The first stage is denial
I’m not claiming to know the actual number of people in the rally at the Capital today, but I know more than 70,000 people when I see them;
The DC Fire Department has issued an unofficial estimate of 60,000 to 70,000 people in attendance, which is smallish by big DC protest/event standards
Yeah, if you’re used to ANSWER’s inflated numbers. I’ve yet to see the Left reach 20,000 – a whole lot smaller crowd than the number of people I saw today. I’ve been doing these protests since 2000 and today’s crowd is largest I’ve seen. I didn’t go to this last Inauguration, so I can’t compare it to that – but I’ve hardly missed a protest since the World Bank protest in April of 2000.
Michelle Malkin has published a 2 million number, and I heard that number at the rally, but I’m not sure I want to commit to 2 million. Allah Pundit examines the figures at Hot Air.
Somehow, Think Progress thinks these pictures are important;
I saw very few birthers at the protest – everyone I saw was worried about their family incomes. To make this one tiny sign (added almost as an after thought) representative of the crowd is disingenuous.
And the second sign; I guess they’re saying that white people can’t be concerned about their own civil rights. That’s what The Washington Monthly is trying to say, apparently;
As for what the overwhelmingly-white crowd had to say, I still think these protests could benefit from some focus. 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.
The Washington Post isn’t far off TWM’s mark, either;
The crowd — loud, rambunctious and sprawling — gathered at the foot of the Capitol after a march along Pennsyvania Avenue from Freedom Plaza. Invocations of God and former President Reagan by an array of speakers drew loud cheers, echoing across the Mall. On a windy, overcast afternoon, hundreds of yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flags flapped in the breeze, mingled with U.S. and Texas state flags.
I saw a lot more minority people there than you might imagine – don’t believe me? Checkout some of the photos El Marko took today. I even saw a black family who had temporarily adopted a white disabled veteran and pushed him through the throngs in his wheelchair the length of Pennsylvania Avenue.
The New York Times describes the crowd like this;
But as they sang verse after verse of patriotic hymns like “God Bless America,” sharp words of profane and political criticism were aimed at Mr. Obama and Congress.
Profane? You’d think they’d offer an example of what they mean – but they don’t. Just the standard Nazi charges;
The atmosphere was rowdy at times, with signs and images casting Mr. Obama in a demeaning light. One sign called him the “parasite in chief.” Others likened him to Hitler.
No mention of LaRouche?
So the Left can try to deny what happened today and besmirch the participants, but that doesn’t change the facts. Welcome to 2009.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Liberals suck, Protests/Rallies, Usual Suspects
just tell like it is so us non participants know the truth
The irony is that people at Huffington Post are looking at the 2 million number, calling BS, and citing the 60,000 to 70,000 number as coming from ABC. So evidently, the 30,000 number has been abandoned because it is supposedly more embarrassing to have about 70,000 people show up while claiming over a million than actually having only 30,000 show up.
Did a quick recon of the typical leftie blogs and forums…in general, they’re discounting the crowd sizes, they’re saying that the groups were all bankrolled by corporate interests and they’re more-or-less calling all of the participants racists. In other words, it’s just another day in the life of leftards who are whistling past the graveyard. To add a touch of flair to the whole thing, Maureen Dowd decided to add to the civil discord by declaring Joe Wilson’s outburst was missing the word “boy” at the end of his admonition “You lie!”. This is also unleashing the typical threads stating that all of us conservative leaning Southerners are nothing more than white-sheeted cross-burners who would love to see harm visited on the president. Tolerance. Gotta love it.
The ponytailed douchebag who runs a formerly informative anti-jihadi blog ( I will not use his name) is spewing similar nonsense; claiming that the numbers are much smaller and trying to link the protesters to as many unsavory groups as his feeble fucking brain can conjure up. Fuck him. I’d like to know what the national totals are, not just the ones who showed up in DC but with all the local protests, too. Be nice to have an accurate total of the number of concerned citizens who our government and media are trying so hard to marginalize.
It’s funny that you guys are this worked up about it since you’ve been doing the same thing to us since 2004. In January 2007 I was at a 500K+ rally that had “thousands of anti-war protesters” in the capital.
How many people were there really dosen’t matter. I’m going to guess that it was probably over 100 thousand and less than two. But, it’s not surprising when you take into account that most of our elections are very close and many independents voted against McCain/Palin and not for President Obama. I’d really rather see an honest debate on the issues versus how many people were at your rally.
But, then again, you would have liked the same thing from us. So what can you do?
I’m sorry, HM2(FMF/SW)Ret., but if your rally in 2007 was 500,000, this one was 50 million. When your march ended, you didn’t even fill the West Lawn of the Capitol.
Yesterday, the police had to close down the West Lawn and refuse entry to a crowd that filled the block west of the west lawn and spilled onto the National Mall – an hour and a half before the march ended. Pennsylvania Avenue was packed for almost a mile at that point.
I was at the January 2007 protest and it was anemic in comparison to yesterday. You have no idea.
You were one of the twenty counter protesters? Cool. I always wondered who you guys were.
Nope, I was just a blogger taking pictures and taking notes.
Come to think of it Jonn, you’re right. The January 2007 march was small. I’ve been to too many of these things. I was thinking of the march in march 2007 when we started on the steps of the capitol. During the speeches, I looked out into the crowd and could only see a sea of ppeople all the way back past the lawn of the lincoln spiulling onto the bridge.
and before you go there, January 2007 was the debut of the Gethering of Eagles. (You’d think I would remember since that was where I got spit on.) In any event, your side has always said that not only were numbers inflated they are irrelevant. So this whole discourse strikes me kinda funny.
Age must be taking it’s toll on you, HM2(FMF/SW)Ret. March 2007 was the GOE One rally. I was there, too. The Lincoln Memorial is where it started but then headed south over the bridge to the Pentagon.
And before you go there, I was at the September 2007 march, too. Still much smaller.
Typical leftist meme. Make a claim, get cuaght lying, make a second claim, have no way of backing it up, whine, claim it was assaulted, etc etc etc.
Our side doesn’t claim your numbers were inflated. We c=think you are too dang stupid to count correctly.
As I said Jonn, I’ve been to too many of these things. It was January because it was right before the Appeal for Redress was held. And, as a surprise to no one, you and I disagree. As I said above, from the stage you could see the crowd spilling back over the bridge to arlington. That was also the march that broke out of the established route at the beginning. In any event, the point remains the same. I believe you had a bunch of people there. I believe that it was more than the DC FD estimated. I don’t belive anything Michelle Malkin says, thus the 2 million number is out. But, it most likely reflects the fact that the country is split almost straight down the middle on most issues. So, who cares? You had march, you liked it. It motivated your base and it is getting media coverage. (Which is the whole point.) But, as far as advancing an argument. It doesn’t come close.
In any event, thanks for the walk down nightmare, er… memory, lane.
But, as far as advancing an argument. It doesn’t come close.
Really? How’s the temperature in that hole you’ve got your head shoved into?
Jonn, I can surely back you on all three of those!! Heh. But I didn’t blog then…just took pix. HM, take a powder!
The WaPo thought that comrade 0 was demeaned? Say it isn’t so! I don’t quite remember them being that all wrought up when Bush was booed by dems in congress, when he was likened to Hitler, when someone did a movie about his assassination, when it was said that American service members were dying for oil, or to line his and Cheney’s pockets.
I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning.
Oh, and Hm, I believe the 2M number came from the British press first, before Michelle Malkin used it.
you all are sounding like such bitches lately. You lost the election because you selected an old fart who couldn’t energize your base, then he got a retarded lady to be his running partner. You spent trillions on a war of choice, built the government larger than Clinton ever could.
Stop crying and name calling….just run a freakin candidate that is truly conservative and smarter than ME.
UpNorth, before you go on the attack…again, I’m not an Obama supporter. I’m an American who loves laughing at the idiotic people who cry when their party isn’t in power. I did the same to the Democrats.
See….it’s called consistency…got some?
Got some? Sure do, been consistent since I was old enough to grasp what’s going on around me. Mind pointing out who I was attacking? It wasn’t you, it wasn’t HM.
I doubt your consistency claim, you sound more like a teener in mom’s basement with your comparison to “bitches”, referring to someone as an “old fart”, and a “retarded lady”.
Your right UpNorth…I’m a “teener in mom’s basement”…you are way too funny.
I wonder if they let people serve in the military at the age of 9?
My point was that you people sound like your crying. It’s getting pathetic. You lost the last couple of elections, have you asked yourself why yet?….and please, don’t blame the media. That’s always your scapegoat.
Whatever, whatever. I’m not going to play the troll game of I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours. Your syntax, choice of words and spelling all convince you’re a teener. So, I guess I’ll just stop feeding the troll.
is teener actually a word?