Up to two million march to US Capitol to protest against Obama's spending (UK Press)

Daily Mail UK ^ | September 12, 2009

[greyfoxx39]

Up to two million people marched to the U.S. Capitol today, carrying signs with slogans such as "Obamacare makes me sick" as they protested the president's health care plan and what they say is out-of-control spending.

The line of protesters spread across Pennsylvania Avenue for blocks, all the way to the capitol, according to the Washington Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.

-SNIP-

FreedomWorks Foundation, a conservative organization led by former House of Representatives Majority Leader Dick Armey, organized several groups from across the country for what they billed as a "March on Washington."

Organizers say they built on momentum from the April "tea party" demonstrations held nationwide to protest tax policies, along with growing resentment over the economic stimulus packages and bank bailouts.

-SNIP-

Many protesters said they paid their own way to the event - an ethic they believe should be applied to the government.

-SNIP-

Today's protests imitated the original Boston Tea Party of 1773, when colonists threw three shiploads of taxed tea into Boston Harbour in protest against the British government under the slogan 'No taxation without representation'.

The group first began rising to prominence in April, when the governor of Texas threatened to secede from the union in protest against government spending. Waves of tea party protests have crossed America since.

Today's rally, the largest grouping of fiscal conservatives to march on Washington, comes on the heels of heated town halls held during the congressional August recess when some Democratic lawmakers were confronted, disrupted and shouted down by angry protestors who oppose President Obama's plan to overhaul the health care system.

 

[greyfoxx39]

From the article: The line of protesters spread across Pennsylvania Avenue for blocks, all the way to the capitol, according to the Washington Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.

I may be wrong, but this leads me to believe that Homeland Security may have contributed to the "two-million" figure. Journalistically (this is NOT the US media) the headline indicates the higher figure. Just sayin'.

[MarkT]

Cap, change your handle - I was there and you are not even close.

[lmr]

Good lists.

[mplsconservative]

There is no way there was even a million people...probably in the neighborhood of 100,000.

Geez, have you seen the pictures? People were gathered all over the Capitol steps to the Washington Monument and beyond.

[Freedom2specul8]

Homeland security and UK info

[Mrs. Don-o]

bttt

[Paladin2]

"Joan W., 78, of Ocean Pines, Md., sounded angry. "I'm not taking this crap anymore,"

Somebody "gets it"!

[icwhatudo]

Homeland Security did not give them a count. They are mentioned in the article as only saying "The line of protesters spread across Pennsylvania Avenue for blocks, all the way to the capitol".

""A House leadership aide warned fellow Democrats in a memo obtained by FOXNews.com that up to 2 million people may attend.

“It looks like Saturday’s event is going to be a huge gathering, estimates ranging from hundreds of thousands to 2 million people,” Doug Thornell, an aide to Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., wrote, noting that a demonstration held Thursday turned into an impromptu rally for Rep. Joe Wilson, who has come under fire for his outburst during Obama’s nationally televised speech to a joint session of Congress.

Conservatives have seized on this memo as proof emocrats are playing an expectations game. They say the House leadership wrote the memo in hopes it would be leaked and inflate expectations for the turnout anticipating that it will fall short."

[penelopesire]

Yep. There were thousands under the tree line also, all along the National Mall because they were barred from the grass area part of the mall itself. A political dirty trick by the democrats(Acorn affiliate) made sure that they didn’t have a permit to access the mall area according to reports.

[Dustoff45]

I was there. I started to walk around the crowd. It took over 35 minutes. I estimate 350,000.

For me the mood was like the Sarah Palin rally we had in Richmond VA at the RIR.

[Pete]

didn’t have a permit to access the mall area according to reports.

That may explain why everyone was so far to the right and left of the Capitol. I couldn't figure that one out. Other crowds I have seen in DC just flow straight back down the mall but this one also went way out to the right and left. BTW, even if we didn't have a permit, a lot of us were sitting on the grass.

[GVnana]

[Emmett McCarthy]

I live in Nashville, but by this time tomorrow, I will be in Ocean Pines, MD. Unlike the state legislature there which is dominated by the DC/Baltimore corridor of lefties, there is little or no support for ObaMao over in the Ocean Pines/Worcester County region.

[GVnana]

In all fairness, the article doesn’t say that Homeland Security gave them the crowd estimate and the Daily Mail could very well be repeating erroneous claims. Still, the UK press has done a much better job of reporting on Mr. Obama than the US MSM.

[greyfoxx39]

Conservatives have seized on this memo as proof emocrats are playing an expectations game. They say the House leadership wrote the memo in hopes it would be leaked and inflate expectations for the turnout anticipating that it will fall short."

I don't know what you are concerned about....no media outlet is going to pay more than scant attention to the whole march and rally except for Fox, and that won't last through this evening except on Beck's show. Obama's Minnesota gig and 60 minutes will be all over the DBM broadcasts along with the "eeeevvuulll Joe Wilson".

The dems aren't about to call attention to the whole thing...why would they?

[Tzimisce]

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Maybe this will rub off on some Brits, they need to be raising Hell too!

[HarleyD]

I was looking at some of the Obama inaguration photos in which they estimated about one million. I know the group was at least half that size stretching all the way down to the Washington Memorial. Beyond that I’m not sure. And it was packed. I would estimate the count from what I could see to be 400-500,000 people.

They asked everyone to twitter using their cell phones but this wasn’t very official. I saw a number of people (including myself) not doing it because it was too difficult or they didn’t have a cell phone.

[khnyny]

Now THAT's a great picture!

[pabianice]

Full coverage on MSNBC and CNN