President Obama at a townhall meeting - Photo: AP/ Alex Brandon
CORRECTION: this corrects the attendance estimates of the 9/12 DC tea party protest.
Saturday, September 12th, Washington D.C., the West Front of the Capitol was overflowing with protesters, as many as 2 million some estimates say. The New York Times and MSNBC place estimates much lower, estimating a hundred thousand, while the Wall Street Journal is simply reporting in the variance in numbers of attendance. Regardless, the loud and determined mob was another in a series of 'Tea Party' protests that have been galvanizing a populist movement within the Republican party and conservatives all summer. The crowd was rallied by invocations of God and former President Reagan, and stirred to raucous cheering by Republican lawmakers who joined the rally, such as Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) who shouted over the din, "You will not spend the money of our children and our grandchildren to feed an overstuffed government." Also, dozens of signs were visible praising Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) who shouted out, "You lie!" during President Obama's joint address of Congress last week.
The 2008 election delivered a crippling blow to the GOP, which has been struggling to find a message and a messenger since. These Tea Party rallies are beginning to coalesce into a distinct message: every dollar the Democratic-controlled government spends or authorizes to be spent in the future is another ball in the GOP cannon for 2012, possibly even 2010, where many incumbent Democrats are already on shaky ground with their voters. Even "safe" incumbents like Senate Majority Leader and 22-year veteran of the Senate, Harry Reid (D-NV) are in danger in 2010. Additionally, many Democrats who were elected in 2008 on Obama's coat tails, in heavily Republican districts, are now realizing that in order to retain their freshly-minted seats they need to be more moderate than once hoped by the Democratic caucus and the DNC when they planned the Obama platform last year. The clean-sweep of Washington that President Obama's campaign rhetoric promised, and Liberal activists were salivating over, has not happened, and likely will not. The Obama administration is starting to see the same problems the Clinton administration saw: liberal policies sound good on the campaign trail, and gets the crowds screaming, but trying to implement them ends up reigniting the resistance. And just like back then, post-Presidential election mid-terms will be the real litmus test of the new Administrations mandate. In the 90's the Right latched onto personal scandals in the Clinton family and milked them to the end of the century and beyond; now, you would think it's the 1950's again with the cries of "Socialism," booming from the GOP pulpits, and with the fear and demagoguery employed by the president's resistance.
President Obama said that he was willing to be a one-term president to get health care reform signed into law, and while I do not believe getting it done in and of itself would seal the tomb on his presidency, I do believe how it is done just might. At the moment, under extreme pressure from both Left and Right, it seems the president may consent to Democrats "ramming it through," i.e.: conducting an entirely partisan process and taking advantage of the Democratic majority in Congress to get it signed into law before the 2010 mid-terms (potentially) change the power schematic of government and our lawmakers. By the time it is all said and done, that may be the only way to do it, and if that conclusion is reached by the White House, all odds say they will do it. Obama is between a rock and a hard place with health care reform. It was a cornerstone of his campaign and the #1 item in the Democratic platform in 2008. If he fails to get it passed, his own supporters will chastise him by withholding money and votes; if he succeeds, the opposition will be strengthened, and they will get stronger the more it appears the president strong-armed Congress. Health care reform may not be the deciding factor in an Obama re-election in 2012, but it will provide endless fodder because it is intrinsically connected to every other hot-button issue of the time: the economy, the future of our nation's youth and elderly (who have a potent electoral presence) and even foreign relations and trade because our health care system is so deeply tied to international interests.
Regardless of similarities to the past, these Tea Parties are also something new, something angrier. President Obama has stirred a bee hive in America, and people are saying shocking things. CNN has covered the Tea Party movement in detail, and shares these examples:
No one on the tea party express seems concerned with the vocal fringe of the crowds that come with offensive signs -- besides Nazi imagery, a poster of Obama as an African witch doctor has become popular -- or the numerous conspiracy theories that float around most tea parties.
In Battle Creek, Michigan, a woman in her 60s says, "I really don't want to be a guinea pig for the experiment they have with the population control." In Canton, Ohio, a woman argues with an Obama supporter: "He's going after our kids to try to indoctrinate them into a national defense army."
The Tea Party Express tour has been free of violence, but occasional outbursts of vitriolic hatred toward the president combined with some menacing outward appearances often overshadow the more moderate tea partyers.
In Louisville, Kentucky, two young men in camouflage fatigues roamed the crowd trying to recruit new members for their militia called the Ohio Valley Freedom Fighters. They bear signs reading "AK-47s: today's pitchfork" and "Quit worrying. Start your militia training today."
In Jackson, Michigan, a young man didn't need a sign. He was carrying the real thing: A loaded AK-47 assault rifle and two loaded handguns.
"I don't want a revolution. I don't want a civil war," he said. "But it is a possibility. It's there as an option, as a last resort."
Comments
None of the legitimate sources claim that 'hundreds of thousands' let alone two million teabaggers participated--most estimates range in the tens of thousands. Just saying, in the words of Rep. Wilson--YOU LIE!
Hey Pete,
I guess the Washington DC Police and two other DC departments are not "legitimate" sources to you. The big problem is that the biased media has lied to YOU and you cannot even recognize that fact. There are pictures from overhead cameras that certainly show far more than "a few thousand" people. I guess you don;t want to believe your eyes either.
Check the top picture on the estimates link at the top of this story. Then come back here and apologize for calling this story a lie. It is what the left would want you to do after your uninformed outburst.
Kyle Sennet said: "Saturday, September 12th, Washington D.C., the West Front of the Capitol was overflowing with protesters, as many as 2 million some estimates say."
Sennet's "source" is another moron blogger. Here's what ABC had to say: "Sept. 12,
2009—Conservative activists, who organized a march on the U.S. Capitol today in protest of the Obama administration's health care agenda and government spending, erroneously attributed reports on the size of the crowds to ABC News.
Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, the group that organized the event, said on stage at the rally that ABC News was reporting that 1 million to 1.5 million people were in attendance.
At no time did ABC News, or its affiliates, report a number anywhere near as large. ABCNews.com reported an approximate figure of 60,000 to 70,000 protesters, attributed to the Washington, D.C., fire department. In its reports, ABC News Radio described the crowd as "tens of thousands."
The official count, which is easy to see from the sky view, was around 1.5-2M.
And why should these comments not be expected? ( "I really don't want to be a guinea pig for the experiment they have with the population control" and "He's going after our kids to try to indoctrinate them into a national defense army" Why are they taken as extreme?
Are you telling us not to believe what your dear leader says in his own words?
If exGovernor Sarah Palin has a "detailed article about tort reform" on her facebook page I wonder who wrote it for her (1) and did she bother to read it (2) and did she ask for an explanation (3.) I learned enough about her general and legal knowledge (or lack thereof) during the campaign and Harry Smith and Couric interviews to wonder why she is allowing herself to be used to weigh in on this debate and other important policy issues. Oh, yeah! This was the "important work" that she quit her job to do. (Being a mouthpiece for other divisive pols!)
Legitimate sources = ABC/CBS/NBC/NYT/CNN? Good Lord, you ARE delusional. As for Sarah Palin, can you believe she once said we had 57 states! Doh! Nope, that was the brilliant TOTUS.
Once you guys are through with your temper tantrums and spewing your hateful rhetoric, maybe you could take some time to read up on the foundation of our country and the hell our forefathers went through to secure the independence you're so ungrateful for and so freely willing to hand over to a smooth operator with a posse of unconstitutional czars.
This ain't high school anymore, folks. Get a backbone.
You idea of legit sources - is not mine. There were well over 1M - my familt attended. We all know that the media is grossly liberal and all"news" from ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and the like should be reported as editorials for what they report AND what they don't report.
Maybe if commie Obama would get his hand out of everyone's back pocket, they would have had more money to be able to travel to DC. But don't worry - you'll see in 2010 when the real counts will take place.
I've never been to any protest of any kind before. The head of the Capitol police told me they estimated the crowd to be 1.5 million. I believe him. This polite, concerned, huge crowd even picked up all their own trash. Calling us names just proves that we are a growning threat to those who are tearing apart what our founders created. I will not stand by anymore and watch this great nation disappear. I'm doing this for my grandchildren and I will not stop.
All this is being ignored by Obama & white house , and will until 2010 and 2012 election. Then, democraps will be losing the white house and majority for a long,long time....
You guys are idiots and liars. Who said there were 2 million there? NO ONE! It was a few tens of thousands. Significant? Perhaps. But let's not just make stuff up.
In the article there was a mention of a CBS poll,
"CBS published a poll indicating that 60% of American also favor the public option"
The CBS poll had 70% democrat participants 15% republican and 15% independent, guaranteeing them the results they wanted, read their own analysis of the poll!
Which part of The Constitution gives congress or the president the right to have a national health care program?
Uphold our Constitution!
Even Michelle Malkin now admits that there were fewer than 70,000 people at the 9/12 rally.
As for picking up their own trash...that's not what I saw in post-rally photos. (Although more than a few DID throw their American flags in the garbage....)
Universal health care works in my country England, and also in France, Germany and many other European countries. What is the problem with having the same system in your country?
Oh, a much more balanced article. Good job.
Yes. The sticking points are rather interesting.
The Democrats must have a public "option", or they walk from the table. The conservatives won't stand for it, as it is a growth of government, probably unconstitutional, and Obama has openly stated that he will use it as a stepping stone toward a single-payer, single-provider system of horrors, which is his long-term goal. In the short-term, it will do nothing for the cost of health care, except dump it all on the "rich" (who make more than $42,000 a year). In the long term, it will reduce the cost of health care by reducing treatment options to only the cheapest.
One thing is certain: we do not suffer a lack of insurance companies.
On the other side is tort reform, which could potentially save a lot of health care dollars. There are no constitutional issues here, but it is difficult. The Democrats are by-and-large lawyers, and they will not hinder the pockets of other lawy
Just to add some real crowd estimating to the argument. The area around the Capitol, all of Pennsylvania Ave. (from Freedom Plaza to the Capitol), and all of Freedom Plaza were packed with people. For that area, at 6 square feet per protester (a comfortable packing), that's about 120,000 people. The National Mall was also one-third packed (from an over-head image taken at about 12:30), although I did hear several people state that they saw the crowd going all the way back to the Washington monument later in the day. If even 1/3 of the Mall was filled, that's another 100,000 to 120,000 people.
For a comparison, the 9-12 protest (packing Pennsylvania Ave. and 1/3 of the Mall) and the Obama inauguration (lining Pennsylvania Ave, packing 1/3 of the Mall, and loosely filling the rest) both covered nearly equal areas. The inauguration was reported to have 1.8 million, so a number between 1.7 and 1.9 for the 9-12 protest seems equally plausible. Or I should say, implausible?
Universal health care works in my country England, and also in France, Germany and many other European countries. What is the problem with having the same system in your country?
Obama is a radical no doubt, anyone who associates with Dorn, Wright, Resko, and others and allows ACORN to exist should have never been VETTED. It shows you what a crooked mess our political system has come be. Then to top it off Obama surrounds himself with staff that are also way to radical. Why is Barney Franks still around. Obama has no courage he cannot even tell Pelosi to SHUT UP.
We all will only benefit from his and not from our success.
I no longer have a problem with the latest reform bill. It will have a trigger option.
Since we can't find out the number of demonstrators can we at least round up enough guns to exercise the trigger option that would kill a bill that has mutated into a multi-headed snake?
Don’t you worry; we have the man who knows how to charm snakes without a gun. He actually sells snake oil. It’s Mr. Obama. I put all my trust in him, because only his success will be ours.
This is all about the underlying, hideous factor of the racism that is so deeply ingrained in the American character. The attempt to portray this president (Of all people!) as a socialistic, left wing extremist doesn't even pass the giggle test for people who have bothered to pay attention to their times and their history. Let's face it - Franklin D. Roosevelt, he ain't! They can't obstruct his agenda with a manufactured scandal regarding his personal life, as they did with Bill Clinton. eleven years ago. Their only hope is for enough of the American people to become really frightened by the Big, Bad Negro Commie. An ironic description when one takes into consideration how boringly moderate Obama really is.
www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
Australian media have black banned this story, and are not reporting on it at all. Very strange.
God bless these patriots for speaking out against the illegal Presidency of Barrack Hussein Obama. The dumbocrats should be rounded up and send packing overseas with their commie buddies. We probably have one chance for Republicans in 2010 to retake this country without trouble we will all regret.
To Mr Degan.
Get off the Racism kick. People are getting Damn tired of such a lame argument.
It really angers me that every time a person disagrees with the actions or beliefs of this president who happens to be of African decent they are called a Racist.
Drop the "race card" and have an intelligent conversation.
People have a problem with the liberals "Tax & Spend" mentality. It has nothing to do with Race.
I actually like to listen to the president speak. He has a very charming way about him. I don't like his policies of mortgaging my financial future and the financial future of my kids but that doesn't make me a Racist. I'm anti-Liberal. Not sure what generalization you could call me but you cannot call me a racist.
I love the numbers game that many liberal outlets are playing. Gee . . there were thousands . . . but the pictures tell the truth. There were a pot load of people who took the time to get out there - anyway you look at it.
Just want to remind everyone posting here:
LARGE MAJORITIES of Americans were excited and proud to see this country elect the First Black American President. Every poll states this. Americans celebrated breaking this barrier in LARGE MAJORITIES. The problem with the President has always been the disconnect between Obama the man - and Obama's Politices, which were never popular. Americans still reject far left politices. Now that the thrill of his election is waning, American are judging him on his policies alone. Something we should all celebrate as well. Race is not a factor. To bring it into the debate now, only devalues President Obama's credibility as President and is why the White House continues to reject race as an issue for the President. You do the President a disservice by bringing it up.
We're considering government mandated universal health care in South Africa. Our tiny little economy with our vast numbers of uninsured people want to do it. What the hell is the matter with the wierdo right wingers in your country. I am considered right wing in SA, and I support healthcare. Who pays for Dick Cheney's next heart attack? I support free enterprise, but to deny healthcare is equivalent to telling New Orleans residents that the hurricane is their problem, not ours. I'd support a universal UN run health care system - maybe that will be enough to test my Dick Cheney metaphor?
When did ignorance become a point of view?
Irony abounds in that right-wing bloggers hate the press and that they hate the practice of journalism. They lecture reporters about accountability and fairness all the time, yet whenever amateur conservatives try their hand at reporting, they just produce LOLs for the rest of us.
Perhaps Malkin's only regret was she didn't aim higher; she could have claimed there were news reports of 12 million people protesting in D.C., and I'm sure every one of her willingly gullible devotees would have linked to her.
And that's what I think was so revealing about the 2 million-people-in-D.C. fiasco: Nobody within the right-wing blogosphere seems to be the slightest bit upset, let alone embarrassed or chastened, for having been part of a farcical, inept attempt to inflate the size of Saturday's rally by 1,930,000 people. Nobody seems to think it reflects poorly on them as a community, or that it will damage their collective reputation.
It's really second nature for Republicans to not only lie about such easily discredited things, but to also take them on and just keep lying about them. The people lying about 2 million Tea Baggers are the same people that lied about death panels, killing old people, concentration camps, socialist takeovers, free health care for illegals, fake birth certificates and ultimately gave us 8 Great years of George W. Bush. They are the very same people. None of us should be terribly surprised that exposing their lies only makes them lie more.
“President Obama’s speech last week really moved me. Despite what my colleagues think of me. If what he says is what will EXACTLY happen, how can I not hope and work towards that cause”? Mike Oliphant runs a small Utah health insurance website www.benefitsmanager.net/SelectHealth.html and www.dentalinsuranceutah.net whom deals with hundreds of people on a day to day struggle to be approved for health insurance. “I get hopeful that I can finally tell people they can qualify for coverage REGARDLESS of their pre-existing medical condition”. Mike’s concern is that Obama’s people won’t deliver what he urges on areas within his speech. “I really have been moved by this guy and wish we could just talk so he could understand the frustration of a health insurance agent. I have been involved on a political level within the state of Utah and their struggle for health care reform. I have seen and regrettably been part of politics at work. I have learned lessons through baptism of fire with poli
youtube.com/user/PushBackNow#play/uploads/0/nK8ofkvLkUI
What is mad as hell so damn mad at?
How about some facts? How about examples taken from you know, reality.
Obama want to give you free health treatment, why u protest ?
You prefer spend money to the war rather than for your own health ? Americans are real sheeps, War in iraq destroyed your economy just for make 10 peoples even more rich. Are u aware from that ? You are manipulated by big businesses and billionnars peoples who want only be more rich than rich. They own media to manipulate you. Search who own all americans newspaper and television ! all is owned by billionnars guys.
Wake up and ask free media first ! then u will get the truth.
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