Still going with the 75,000 lie. Kinda overshadows everything else.
I was there on 9/12 and the demography sounds about right. There were some pretty lame entertainment bookings, but nobody was there expecting headliners. The message was in the sheer immensity of the crowd and in the consistency of message: Limited Government, Lower Taxes, Rule of Law, Free Markets, Respect for the Founders, Patriotism, Concern for Future Generations, and most importantly, Individual Liberty. All the great minds of classical, liberal democracy were honored by hand lettered quotations on signs: Sam Adams, John Adams, Jefferson and Locke, Lincoln, Paine, Washington, John Jay, Madison, and Monroe. Still others cited the wisdom of the free market: Hayek, Friedman, Adam Smith, von Mises, and Ayn Rand. That’s pretty heady company for a “redneck mob of ignorant brutes and racists.” I went unsure of whether I’d be standing out in the rain with two or three dozen lonesome and pathetic paleocons. What occurred was a massive and miraculous surge of All-American love; not hate. It was impossible to tell how many people were there if one was in the midst of this human sea, but it was way, way, way more than 75,000; probably 10X that number or more. Anyone who’s been to a big time stadium could verify that. The trains were overflowing. People poured up into the street at Freedom Plaza and the march filled Pennsylvania Avenue in a solid flow spilling onto the sidewalks and flowing all the way to the Capitol for several hours. The Mall was full from the stage at the Capitol steps all the way back to the Washington monument. The presence of the people themselves and their stories rolled over us all. At several points, the crowd joined in singing: the “Star-Spangled Banner”, “America”, and “God Bless America”,; and it was in suprisingly quiet and gentle for such a huge group. Sometimes it got pretty loud with chants like: “CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?!” or “WE OWN THE DOME!” The experience put a fire into my head. It was a great day.