My uncle sends me lots of great conservative spam, and some of it deserves to be seen. These pictures tell a story other than what the liberal media want to portray. As you'll see below, more realistic crowd estimates place participation between 450K and 1.2M people.
Notice the actual black Americans – I wonder why the rampant 'racism' driving these conservatives doesn't seem to offend them. Hmmm. Maybe because that's just liberal projection from their own confused minds. That's my guess. Read the captions, they tell the story behind each pic. Wonderful truth. My notes in blue.
Protesters came from every state in the union. This man came from San Antonio, TX. He said that he was really sorry he hadn’t brought his family. He stated that being a black conservative he was afraid to expose his children to what he expected would be a lot of liberal abuse. He was thrilled with the tenor of the event and the fact that no liberals were present to harass him. He spoke about how incredibly intolerant the left is to black individuals who don’t bow to the party line.
There were notable differences though, in the behavior of these attendees. Although the legend of Woodstock is that there was a friendly atmosphere of camaraderie, the truth is that most people were there for the drugs, sex and rock and roll. Today in D.C. there was a true kinship amongst these people based on shared values and intellectual understanding of what America is and how its future is imperiled by big radical government. No one was having sex in the Reflecting Pool let alone the mud, and I saw no one projectile vomiting on the steps of the Capitol. There were no warnings to avoid the bad acid which would send you on a trip to the hospital. Not just a different era, but a different level of civilized behavior and thought. Oh, and by the way, these people didn’t leave tons of garbage behind when they left. Actually they left no trash behind at all.
I think this gathering should be appreciated as the extremely important historical event that it is. This is the first great conservative anti-statist manifestation in American history. The conservative movement, which developed in the post-WWII, Cold War environment has now fully matured into the most significant political movement of the 21st century. I believe that this day could be referred to in the not too distant future as the day that changed America. This was the day the great silent conservative majority finally found its voice.
Many of the attendees were quite meek and timid and were unsure of exactly what to expect, this being the first time in their lives they’d been involved in a protest movement. Their fears evaporated early in the day and I saw people reveling in the camaraderie , the joy and sheer civility that was exhibited at the entire event. Chants of 'Freedom, freedom, freedom,' 'No more czars! No more czars!' carried through the air without the slightest hint of rancor or incivility which is the norm at the leftist rallies I have photographed over the years.
The two photos above show a tiny fraction of the two million ABC estimates attended (MY NOTE: This may be an exaggeration the actual number was more likely between 450,000 – 1.2M). I saw signs and heard lots of comments comparing this event to Woodstock. At the time this photo was taken, around 1:00 p.m., Pennsylvania Avenue was still jammed completely, and the mall was packed from the Capitol Building past the Washington Monument. See aerial photos here.
These Ohioans took a day off their rodeo bullriding schedule. They said they’ll be back at it tomorrow.
Mike Pence (R-Indiana) was one of the speakers who addressed the crowd: 'After years of fighting runaway government on this hill, you people look like the cavalry to me..I believe we are on the verge of a great American awakening.'
San Diego radio host Mason Weaver said from the podium: 'I came here because I thought you might want to hear a black man speak without a teleprompter (NOTE: That might be racist if Weaver wasn't BLACK). This government is trying to make a nation of dependent people. Americans have always been independent people. This is not a Republican thing, it’s not a Democrat thing. It’s not a black thing or a white thing. It’s an American thing. We the people are telling them ‘No more! We’ve had enough!'
In the very center of the photo, above the Silence is Consent 'Can You Hear Us Now' sign, you can see Pennsylvania Ave., which at this time is totally blocked with protesters who cannot move forward to the Capitol area. Sorry, full up.
WALNUT ' Workers Against Lazy Non-Producers United Together' the conservative answer to ACORN (NOTE: HILARIOUS!). Didn’t have to ask them if they were receiving any taxpayer money like radical left-wing ACORN. Different DNA!
NOTE: Wait, there it is! A black man with fire around him! Racist, racist! er… is that a woman of COLOR holding that sign? Darn. Maybe she's a Phillipino who hates blacks? All of this in the mind of the liberal race mongers.
I think I want a shirt that says "I'm not racist, I just don't buy into your victim mentality. Grow up!"
NOTE: This is my favorite sign.
Nancy Pelosi has accused patriotic tea-partyers of 'carrying swastikas' implying that they are Nazi sympathizers. This event was wall to wall hammers and sickles and words like 'socialist' 'communist' and 'Marxist' etc. It continues to fascinate me how long the Democrats will tolerate this without ever commenting on it. Either they like it, or there’s something to it.
Ever present at Tea Parties are Sons of Liberty reenactors. The couple on the left is from Tennessee and the young lady on the right is not but she joined in the photo. The clothing for the couple was hand stitched by the lady on the left. And boy do they love America.
>> CIN: It's nice that you show some token black tea bags to try to portray them as inclusive and not racists but they number what, one in a thousand maybe?
They are a minority, not for racist reasons as you suppose – Occam would tell you that:
1. A majority of blacks are Democrats
2. Even worse, 90% of African Americans voted for Obama, and this imbalance was due to people voting based on race rather than ideology. So now you only have a pool of 10% of blacks living in America – so pro-black racism has already selected them out of such a crowd.
3. As one of them said, liberals, and I'd bet black liberals, are mercilessly cruel to black conservatives, and reserve special vitriol for blacks who want to get off of the Liberal Plantation.
The black guy quoted there said he didn't bring his family (and many blacks may have stayed away) because they didn't want to be heckled BY LIBERALS that might have been their to counterprotest.
Remember how they called Clarence Thomas an Uncle Tom, and worse?
The fact is, a black man was a headline speaker, and no one is calling for the black GOP congressional leader to step down. All the racism is in the dark hearts of liberals. You have no case at all. In fact, the data is AGAINST you.
These people at the rallies are patriots, and Americans who respect the Constitution and freedom, and reject statism.
They are a minority, not for racist reasons as you suppose…
Cineaste: tea bags in general are not overtly racist.
Notice the Seeker spin?
"1. A majority of blacks are Democrats"
Why is that? You just made my point.
"…so pro-black racism has already selected them out of such a crowd."
Pro-black racism. LOL! Blacks are racist because they voted for Obama? Oh, you are sooo wise.
"These people at the rallies are patriots, and Americans who respect the Constitution and freedom, and reject statism."
They look like they don't even know what they are protesting. They are just very angry about nothing. Take for example the sign about Czars. Here is the truth that they are ignorant of. Don't you feel even just a little sorry for them? What will you do to enlighten your fellow ignoramuses about this Daniel?
These signs are just as offensive as the ones comparing Obama to Hitler or the Nazis. Accusing him of being a communist is, in some respects, worse, as communism was responsible for far more deaths and, arguably, more suffering than Nazism. Also, declaring that "Obama lied, Capitalism died" is a flat out lie in itself. How has capitalism died? Last I looked, it's alive and well and thriving (billions more bonuses to Wall Street crooks, the economy looking up, corporations busily extracting billions from a compliant government, etc.). This stuff is just crap, and these people not honest patriots, but seriously misguided and ignorant, if not malicious, wackos. If anything, you've convinced me that the right-wing fringe is even worse than I had feared. The times are scary indeed.
Quote for the day (Hat tip: Sully)
""I've always been a Republican for the traditional principles that have been associated with the Republican party since I became a Republican, when I registered to vote. And that is limited government, individual opportunities, fiscal responsibility, and a strong national defense. So I think those principles have always been a part of the Republican party heritage. And I believe that I reflect those views and I haven't changed as a Republican. I think more that my party has changed," – Senator Olympia Snowe."
Hi Daniel:
I think the 400K-1.2M estimate is a little inaccurate. Here's a link from the very well respected poltical (and baseball) analyst Nate Silver:
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/09/size-matte…
your friend
Keith
Well, obviously, Silver is partisan, so I'd take his word as no more autoritative than that of conservative partisans. We'll have to compare their logic and data. Read the links I included, I think they provide a better basis for real numbers.
In any case, both sides have reasons to under or over estimate the crowds. But the important point is that the liberal media under reports events and numbers for non liberal causes all the time, hence sites like newsbusters.org. And this movement is much larger and grass roots than liberals think.
In this case, their erroneous reporting, like that of reporting racist motives, nazism, stupidity, or astroturfing, serves only to embolden conservatives. LIberals are so out of touch it's not funny anymore, it's tragic, for them and the country.
At this point, people are so disgusted with the MSM that not only do we not believe them (nor Obama), but there is enough awareness of their bias that their influence is much less important, so we just use it as fuel to keep going.
There is a reason why Fox news dominates the ratings, and it's not because they are inflammatory or argumentative as some liberals might want to believe – it's because, as I've said, they have not drunk the far left kool aid, and people trust them to be more accurate and actually FOR the people than the pro-government corrupt press.
I think we've passed an important milestone in mistrust for the press – they are SO biased that they've lost credibility, and I doubt that they can get it back.
Some great interviews with the well-informed 9/12 protesters.
Please note the southern accents.
Hi Daniel:
Nate Silver is definitely a partisan but he proved himself an objective observer during the campaign which is why his predictions were so accurate–it's the same skill set he brings to Baseball Prospectus which is why it provides the best baseball analysis on the web. he is very trustworthy and his argument here seems pretty good to me. Police/fire department estimates of crowd size are usually fairly accurate. They have no axes to grind and every motivation to accurately gauge size.
your friend
Keith
I watched the interviews posted by Louis. Like I said, I'd be surprised to find a teabagger who actually knows what they are protesting. Very eye opening!
What Teabagger Signs Say Vs. What They Mean
Here and here.
I'm sorry Louis but when I went to visit your site I noticed a link to "101 Buxom Oktoberfest Beer Babes" found here. I never made it back to the teabagger signs page.
Aackk! My eyes! I think I've been struck blind!