Attendance at 
Saturday's "Tea Party" rally in Washington, D.C. may have far exceeded almost all expectations, or it may have been much lower. It all depends on who you ask. Reports on the number of protesters have widely varied, ranging anywhere from 20,000 to 2 million.
According to individual reports on the internet late Saturday The National Park Service had reportedly estimated around 1.2 million people attended the rally. There is no mention of the rally on the Park Service website and I have been unable to confirm that they have released any official estimate.
Some websites citing the 1.2 million number have claimed to be quoting Park Service employees, but I can find no direct quotes from anyone connected to the Park Service that can be confirmed at this time. Phone calls to the NPS went unanswered on Sunday.
There were also several internet reports Saturday, mostly on blogs, saying that ABC and Fox News had reported that the crowd was estimated to be as high as 2 million. ABC News has said they never reported that number. According to ABC they were misquoted by a rally speaker. At this time there is no report on the Fox News website that mentions a crowd estimate of 2 million.
Some liberal websites and blogs are putting the number much lower, with estimates ranging anywhere from 20,000 to 70,000. Based on photographs and video footage of the event the numbers would appear to be much larger than those estimates. The ticketed area of the National Mall alone has a capacity of 240,000 and the crowd clearly filled that area and beyond. The public access area of the Mall holds nearly 950,000 and some photographs of that area show it to be near capacity, although it has been reported that other groups were holding events in that area.
Several different groups combined to organize the rally, including Glenn Beck and his 9/12 project and former Congressman Dick Armey and the FreedomWorks Foundation, but most of those in attendance said they came on their own and that they had never taken part in any type of protest before Saturday.
On Friday the White House claimed they had no idea the rally was even planned. A ridiculous assertion that shows how dismissive the Obama administration and the Democrat-led Congress are of those who oppose their agenda. It is impossible to believe that President Obama knew nothing of the event. The denial is seen by many as a perfect example of why the President is losing the trust of many Americans. He stretches his credibility to its limits, and beyond.
Regardless of what the true number of attendees was, Obama and Democrat Party leaders are no doubt aware of the rally now. What difference it will make remains to be seen. In recent weeks the tea party protesters have been called everything from tea-baggers to Nazis by the left. What will be the consequences of continuing to attack and dismiss a growing movement that seems to be gaining considerable steam and refuses to be silenced?
It will be interesting to see how the President and Congressional leaders respond to the turnout for Saturday's rally. It is unlikely that President Obama will make any public comment related to the protest, and likely won't be asked to do so by the mainstream media.
It's hard to imagine that Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats on the Hill will be able to ignore it, or to hold their tongues. I expect their defiant tone will continue, but it could be at their own peril. While Pelosi, whose Congressional district includes ultra-liberal San Francisco, has no fear of losing her seat in the 2010 election, many other Democrats are definitely in danger. If they doubted that before, Saturday's rally should have grabbed their attention.
Most rally-goers said they are not strictly anti-Obama, or anti-Democrat, but instead are fed up with big government, corruption, high taxes, and runaway spending. They said they have had enough of politicians who don't listen to their concerns and are more afraid of special interests than they are of the voters. Many in the crowd said they were Democrats or independents. The protesters were clearly from across the political spectrum, young and old, black and white, male and female. It will be hard to dismiss them as being only angry Republicans.
Those taking part in the "Tea Party" movement will more than likely be extremely encouraged by Saturday's numbers, even though they are likely much lower than some original estimates, and it's highly possible that the movement will only grow stronger as the 2010 mid-term elections draw closer. What effect, if any, will the tea parties have on the campaigns of incumbent Democrats seeking to remain in office? We'll have to wait a while to find out.
Comments
This number is just not true, it was more like 60,000 - 70,000 according to Michelle Malkin. Freedom Works was in error.
michellemalkin.com/2009/09/12/celebrating-the-912-rallies/
hotair.com/archives/2009/09/12/how-big-was-the-crowd-in-dc-today/
ABC news says there were 60-70,000 in attendance. 1.2-2 million? Give me a break. You are either a liar or have trouble reading numbers. I also love the fact that the tea-baggers (you have to love that name that they choose for themselves) are actually protesting in favor of a system in which we pay more for health care on a % of GDP or per capita basis, yet receive inferior outcomes compared to all other industrialized countries--Isn't that great?--pay more--get less! Not only that, but there are 46,000,000 uninsured, almost 1 in 6--including women, children and the elderly. A minimum of 18,000 will die this year because they have no health insurance. Most estimates place this number higher. The system is broken and needs to be fixed. If you don't understand that, you do not have the facts. Let's get real and stop being a tool of right wing propaganda.
You are a big fat liar. How can you make this stuff up? The above writer is correct--60-70,000.
DC fire dept said 60 to 70 thousands. Fox and ABC both said ten of thousands.
Darren Pope, you sir are lying.
Those getting their numbers from the media are fools. I've lived here for 12 years, have attended the 4th of July Fireworks displays and witnessed the Million Man March...there were easily 1.5 Million People in attendance today...it was supposed to rap up at 1pm and it was sill going strong at 5pm...look at the "snapshot" that accompanies this article of over ten blocks of wall to wall humanity...it doesn't even show half the crowd and people were coming and going all afternoon.
It is a bit shocking that there is such a discrepancy between the numbers cited here and the numbers cited by officials and indpendent sources. I can only conclude that the 1-1.5 million numbers thrown around are propaganda, and reflect a willingness to play with the truth that undermines the tea baggers credibility. That's it for me...
ABC News Was Misquoted on Crowd Size
ABC News Reported D.C. Rally Size in Tens of Thousands, Not 1M to 1.5M as Activist Said
abcnews.go.com/Politics/protest-crowd-size-estimate-falsely-attributed-abc-news/story?id=8558055
I just arrived home in Michigan from the Washington protest. I was there with at least one and a half MILLION plus, sign carying, picture taking, protesters. For those that weren't there it would be easy to deny or believe the downplaying mainstream media reports. For the days following the protest, more and more pictures will be posted and a more acurate number will be realized. At worst, it will be hard to convince anyone, that was there, the size of the crowd.
I would take whatever ABC or CNN said and multiply it by 10. I was walking in DC one morning and I saw four wild-eyed feminists carrying signs in a doorway. The next day, I read in the Washington Post (FRONT PAGE) of this "major" demonstration. LOL!
That is only the tip of the iceberg. In hundreds of other cities across the USA there were similar outpourings of humanity protesting against an out-of-control government spending our children's inheritance like a bunch of drunken sailors
Would you please have the decency to correct your title. You know very well that it was between 50,000 to 70,000 as per the D.C. Fire Dept.. By spouting this artificial number pulled out of thin air by someone on the stage yesterday you only hurt your credibility regarding any other assertions you may make.
Either it was a mistake on your part..or you leave the number up and we know it was an intentional lie.
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Everyone wants to cut taxes but how do we really cut spending? That is always the hang up.
www.examiner.com/examiner/x-19977-Allentown-Fiscal-Responsibility-Examiner~y2009m9d13-Cut-government-spending-but-dont-touch-MY-program
I don't know how many were there... a LOT I would say. But I think what is more important is how many like me would have liked to be there but have to work to pay bills unlike Obama supporters!
You guys ever attend a rally before? I worked right in the middle of the Mexican march upon Chicago a few years back...that had over 150,000. 9/12 rally just by pictures shown...was bigger.
Look at that photo in this picture...there are more than 60,000 people JUST in that ONE photo.
For the life of me I cannot understand how so many good people can be so blind to the truth. Lets not lose site of the real problem here. Does it really matter which number count is correct. Yes the system is broken, but are we really so gulliable as to leave it in the very hands of the people who broke the system and let them lead us over the cliff. Why can we not see what is right before our eyes. Before you jump on board this runaway train, lets take a minute and look at where its going. This is America folks, are we really going to allow anyone to lead us into a system that we have fought against from the very time we became and indepentent nation. Let's not forget all the many people who have died fighting against this very thing.Are we really going to just walk right in and follow this man into socialism?
. He said he was not even aware that a protest was planned, how can that be true? Nothing he has done has worked to our benifit. Is socialism really
Have they resolved WHERE this faked photo is from?
Wow, some people seem really upset that there could be so many patriotic Americans. The 60-70,000 estimates are obviously wrong. The crowd on the mall alone was shoulder to shoulder. The mall stretches for 1 mile from the Capitol steps to the Washington Monument. There were far more than 70,000 there alone. Those estimates are designed to detract from the overwhelming success of the rally, and is in keeping with the left's dismissal of anyone who disagrees with them. Look at the pic that accompanies this article. There are more than 70,000 in just that one pic. And don't forget, there were rallies outside of D.C. The total of rally participants nationwide was definitely in the millions. You can remain in denial if you want, but it doesn't change the facts.
Susan in Jersey: You're still delirious from the drugs they gave you at the abortion clinic.
I live within a five-minute walk from the National Mall, and I've seen lots of protests/demonstrations. I was there for the Inauguration, when we ACTUALLY had millions of people--- every hotel within a hundred miles was booked, and people in D.C., VA, and MD were renting out their couches in their apartments to people willing to pay several thousand dollars for a weekend! This was simple not the case on 9/12. These people need to stop lying-- I went to the 9/12 protest, and it was definitely only in the tens of thousands. "Two million" is really, really laughable!
A fake and fraudulent rally held under the guise of protesting big government. That's all this is. Where were these people 4 years ago, when Bush and the GOP congress were spending our money like drunken sailors. Taking a surplus of 150 billion dollars and turning it into a trillion dollar deficit and taking a debt of 4.5 billion and doubling it?
This isn't about big government. It's about a black man being the president. The South is going to rise again! NOT.
This has nothing to do with the color of Obama's skin. Go ahead, continue to dismiss this movement. My hope is that everyone on the left will do just that. It is amazing that so many people can deny the countless photos that show evidence that there were far more than 10's of thousands at the rally.
2 Million People?! How the he// do you print that in a NEWSpaper?? You, Mr. Pope, and this rag are a complete fraud. DCFD says 50,000. Good reporting champ, your facts are only off by 2000%... What a joke... Oh, and the Colts are gonna blow this year..
Why is the flag at half-staff? Was this picture even taken on 9/12/2009?
Of course it has nothing to do with the color if his skin! Why would ANYONE think THAT?!... It's just a massive coincidence that the 2 million... haha, no, the 50,000 people there were 99.99% white. BTW, if you want to see what 2 million people gathering in DC REALLY looks like, take a look at another 'rally' in DC earlier this year. It was called INAUGURATION DAY!!!
Goodbye forever, Examiner.com :P
obamas assertion that he had no knowledge of the saturday rally only underscores why he is not trusted. either he is outright lying or he is so self abosorbed in his own rhetoric that he is unaware of the unrest out there. either way he has lost the trust and respect of millions.
To JerryJerr - If your only argument is these people are racist, then you will lose everytime. This is America and these protests are the real deal. As for where were these people 4 years ago? Well I guess we used to trust in our government officials - you are right - Bush took our debt to 1 Trillion so I ask - where are you now that Obama has increased it to an est. 9 Trillion in just 9 months????? Even a first grader knows you don't need 9 trillion to pay off a trillion debt.
Scroll down and check out the tea party photo. The headline is pretty impressive, too. Off topic: I think Joe Wilson should say he will issue an apology to congress IF the dems apologize for booing George Bush!
I would like to see the picture of all the little Obama Lemmings following him off the cliff.
Please! Who are you kidding? These are cleralyb the blind sheep of fox, glen beck and the rest of the racist christian right who can't stand we have a black president!
The media BLACKOUT prior and the MISREPRESENTATION after this Tea Party is outrageous! There was 500,000 to 1,500,000 people there, The ABC/CBS/NBC sheeple are being descepted AS USUAL about the truth, these people actually think the NEW YORK TIMES is a gold standard of un-bias reporting! realize that there is a whole swath of Americans that are totally brainwashed (ex. global warming moonbats, 9/11 truthers) and are gone.
You are a big fat liar. How can you make this stuff up? The above writer is correct--60-70,000.
the police have not released an estimate and no one reported 2 million. fox news and abc have consistently reported "tens of thousands." one of the speakers at the event claimed that abc reported 2 million, but abc has denied that. as the rumor spread across the internet it was also claimed that cnn reported 2 million. fox is a new one. there is no evidence that any credible news service ever reported that number, besides a british tabloid that mentioned inconsistent numbers throughout their story.
look at hotair for a rundown of the *credible* reports of the crowd's size.
I would beleive the police! I think they know how many officers were required to DO THEIR JOB!! Look at the picture above, you could fill Yankee Stadium 10 times with that crowd. Do you want the same quality of health care that homless bums get?? Iraq and Afghanistan have universal health care, BUT THEY ARE GIVIN ASPIRIN FOR A GUN SHOT WOUND!!
oh and the photo in this post is real, but there is a photo circulating of protesters totally filling the mall that is circulating with claims it was from yesterday - that is a photo of the promise keepers rally from the 90s. there is a whole building (the native american museum) missing from that photo, as it wasn't built until 2005. as far as i know, aerial photos of this protest haven't been released yet.
CTLangis: THE POLICE HAVE NOT RELEASED A STATEMENT. that is just a flat out, made up lie that people keep repeating without checking. the dc police don't release crowd size estimates anymore. the parks & rec department will probably release an estimate in the near future, which should be the most accurate one.
Yes they did estimate 1.2 million. Google "DC police estimate". If you dont want to hear the truth, than you wont. And you are the people that judge others as "close minded" and "simplistic". Cap and Trade was a giant Tax Grab, and Universal Health care is a Power grab. Democrats do not care about the quality of life of the "people of the world" they simply want to CONTROL THEM (and you)
Estimates have the number around 70,000. There's a slight difference between that and 2 million... Oh... I get it. It's a 'conspiracy.' Gotcha. Nutballs.
Pretty amazing turnout!
Unless you were there keep your trap closed!!!!!!
Notice how the liberal comments in here could all fit on a bumper sticker. These people just regurgitate what they watch on TV and read in there liberal newspapers. If you beat them on a point they will try to find a mispelled word or call you a name or bring up how it affects children (and most Prius driving snobs hate children).
Let me tell you as a law enforcement officer - the tally will be made on grid size from the aerial photographs, and measurements equated - Michelle Malkin apologized for the number - so before you condemn her - DO YOUR homework!
gothype - Playing the old race card eh? Aint working - I guess it's easy to use simplistic excuses when you are part of a left-wing simplistic simple-mindedness. Personally - I thought Obama was white also - he did say he couldn't dismiss Rev. White as he couldn't dismiss HIS white grandmother - his words, not mine! Oh, a week later he dismissed Rev. Wright...
I have no idea where the 2 million number came from, from what I have read this number was realeased yesterday by ABC to create an artificially high number to dissapoint supporters of the movement when the actual numbers came in. Lets listen to the people who were their, not Bias news coverage.
You obots are right. There were only half as many at our rally because we have only one face to count per person! The original birther was in Mn. because he had no friends left in DC. and Peloski hid his invitation.
Whatever your position is on this rally and why it happened, the significant absence of it from mainstream media coverage is what bothers me most. The NYT had it buried in the Sunday National section on page 33, and even then the coverage was only 1/4 of a page. I went to the web to find more, and could only pick up stories from Blogs and excerpts from foreign correspondents. You'd think that a rally of this size in our Nation's capitol - whatever it's purpose - would have received more coverage as a newsworthy item. I'd like to see the return of balance to the reporting of actual news and what motivates people to protest in such numbers, rather than the dismissiveness (or marginalizing) I've seen lately on the TV news and written press.
"Local police agencies estimated around 1.2 million people attended the rally"...that's a far cry from the Obama Lemming quote of 70,000. Who are you going to believe?
Had any of you bothered to watch the streaming video yesterday from the Washington protest, there probably wouldn't have to be all this haggling. And for those of you who prefer to argue, you make YOURSELF look like the "idiot" or whatever it is you chose to call others.
It might be helpful if you stopped hoisting that old petard "racist". This has nothing to do with race. No one but a few nutty extremists gives a flying fig whether Obama is black (he's half white too) or orange with little green polka dots.
What conservatives, and there are actually Democrats who are conservative too (surprise, surprise) find hard to swallow is a President who looks down his nose at the American public, tells us that he is unaware of protests like the huge one that happened yesterday and absents himself from the city so he won't have to actually "see" it because if he doesn't see it, it doesn't exist. He seems to have his own unique "reality" which has no basis in fact.
ctlangis, the two million number was announced at the podium by one of the speakers. he claimed it was reported on abc. abc has denied it.
and try to find one actual news source reporting a police estimate. several report that the police *declined* to release an estimate. yeah if you google you will find bloggers like thi one repeating the rumor. abc reported on an unofficial report from the fire department - 60-70,000.
the washington times, a right wing paper, has reported that organizers now claim that there were 75,000 attendees. if the police had actually released an estimate that was many times higher, don't you think the organizers would be using that number?
Why is the flag at half mast? This photo is doctored or one from right after 9/11
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