Posted on 09/13/2009 12:17:00 PM PDT by American Dream 246
Sometimes an event occurs which is transformative in a way that everyone who sees it or participates in it instantly is aware of. Yesterday's demonstration in Washington DC is one of those rare happenings in my opinion.
The Daily Mail said 2 million Americans participated. My friend Charlie Martin extrapolated from the pictures an attendance figure of 2.3 million. Here is a time lapse of the parade portion of the event so you can get a feel for yourself of the size of the crowd. Whatever the actual number it is sure to be seriously underestimated by the Obama-besotted members of the press corps who are also likely to misrepresent the participants and their views.
But as a participant, I want you to know the attendees were wonderful people, civil and polite. They showed their respect for the Capitol and the event by leaving no mess behind when they were through, in marked contrast to the inauguration and the usual left wing demonstrations here.
The feeling I have is that this is a wretched political class, as full of itself as it is idea-less and talentless and the people know it. They are disgusted enough with the new American elitism to travel on their own dime by any means available to come here to let Congress and the President know that they will use every legal means at their disposal to overthrow them. And overthrowing them is precisely what they intend to do.
Congress is up for election in 2010. They can rely on the grossly inaccurate press accounts if they choose. But I'm telling them it would be a major error to do so. - Clarice Feldman
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We are witnessing a very rare phenomenon, the genuine, broad based spontaneous political movement with no visible charismatic leaders.
Right after the stimulus bill passed, I got an e-mail from a woman I had once met at a local Republican event inviting me to participate in a small noontime demonstration in nearby Asheville. A couple dozen people showed up with banners and American flags to protest the spending. The person who had invited me was a concerned housewife.
When the local Republican Party showed up with refreshments, they were, for the most part coolly received.
On April 15, I was at a much, much larger demonstration, organized in part by the same housewife, a veterinarian and a former sixties radical. Perhaps as many as 1,500+ people showed up, again with homemade signs, American flags and now a large smattering of Gadsden flags. A few local Republican elected officials showed up, but they were at the side of the crowd, not on the speaker's platform. We the People were the main event.
All around the nation, elected officials and pundits did not quite know what to make of the "Tea Parties" held on April 15. Pajama's Media estimated that the total participation in large metropolitan areas and small county seats all around the nation may have been in the hundreds of thousands.
On the Fourth of July, many of those who had organized the April 15 events, organized a further round of demonstrations. Later in July and throughout the August Congressional recess, further small demonstrations were held outside the local offices of Representatives and Senators. When some Democrats packed their town halls with handpicked supporters, there were often demonstrations being held outside.
I was not able to attend the September 12 rally in Washington, DC. I watched it on TV with several dozen other supporters at a local rally for those who could not make the trip. As I review the accounts and looks at the images several facts are apparent. Estimates as to crowd size vary by so much as to be meaningless, but the attendance certainly exceeded the organizer's expectations of perhaps 50,000. So many people showed up that they had to start marching early. The staging area simply couldn't contain them.
Once again, they brought their own signs, their own flags and their own unique attitude. They came from many states, many as from as far away as Texas and California. The crowd also contained a great many immigrants who are upset that America seems ready to adopt the failed policies they had been trying to escape. At its peak, it was wall to wall people. (Watch time lapse video, here). Most significantly of all, those in attendance had not relied in any way on members of the current political class to get them there, nor had they showed up because their livelihood would be in jeopardy had they not agreed to demonstrate, as is the union way.
As I read the many reports on the Internet, I think this one, from Mark Hemmingway at NRO, says it best
I asked one guy, who came up from South Carolina with 160 people on three buses, who put his trip together. He laughed and said, "My neighbor."
Washington, DC appeared to be a most neighborly place on Saturday.
The political class often operates on the assumption that only those people who constantly tell other how smart they are actually are have brains. That if you don't relish life in the artificial confines of the District of Columbia and haven't come by to kiss their rings, you therefore must be lacking in the skills needed to govern. Last year a young Governor who had been more concerned with raising her family than polishing her resume with the right schools and the right career path let the political class know that she was not in the least impressed with their inside the beltway criteria for leadership. On Saturday a whole lot of people just like her showed up on their own time and their own dime to say it is time to end business as usual in the fetid, corrupt swamp that is Washington, DC.
Everyone in the political class, journalists, consultants, elected Democrats and Republicans alike, needs to know this: Those countless little-known people who established the local e-mail lists, organized first one, then two, then three or more chartered buses, held sign-making parties and packed box lunches, are not going to go away any time soon. Continue to enact legislation that we cannot afford and they will be back, perhaps in even greater numbers.
The Democrats need to realize these demonstrators are beholden to no one. The Republicans need to realize that they still are not trusted. Why should they be when each day seems to have another story of compromise on core principals and going along to get along with spending their children cannot afford?
While the media is concentrating on the anti-Obama aspects of the demonstration, there was also a message to the Republican establishment: Lead, follow, or get out of our way. - Rosslyn Smith
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"We are witnessing a very rare phenomenon, the genuine, broad based spontaneous political movement with no visible charismatic leaders. "
I was an early adapter, showing up at rallies from the beginning. There are organizers, speakers, cheerleaders, and others who perform important functions, but no clear "Leader" in the strictest sense. It occurs to me that the reason is simple: great minds think alike. This group may be primitive in some ways, but we are by no means naive. We all know what to do, we don't really need a face for the movement at this point. If any emerge too soon, then he or she would become the target and could be damaged early on and thereby removed from the game. So the opponents are left taking their shots at the group. It's like shooting at army ants with a rifle; you can pick off the odd worker, but the colony marches inexorably on and soon you're out of ammo.
They don't even know what to call us, so they resort to sexual innuendo. Nice; nothing says you have a good argument like standing in the sewer when you deliver it.
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Posted by: Al Medioli Sep 13, 10:52 AM Report Abuse Reply
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I came with a group from Bergen County, in northern New Jersey, who travelled in three buses. It was a very diverse group--a mix of professionals, small business owners, ex-military, young and old, but all of us paying attention, aware of the significance of the Constitution, and very aware of what is at stake. We debarked at Union Station and marched directly to the Capitol, and coming around the western side knew that the demonstration was very large before we could see it because of its cheers and roars. The crowd was very friendly, festive and diverse--just regular Americans. I met people from California, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.
We organized this ourselves. We paid for our own transportation and lunches. We left the Capitol grounds spotless.
And took up a collection and tipped our driver when we got back. Because we all work for a living too.
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Posted by: Rightmindedmom Sep 13, 10:53 AM Report Abuse Reply
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I had long thought that this movement needed Sarah to come out and lead it, but your argument about Democrats not having a single person to demonize makes sense --"it's like shooting at army ants with a rife; you can pick off the odd worker, but the colony marches inexorably on..." . So thank you for giving me reasons to not fret about Sarah not leading the movement -- YET. Besides, she's been beat up by the Left so much that she couldn't do her job anymore, and had to resign. I guess she's just working on finishing her book, and hopefully, the movement will have her as a leader in 2010 -- after she's finished writing. Our country NEEDS Sarah to rally for cleaning up the Washington mess of corruption in BOTH parties. She did it in Alaska. She can do it with the country. I pray daily that God will inspire her to lead the movement of PEOPLE WHO LOVE THE USA, AND WANT LIBERTY AND FREEDOM TO PROSPER.
Mom in Wisconsin
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And more great comments at the link
We conservatives hate the environment so much, we left the Capitol grounds perfectly clean.
Unlike the “green” libs who utterly trashed the place at Obama’s inauguration.
A transformative event.
Absolutely.
BTTT.
Can anyone find the photos of the inauguration AFTER they left and put it aside the one of yesterday AFTER we left? That would be a great, great sign to show all these green pigs the difference between them and us.
I would LOVE to see that go viral. Please FReepers, try to do that. May be a vid? Thanks.
Don't you know? Laws, even no-littering laws apply only to the little people.
So the rally was fabulous. One my friends and I went down and actually saw someone I knew in the crowd (I live in MD, she lives in VA). We ran into a nursing school student from Vanderbilt where I graduated.
Here is what has me furious. They have completely misrepresented the count. The counts are being reports at 60-70K (dc polic), though apparently the National Park Service reported 1.2 million (which sounds more like it, having been there in person).
The crowd went to the washington monument and there was no walking room on the capitol are (except for some the sidewalks which people were pilot enough to leave open).
If they marginalize the count, they can marginalize the movement. 1.2 million is a lot different than tens of thousands. How do we make the media tell the truth and prove it to them ? Does anyone know where the National Park service estimate can from or have any “official” document that has the park service estimate... maybe contact the UK paper.
the freedom works folks don’t appear to be fighting this... I guess they can’t after the bad announcment. It would certainly be possible to put up a website with the pictures showing the real turn out. Also, perhaps showing the pictures of the capitol during our rally and the pictures during the inauguration.
but we need that national park service official estimate. then perhaps we can all bombard hannity and greta before monday’s program and try to get them to report the true numbers...
thoughts ?
Agree that would be very interesting and perfect for shaming the lefties with.
http://constitutionallyspeaking.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/conservative-patriots-v-government-trough-feeders/
The DBM will certainly try. Check out the Newseum's front pages web site. You will see that almost no newspapers across the country found the largest outdoor gathering of conservatives in the history of the USA to be newsworthy. As for TV, there were certainly many opportunities for great visuals.
We can only hope that ever more people become aware that the DBM can just ignore any event of their choosing. They will go home, look for their recorded coverage and find it missing.
Warning, the web site I posted has the thoroughly debunked Promise Keepers 1997 picture posted.
That is excellent.
That is an excellent point. And I think that is way the political left has underestimated the effect these people are having in the health care debate. The Left didn't see this coming. Neither did the country club Republicans who think they know it all and control it all, those country club Republicans who told us to forget about Reagan and move on. Well, we are moving on alright, but without the country club crowd.
well...it’s about time :)
It would be great to see a picture of “post inaugural” and “post 9-12”side-by-side with a caption...why the left thinks we need laws to save the environment .... and why the right thinks we can just all behave ourselves without overlaws and overlords” ... or something like that. Picture/1000 words and all that.
Darn...here is the link.
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