Nationwide estimates of Tax Day Tea Party protest crowds (1 - 1.2 million total)

SurgeUSA.org ^ | May 1, 2009 | SurgeUSA Staff

[Syncro]

Nationwide estimates of Tax Day Tea Party protest crowds

Wow!  We're gathering crowd estimates for the April 15 Tax Day Tea Party protests nationwide as fast as we can.  Thank you for your patience and assistance as we work to document this historic event.

Scroll down to our latest tally of the total attendance at the Tax Day Tea Parties.  After review of reports from only 408 Tea Parties out of 813 we have identified so far, the estimated national turnout already adds up to roughly 500,000 - 650,000+.  These estimates already include many of the largest Tea Party protests, but the final total seems very likely to reliably exceed 600,000.

One of the original Nationwide Tea Party Coalition organizers, Michael Patrick Leahy, asserted in an April 24 interview that their latest tallies show 1 - 1.2 million total turnout on April 15 at 900+ protests.  This was based on 940,000 counted with 150 protests not yet included in the total.  A separate tally at Free Republic reported 904 Tea Parties and 780,000 - 917.000 attendees (also not yet a final total).  One of the national Tax Day Tea Party organizers had estimated 750,000+ on radio early on April 16.  In any case, it was an amazing turnout.  Thanks, everybody!

Whatever the most reliable final estimates may be, this completely blows away the number of loyal "pledges" of support for Obama's budget plan which were gathered by the DNC and Organizing for America in late March 2009 to pressure members of Congress.  Contrary to press reports which had asserted 642,000 signed pledges were delivered to members of Congress from that effort, it turns out that the real total was only 214,000 pledges - with 3 copies of each delivered (1 to the relevant member of Congress and 2 to the Senators.

By contrast, the Tea Parties got far more Americans to actually take the time to go to these protests and make their own views heard, instead of just signing a vague pledge of loyalty like a blank check for anything in Obama's budget to support his healthcare, education, and energy / environmental agenda.

The highly touted Obama campaign e-mail list of 13+ million supporters only generated 114,000 such pledges, despite his personal video, radio statement, and other DNC publicity promoting the pledge drive, and the OFA network of community activists then gathered a further 100,000 pledges personally.

It will probably take a few days to compile more complete and reliable totals from so many sources.  There are literally thousands of news reports, blog posts, e-mails, and other sources to check.

Pajamas TV quickly estimated the national turnout at 225,000+, but this was still very preliminary on the evening of April 15.  By early afternoon on April 16, their total was over 280,000.  By 8pm on April 18, as more cities were reported, their incomplete total was already up to nearly 640,000.

RedState has published some very useful reports of estimates of Tax Day Tea Party crowds, with many links to local news reports.  Some news media underestimated the crowds - whether as very conservative journalistic estimates, political bias, or the result of showing up and leaving too early.  It was hard to compile reliable counts in some locations where events lasted longer, so that people came and went during the festivities.  After all, many people soon had to go back to work!

[Syncro]

Continued:

We have identified 800+ protests on April 15 so far, and our research is not yet complete.  This just includes the April 15 protests - and there have been dozens of other large protests already in many cities, plus many are being planned for future dates such as July 4.

Our Surge by State feature also lists planned and prior protests as well as other resources by state.

Don't forget to prepare for July 4, when more Tea Party protests are planned nationally on a "Learn the Constitution" theme related to the concepts of limited government and individual responsibility.

This total was updated as of 9pm CST April 28.  We're still trying to add up all 800+ Tea Parties!  We have added blank lines in the list below for many of the known Tea Parties for which crowd estimates have not yet been found.  Thanks again for your patience as we try to compile a reliable analysis at the same time as we work to share information about preparations for future Tea Party celebrations.

[R_Kangel]

"(1 - 1.2 million total)

(1 - 1.2 million total) = a couple dozen according to the MSM.

[Syncro]

Well, they have the teabags on their eyes so that’s why they didn’t notice...

[Syncro]

I dislike giant comment posts, but I'm going to do it anyway here.

A lot of people are having tea parties on July 4th, so here is a list of some of them from This Page at SurgeUSA

US Mid-Atlantic region :  Tea Parties	fiscal conservative events - no party affiliation
District of Columbia Independence Day Tea Party protests	see also 9/12/09 National Taxpayer Protest in Washington, DC.
Washington DC March for Liberty July 4	www.marchforliberty.org
Delaware  Independence Day Tea Party - 5 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Delaware page
Maryland  Independence Day Tea Party - 10 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Maryland page
New Jersey  Independence Day Tea Party - 10 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: New Jersey page
North Carolina  Independence Day Tea Party - 29 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: North Carolina page
Pennsylvania  Independence Day Tea Party - 34 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Pennsylvania page
	Refer to the Pennsylvania Tea Parties website
Virginia  Independence Day Tea Party - 18 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Virginia page
Chesapeake, VA - Hampton Roads	information at http://hrteaparty.com
West Virginia  Independence Day Tea Party - 8 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: West Virginia page
Northeast US region - Tea Parties	fiscal conservative events - no party affiliation
Connecticut  Independence Day Tea Party - 4 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Connecticut page
Maine Independence Day Tea Party - 3 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Maine page
Massachusetts Independence Day Tea Party - 6 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Massachusetts page
New Hampshire  Independence Day Tea Party - 6 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: New Hampshire page
Portsmouth, NH	http://newhampshireaction.ning.com
New York  Independence Day Tea Party - 27 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: New York page
Rhode Island  Independence Day Tea Party - 1 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Rhode Island page
Vermont  Independence Day Tea Party - 2 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Vermont page
Rutland, VT - Mount Independence
US Southeast region - Tea Parties	fiscal conservative events - no party affiliation
Alabama  Independence Day Tea Party - 15 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Alabama page
Huntsville, AL	www.huntsvilleteaparty.wordpress.com
Florida  Independence Day Tea Party - 50 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Florida page
Eustis, FL North Lake TEA Party, Independence Day Tea Party	www.northlaketeaparty.com
Inverness, FL	http://floridateaparty.weebly.com
Pace, FL - Santa Rosa Patriots Independence Rally & Tea Party
Georgia  Independence Day Tea Party - 21 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Georgia page
Mississippi  Independence Day Tea Party - 11 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Mississippi page
South Carolina  Independence Day Tea Party - 13 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: South Carolina page
Tennesssee  Independence Day Tea Party - 24 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Tennessee page
US Great Lakes region - Tea Parties	fiscal conservative events - no party affiliation
Illinois  Independence Day Tea Party - 17 Tax Day Tea Party protests

See Surge: Illinois page
Lisle, IL Suburban Tea Party	www.lisleteaparty.com
Chicago, July 4
Indiana  Independence Day Tea Party - 15 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See: Surge: Indiana page
Kentucky Independence Day Tea Party - 11 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Kentucky page
July 2 - Owensboro, KY	see Owensboro, KY Tax Day Tea Party info
Michigan Independence Day Tea Party - 29 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Michigan page
Minnesota Independence Day Tea Party - 12 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Minnesota page
Ohio Independence Day Tea Party - 26 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Ohio page
	new Ohio Tea Party website
Pennsylvania Independence Day Tea Party - Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Pennsylvania page
	Refer to the Pennsylvania Tea Parties website
Wisconsin Independence Day Tea Party - 6 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Wisconsin page
US North Central region - Tea Parties	fiscal conservative events - no party affiliation
Iowa Independence Day Tea Party -  8 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Iowa page
Kansas Independence Day Tea Party - 11 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Kansas page
Missouri Independence Day Tea Party - 12 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Missouri page
Salem, MO / Dent County July 4 Tea Party
Springfield, MO - Facebook event page
St. Louis, MO new website for the Independence Day Tea Party
Nebraska Independence Day Tea Party  - 6 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Nebraska page
North Dakota Independence Day Tea Party  - 2 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: North Dakota page
South Dakota Independence Day Tea Party  - 3 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: South Dakota page
US South Central region - Tea Parties	fiscal conservative events - no party affiliation
Arkansas Independence Day Tea Party  - 20 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Arkansas page
Fayetteville, AR	www.arkansasunite.com
Louisiana Independence Day Tea Party  - 14 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Louisiana page
Oklahoma Independence Day Tea Party  - 10 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Oklahoma page
Lawton, OK
Texas Independence Day Tea Party  - 68 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Texas page
Austin, TX	Facebook event page
Dallas, TX - July 4 - major Metroplex event
	new Texas Tea Party website
US Mountain region -  Tea Parties	fiscal conservative events - no party affiliation
Arizona Independence Day Tea Party  - 14 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Arizona page
	new Arizona Tea Party website
Colorado Independence Day Tea Party  - 11 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Colorado page
Colorado Springs / Monument, CO	www.cspringsteaparty.com
Idaho Independence Day Tea Party  - 8 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Idaho page
Montana Independence Day Tea Party  - 12 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Montana page
New Mexico Independence Day Tea Party  - 12 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: New Mexico page
Utah Independence Day Tea Party  - 5 Tax Day Tea Party protests	see Surge: Utah page
Wyoming Independence Day Tea Party  - 7 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Wyoming page
Cheyenne, WY - Cowboy Tea Party on July 4
US West Coast region - Tea Parties	fiscal conservative events - no party affiliation
Alaska Independence Day Tea Party  - 8 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Alaska page
	Alaska Tea Party
California Independence Day Tea Party  - 62 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: California page
Sacramento, CA	information at http://teapartypatriots.org
Fresno, CA - July 4 plans?
Hawaii Independence Day Tea Party  - 7 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Hawaii page
Nevada Independence Day Tea Party  - 4 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Nevada page
Oregon Independence Day Tea Party  -  22 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Oregon page
Astoria, OR	information at http://teapartypatriots.org
Beaverton, OR	information at http://teapartypatriots.org
Bend, OR	information at http://teapartypatriots.org
Coos Bay, OR	information at http://teapartypatriots.org
Portland, OR	information at http://teapartypatriots.org
Salem, OR	information at http://teapartypatriots.org
Washington Independence Day Tea Party  - 29 Tax Day Tea Party protests	See Surge: Washington page
Port of Olympia, WA	information at www.teapartyrevolution.com

[dsrtsage]

A million protestors, big whoop. Don’t you know that a real protest worthy of 24/7 coverage by every news outlet consists of 3 very ugly women dressed in pink?

[R_Kangel]

LOL, This whole thing is so unreal!!!

I just heard some BarackBot on the radio claiming that we finally have a Just President that will bring an end to corruption and bring back dignity to the Oval Office! LOL

[garyhope]

At the Fort Worth, Texas Tea Party I attended at LaGrave field, capacity 5100, the place was full.

[dajeeps]

Planning a trip to D.C. for the July 4th holiday, going to visit some relatives. Maybe I’ll just take a swing by the capital and get in on some great Tea Party action with cream and sugar!

[GoodDay]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH7OEfw1I-c

We Are America: Scenes from the NYC Tea Party, 4/15/09.

[Walkenfree]

Wow! Great post Syncro; Thanks.

[Biggirl]

Well coverage was big on April 15th, at least on the local level for the CT tea party protests.

[sauropod]

Time for more protests.

Keep the pressure on.

[SeattleBruce]

“Pajamas TV quickly estimated the national turnout at 225,000+, but this was still very preliminary on the evening of April 15. By early afternoon on April 16, their total was over 280,000. By 8pm on April 18, as more cities were reported, their incomplete total was already up to nearly 640,000.”

Now PJTV has revised estimates of 940,000. There are still many tea parties, albeit smaller ones, in WA State that are not yet being counted on that site.

[3D-JOY]

Please plan to join in the Walter Reed Freep on Friday night. 4 years of continuous rallies weekly. 6:30 to about 9:30 PM.

You won't regret a moment of it!

[BobS]

If you remember, the whole FOXNews bunch went out there and had fun along with the people. CNN and PMSNBC had daggers in their eyes. Remember that vile CNN babe who yelled at that guy there? That was a defining moment. She passed gas through her mouth!

[Humidston]

At our local TEA Party (outside of Houston) close to 1,000 came early, stayed late, used up all of my copies of a petition and were forced to use notebook paper, backs of other sheets of paper, not only did they NOT take my fountain pens, but left theirs in case we needed more. Two lines of people stood patiently in line to sign petitions for TWO SOLID HOURS.

Never in all my years of FReeping have I seen or met so many who are so willIng, so eager to take a stand. (BTW, our little community is only 10,000 residents!)

It’s coming. I smell it. They ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

[SeattleBruce]

Awesome - way to go - I’m excited and ready to go to more rallies in Wa State - we already defeated a tax here they were trying to ram through Olympia and more activism is coming as is the backlash to dear leader out in the other washington...:)

[SeattleBruce]

Tea Party schedule is developing at two pretty good schedule listings below.

http://www.teapartyrevolution.com/#schedule
http://teapartypatriots.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&view=eventlist&Itemid=2

There are rallies happening in May and June (for instance June 14th is Flag Day and there seem to be a number of Tea Party rallies planned for then - and certainly surrounding July 4th also!)

I know there are other sites also.
http://www.reteaparty.com/

but their schedules aren’t as complete as the first link. I’m not sure where the best Tea Party schedule clearinghouse is - I think we need some help in that area surely.

[Syncro]

In spite of the naysayers (even a few on this site) You Betcha!

[longtermmemmory]

use the politician’s formula of 10 at home for every one attending and suddenly you have 100,000,000 million to 120,000,000 who believe the government is out of control and obama and the democrats are bad for america.