campaigning on, and those that didn’t vote for him now think that they are the majority..
Well you’re not the majority Liz…you’re the opposition, the minority.. Y
ou can’t please all the people all the time…so majority rules in this country..
Majority rule processes do not require consensus for group action. Instead, decisions are made by voting with a majority to determine the position of the entire group. There are norms and rules in place which prevent the majority from disregarding the basic rights of the minority.
It’s the American way…get used to it.
Comment by Moltenorb — 9/13/2009 @ 7:33 am
I forgot to number the fourth quote from Liz….there are actually 9 quotes from her that I was responding to above…not 8
Comment by Moltenorb — 9/13/2009 @ 7:36 am
World expert at counting crowds on video. He talks about Million Man March and Obama’s inaugaration estimates. How many people can fit into the Washington mall?
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109628
“In 1995 Magaly Koch, a Cambridge resident and member of Cambridge Community Television, was one the scientists who participated in a project by Boston University’s Center for Remote Sensing that involved estimating the crowd size of the Million Man March in Washington, D.C.
At the time, there was a huge controversy surrounding the actual number of people who had attended the event organized by the Nation of Islam. The National Park Service claimed the number to be well below one million whereas the organizers estimated a figure above one million people. Dr. Farouk El-Baz, who is the director of the Center for Remote Sensing, was approached back then to provide a scientifically more accurate number that would help settle the dispute. Ever since, he has become the nation’s leading expert in counting crowds.
So with the historic event of President Barack Obama’s inauguration approaching, Dr. El-Baz has been bombarded with telephone calls from the news media. Everybody wants to know how many people can fill the Washington Mall. Check out this conversation between Farouk and Magaly reminiscing about the Million Man March crowd counting project and discussing the number of people who can be expected to fill the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on January 20th, 2009.”
Comment by Potter — 9/13/2009 @ 7:38 am
26JerryS Said:
3:02 pm
Um.. One question.
What exactly is being protested?
CZ: Um…big government overspending, government takeover of the private sector and socialist tyranny. Next question.
Comment by CZ — 9/13/2009 @ 10:01 am
Whatever. Pictures do speak louder than words, so what counts most in media reports of the demo are the images of a huge crowd. Whether it’s 200,000 or 1.2 million is sort of insider quibbling.
The historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom drew from 200,000 (police estimate) to 300,000 (organizers’ claim). Thatg crowd fillied the space between the Lincoln and Washington Memorials and dribbled out onto the surrounding streets. See a photo here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:March_on_Washington_edit.jpg
Comment by John Burke — 9/13/2009 @ 12:01 pm
[...] Right Wing Nuthouse | IMPRESSIVE TURNOUT IN DC FOR PROTEST [...]
Pingback by March on Washington: DC Tea Party Protest attendance by the numbers. « The Western Experience — 9/13/2009 @ 2:19 pm
CZ -
If you were really protesting the items you posted, you’d have been out there protesting 5 years ago, when Bush busted the budget, started two wars without paying for them, introduced the largest expansion of Medicare since it was started. Then you would have been protesting a year ago, when Bush bailed out Wall Street.
But you weren’t. Hmmm… wonder why…?
No. Seriously. What were you protesting since the reasons you give are completely bogus - given the history of the last 8 years?
Comment by JerryS — 9/13/2009 @ 4:06 pm
Jerr, If you were out there protesting five years ago, why aren’t you out protesting now? You want to give healthcare to EVERYONE, but you protest the prescripton program?
It’s clear that you guys have a lot of unresolved anger, even when your guy WON and YOU are in the majority! Jerr, that’s not healthy. Why are you so upset about an itty bitty group of right wingnut extremist, crazy as H*$% protesters? Oh, I know, they aren’t out working, so less taxes for you…. THAT may be the wave of the future… rights out protesting and lefts working to pay for them. Now THAT might be a change we can believe in!
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/13/2009 @ 8:02 pm
[...] described “tens of thousands” showing up. ABC says “approximately 60,000 to 70,000″. Members of the Right Wing Nut House have decided the number is in excess of 2 [...]
Pingback by The BRAD BLOG : NYTimes All Over '09 D.C. Teabag Protest; Didn't Bother Covering Larger '05 D.C. Anti-War Protest — 9/13/2009 @ 10:14 pm
Your crowd WAS impressive. But your numbers were nothing compared to the masses of people who came out to protest the march toward war with Iraq in 2003.
I read a sign in your crowd saying “Otherwise nice individuals forced to protest.” Typical conservative self centered worldview that thinks only they protest because they are compelled by something they feel passionately and desperately about, while all other protesters are monsters without moral compass who hate America.
Comment by VLYMAN — 9/14/2009 @ 9:49 am
Do you even know the Internationale?
Comment by bielie — 9/14/2009 @ 1:59 pm
Poor thing. He has CROWD ENVY.
Comment by bielie — 9/14/2009 @ 2:19 pm
Moltenorb,
Liz says don’t divert… you have no money, the country has no money… NO MONEY! You can borrow it, raise taxes on EVERYONE (because even the rich can’t foot your bill), or print it. Any one of those is going to affect YOU in a very negative way.
Liz says quit spending.
Comment by Elizabeth — 9/14/2009 @ 3:22 pm
Hey, um, folks? Your pictures are fake.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2009/sep/14/tea-party-photo-shows-large-crowd-different-event/
It will never be your Dan Rather moment, because most of the conservative blogosphere is not nearly honest enough to admit the plain facts: you got punked by your dishonest acolytes. And the MSM, about whom you constantly complain, generally allows you to lie with impunity.
But Rick Moran is sort of honest, sometimes, so there’s at least a chance he’ll post a retraction.
If you don’t believe me, go check LGF.
No need for a retraction. Read the updates again. I expressed skepticism at both the larger numbers and based my analysis mostly on the marchers moving off from Freedom Plaza in the time lapse sequence. I believe there’s a good chance there were more than half a million marchers with many more who were already at the Capitol and tens of thousands more late arrivals.
No other marchers representing another cause were there? I stand by my estimate.
ed.
Comment by glasnost — 9/15/2009 @ 5:34 pm
Your time lapse sequence is also fake. The airspace over the national mall is controlled. There are no time-lapse tea party protests. They never happened. These are from someone, or somewhere else. They may quite possibly be identical to the debunked photoset from the polifact article.
Heh - that’s pretty good - since the time lapse sequence comes from a traffic cam.
Oh well- back to the drawing board.
ed.
Comment by glasnost — 9/15/2009 @ 5:37 pm
A traffic camera, eh? We’ll see.
Comment by glasnost — 9/16/2009 @ 4:40 am