Commentary and analysis on American politics, culture, and national identity, U.S. foreign policy and international relations, and the state of education
- from a neoconservative perspective! - Keeping an eye on the communist-left so you don't have to!
Saturday, September 12th, was a special day for democratic participation in America. The nation witnessed a phenomenal display of grassroots action in defense of liberty. London's Daily Mailreports that upwards of 2 million people marched on Capitol Hill. I was unable to travel to Washington, like so many others. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to attend a great rally at the U.S. Federal Building in Los Angeles. I'd say roughly 2,000 people attended, although another estimate places turnout at 3,500.
Here's a shot of the crowd when I arrived about 2:30pm - with hundreds of people already on hand. Below, we see the Wilshire Federal Building sign, to the West side of the property, near the Eastbound offramp at Interstate 405:
Here's my first shot of demonstrators, an enthusiastic couple:
What a cool sign - can you imagine our first president saying, WTF?
I walked back over to the sidewalk at Wilshire to get some photos of demonstrators. This guy's sign sports a damning condemnation of the president:
Vendors were selling loads of t-shirts (you can see the tables set up at about 3:35 minutes at the video). I actually first noticed the "Real Hope" shirts on these two brothers. They let me take their picture:
The caption on the back of the shirt is from the Matthew 12:21, "In His Name the Nations Will Put Their Hope." This young lady, hanging out with her mom, models the shirt:
This mom below was really sweet, and eager for me to get shots of her "tea party toddlers":
I told this guy straight out that he had the best sign of the day. I've said the same thing many times at the blog, and boy does that drive the lefties batty:
The crowd was filling out pretty good by now:
Back out on Wilshire, I said hello to this fellow below. Regular readers might remember him (and his sign) from the Adam Schiff town hall:
I didn't know this gentleman, but I liked his sign:
Joe Wilson's influence reaches to the West Coast:
Back over to the podium, I thought Bill Whittle - the great host of Pajamas Media - gave the best speech of the day (or at least of the speeches that I really listened to):
An old friend of mine, Michael, from 30 years ago, gave an impassioned address. I didn't recognize him until he started speaking. We spoke afterwords for a few minutes. Love the shirt:
As I was saying my goodbyes, I noticed this pretty woman with the great Photoshopped mini-poster, "Comrade Obama Leading Us to the Glorious Future!:
Thanks for posting these, Donald. Not all the pictures loaded for me, but enough did that I'm beginning to think there'll still be a country left when I get home from defending it. That's encouraging.
Yawn. A bunch of right-wingers from Orange County, Simi Valley & the Inland Empire/Riverside County. Where were they when Bush/Cheney were running up the national credit card. They certainly didn't mount street protests when Bush enacted tax cuts for the rich without reducing spending. They didn't protest when Bush invaded Iraq and didn't cut spending/raise taxes to pay for that. Hypocrites.
I benefited from those tax cuts, and I am a looooooong way from rich, as I was making about $43k/yr at the time.
Of course, you are probably one of those libs who considers anyone employed as being "rich."
And your ceaseless bitching about Bush running up the credit card tab is falling on deaf ears, given that Comrade Chairman Obama has managed to quadruple the federal deficit in only eight months. Funny how you lefties continue to conveniently ignore that.
Donald - Pretty funny that both links you provided for the "upwards of 2 million people" claim also claim that the number was "Tens of thousands of people." From what I understand, the unofficial estimate is more like 70,000. Still a decent sized turnout, but nowhere close to two million. In contrast, anti-war protesters had over 100,000 people in Washington back in October 2002, and you guys didn't think it was important.
But hey, you believe what you want to believe, so keep seeing the two million people claim while the rest of us realize it was less than 5% of that.
And let's not forget this: 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."
But of course, when a former Majority Leader runs a group which receives most of their contributions from corporations and buses people in, that's all grassroots. After all, ACORN wasn't involved, so it HAD to be grassroots.
We are well aware that the Mainstream (Democrat) press regularly inflates liberal numbers and understates conservative ones. The cam video captures and photos make your number of 70,000 to be a joke. You can spin it until you're blue in the face, but the DC rally is a good portent of things to come for your socialist party. Be afraid BioBrain, be very afraid, come November 2010.
It was really great to be part of history yesterday. I see that we both had the same people in our photos! It is fascinating that now the left is trying to say that we are a small minority of people. Really? Unlike the left-wing protests that are advertised for weeks and in the Mainstream Media, our gathering in West L. A. drew so many basically by e-mails, Twitter and Facebook. And what took place in Washington D. C. is amazing. These deniers will be shocked come November, 2010. BTW, a preview will be the New Jersey and Virginia governor's races. Big wins for the GOP there.
I am always amused by the signs people have: even when I disagree with them, people come up with some clever, ridiculous, and/or reprehensible ideas for posters.
But as for the size of the protest, that's going to be the subject of a great deal of debate and name-calling, so I don't even want to go into it.
What I would want to discuss is what we've learned from this second series of protests? It looks like the people who didn't vote for Obama and who didn't like him the last time there were Tea Party protests still don't like him. That's not really news. Other than disliking Obama, there wasn't exactly what we'd call "message discipline" here--as in, everyone there doesn't like Obama and that's clear, but what do they like? That's less clear to me. For instance, there were a bunch of "keep Government out of my Medicare" slogans being bandied about. There were Obama-as-Joker posters (because Obama is like the Joker how?), there were posters complaining about Obama's czars (some of whom are Bush's czars, none of whom have Czarist powers), there were posters with some vague threats (it goes something like "we're unarmed... this time").
So what does it all add up to? What have we learned? Where do we go from here?
I've said it before, I'll say it again, let's say, across the US, you had 3million people protesting, you'd have 1% of the US population repeating what they've already said: we didn't vote for Obama. I don't know how to respond to that other than "better luck next time. See you in 2010."
We are well aware that the Mainstream (Democrat) press regularly inflates liberal numbers and understates conservative ones.
Stogie - Unfortunately, it appears the "Democrat" media at Fox News also pegs the number at "tens of thousands", and they happened to have promoted this event quite enthusiastically. And on the other hand, there is NO credible source for the "two million" claim. Michelle Malkin kept saying it came from ABC News, but ABC denied it.
And Malkin has now posted a correction, admitting that ABC reported that the D.C. Fire Department made an estimate of 60k to 70k, while the "two million" claim came from FreedomWorks the "grassroots" organization that helped organize the event and bussed people in. And again, 70,000 is a respectable turn-out, so you guys are just embarrassing yourselves by exaggerating it so greatly.
And as a reminder, the "tens of thousands" quote came directly from both of the sources Donald linked to for his "2 million" claim. Sorry if that isn't what you want to hear, but it's the truth.
Beyond this, what's the point? Even if ten million conservatives showed up to protest, why does that matter? McCain got over 58 million votes last year, so we KNOW there are lots of Republicans and conservatives who don't approve of Obama. Similarly, 59 million people voted for Kerry in 2004, yet you guys still expected Bush and the Republican Congress to ignore them and promote a conservative agenda. I fail to see the difference.
Yes, many people oppose Obama's agenda. But he ran on this agenda, he won the election, and now he's fulfilling his promises. That's democracy. That's how the system works. I fail to see the problem.
I took the photos with a plain Canon digital camera, and uploaded them to Photobucket. I reduced them in size, from 800 to 600, then posted. They do look good, and it's just a simple camera. Nothing special. Thanks.
Thanks for the link to my video. BTW, that's me with the "Throw Mama..." sign, as well... I got a million of 'em.
If anyone's impressed by Dr. Blob-brain's arguments, swing by my site and see the comparison of the 9/12 crowd with the LBJ inauguration crowd documented at 1.5 million. The 9/12 crowd wins in a walk.
Tom the Redhunter - Just wanted to mention that I (as a liberal) really liked your comment and hope you encourage more conservatives to follow your advice. I actually wrote a blog post about it , as I've been worried about all the anger I've been seeing from the right lately, and was glad to see you guys finally talking about more constructive ways of opposing Obama. You weren't the only one saying this, but I thought your comment summed it up well.
Please, more talk about getting involved politically and less shouting at congressmen. Democracy isn't about winning, it's about having a voice. And the more people shout, the less anyone can be heard.
If anyone's impressed by Dr. Blob-brain's arguments,
Richard - Which "arguments" are you referring to? You mean how I quoted from Donald's sources? Or how I quoted from Fox News? Or was it when I cited Michelle Malkin, who said the D.C. Fire Department made the 70,000 claim? Were those the arguments you were referring to?
Because I've got news for you, pal: Those WEREN'T arguments. Those were facts. You should try using them some time. Or...you can keep using your own subjective judgment about how many people were there, which completely distracts from the true purpose of the protest. Your choice.
Oh, but you do score points for the name-calling. I've honestly never seen that one before.
'Dr Bio-brain' quoth: And on the other hand, there is NO credible source for the "two million" claim.
Here's one. When originally posted, the first paragraph said "up to two million." If you don't believe me, note the page title as displayed at the top of your browser window -- it still echoes the original headline, even though the article and text headline have been rewritten.
Personally, I think the two million number probably is overstated ... but there is no way it was overstated by 95%. There is no way that crowd is under 100,000.
It seems to me that a lot of the Tea Party movement doesn't see a difference between losing the country and losing an election, but let's be clear here that conservatives lost the election. Now there's a certain hysteria in the air about how Obama is trying some unprecedented power grab when really he's just trying to enact the campaign promises that he won on.
(And just to recall, let's say the nation-wide Tea Parties got up to 3million--well, that's almost a third of Obama's 10million margin of victory.)
Rather than get all hysterical over losing an election, conservatives should take Tom's advice here and think about winning the next one. I've heard a lot of triumphalism around the net--"just you wait until 2010"--but I haven't actually heard any planning.
wolfwalker - Sorry, but the Daily Mail is a conservative tabloid which cited absolutely no source for their claim. That article ALSO has the "tens of thousands" claim, and no, it doesn't help your side that they eventually lopped the headcount in half. But perhaps you're also interested in the Mail's top stories, like how Cheryl Cole stayed out partying all night or Madonna's transparent attempt to stay young. There's also a story about the famous celebrity who raped Katie Price, but she won't say who it was... Yes, a real credible news source there.
As for your second source, that's a complete joke. A "guestimate" from someone who wasn't even there? Please. I do like how Vodkapundit admits that he prefers this dude's "guestimate" over facts. After all, reality has a well known liberal bias.
25 comments:
Thanks for posting these, Donald. Not all the pictures loaded for me, but enough did that I'm beginning to think there'll still be a country left when I get home from defending it. That's encouraging.
Great photo set. Wish I'd been there, or in Washington. Well, Washington for the masses, or LA for the great weather!
My job kept me from any local activity but that's where my heart was.
Yawn. A bunch of right-wingers from Orange County, Simi Valley & the Inland Empire/Riverside County. Where were they when Bush/Cheney were running up the national credit card. They certainly didn't mount street protests when Bush enacted tax cuts for the rich without reducing spending. They didn't protest when Bush invaded Iraq and didn't cut spending/raise taxes to pay for that. Hypocrites.
Anon,
I benefited from those tax cuts, and I am a looooooong way from rich, as I was making about $43k/yr at the time.
Of course, you are probably one of those libs who considers anyone employed as being "rich."
And your ceaseless bitching about Bush running up the credit card tab is falling on deaf ears, given that Comrade Chairman Obama has managed to quadruple the federal deficit in only eight months. Funny how you lefties continue to conveniently ignore that.
-Dave
Anon,
Hypocrites!? That's pretty rich coming from a leftard troll.
Please crawl back into the sewer from whence you came.
Fantastic pictures. Thanks for being there, and thanks for posting them so quickly.
- Tony Katz
Donald - Pretty funny that both links you provided for the "upwards of 2 million people" claim also claim that the number was "Tens of thousands of people." From what I understand, the unofficial estimate is more like 70,000. Still a decent sized turnout, but nowhere close to two million. In contrast, anti-war protesters had over 100,000 people in Washington back in October 2002, and you guys didn't think it was important.
But hey, you believe what you want to believe, so keep seeing the two million people claim while the rest of us realize it was less than 5% of that.
And let's not forget this: 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."
But of course, when a former Majority Leader runs a group which receives most of their contributions from corporations and buses people in, that's all grassroots. After all, ACORN wasn't involved, so it HAD to be grassroots.
Fantastic pics, Donald. I love the signs! How did you get the pics to post in so large a size? They look great on your blog.
I usually go into the html to enlarge the pics, but yours are so clear and high rez.
Dr. BioBrain,
We are well aware that the Mainstream (Democrat) press regularly inflates liberal numbers and understates conservative ones. The cam video captures and photos make your number of 70,000 to be a joke. You can spin it until you're blue in the face, but the DC rally is a good portent of things to come for your socialist party. Be afraid BioBrain, be very afraid, come November 2010.
It was really great to be part of history yesterday. I see that we both had the same people in our photos! It is fascinating that now the left is trying to say that we are a small minority of people. Really? Unlike the left-wing protests that are advertised for weeks and in the Mainstream Media, our gathering in West L. A. drew so many basically by e-mails, Twitter and Facebook. And what took place in Washington D. C. is amazing. These deniers will be shocked come November, 2010. BTW, a preview will be the New Jersey and Virginia governor's races. Big wins for the GOP there.
I am always amused by the signs people have: even when I disagree with them, people come up with some clever, ridiculous, and/or reprehensible ideas for posters.
But as for the size of the protest, that's going to be the subject of a great deal of debate and name-calling, so I don't even want to go into it.
What I would want to discuss is what we've learned from this second series of protests? It looks like the people who didn't vote for Obama and who didn't like him the last time there were Tea Party protests still don't like him. That's not really news. Other than disliking Obama, there wasn't exactly what we'd call "message discipline" here--as in, everyone there doesn't like Obama and that's clear, but what do they like? That's less clear to me. For instance, there were a bunch of "keep Government out of my Medicare" slogans being bandied about. There were Obama-as-Joker posters (because Obama is like the Joker how?), there were posters complaining about Obama's czars (some of whom are Bush's czars, none of whom have Czarist powers), there were posters with some vague threats (it goes something like "we're unarmed... this time").
So what does it all add up to? What have we learned? Where do we go from here?
I've said it before, I'll say it again, let's say, across the US, you had 3million people protesting, you'd have 1% of the US population repeating what they've already said: we didn't vote for Obama. I don't know how to respond to that other than "better luck next time. See you in 2010."
I liked the photos... and i thought the WTF sign was cool.
We are well aware that the Mainstream (Democrat) press regularly inflates liberal numbers and understates conservative ones.
Stogie - Unfortunately, it appears the "Democrat" media at Fox News also pegs the number at "tens of thousands", and they happened to have promoted this event quite enthusiastically. And on the other hand, there is NO credible source for the "two million" claim. Michelle Malkin kept saying it came from ABC News, but ABC denied it.
And Malkin has now posted a correction, admitting that ABC reported that the D.C. Fire Department made an estimate of 60k to 70k, while the "two million" claim came from FreedomWorks the "grassroots" organization that helped organize the event and bussed people in. And again, 70,000 is a respectable turn-out, so you guys are just embarrassing yourselves by exaggerating it so greatly.
And as a reminder, the "tens of thousands" quote came directly from both of the sources Donald linked to for his "2 million" claim. Sorry if that isn't what you want to hear, but it's the truth.
Beyond this, what's the point? Even if ten million conservatives showed up to protest, why does that matter? McCain got over 58 million votes last year, so we KNOW there are lots of Republicans and conservatives who don't approve of Obama. Similarly, 59 million people voted for Kerry in 2004, yet you guys still expected Bush and the Republican Congress to ignore them and promote a conservative agenda. I fail to see the difference.
Yes, many people oppose Obama's agenda. But he ran on this agenda, he won the election, and now he's fulfilling his promises. That's democracy. That's how the system works. I fail to see the problem.
Stogie: I'm not techie, LOL!
I took the photos with a plain Canon digital camera, and uploaded them to Photobucket. I reduced them in size, from 800 to 600, then posted. They do look good, and it's just a simple camera. Nothing special. Thanks.
Fantastic post and great photos, Donanld. Just as in WDC it seems like all of you had a great time.
I have decided that quibbling over numbers is counterproductive. Huge numbers were there and that's all that counts.
The question is where does this energy go from here? If all people do is go home and holler at their TVs then it will have made little difference.
So please get involved politically. Find a candidate or cause and get involved. This is the only way you can effect change.
Thanks for the link to my video. BTW, that's me with the "Throw Mama..." sign, as well... I got a million of 'em.
If anyone's impressed by Dr. Blob-brain's arguments, swing by my site and see the comparison of the 9/12 crowd with the LBJ inauguration crowd documented at 1.5 million. The 9/12 crowd wins in a walk.
Tom the Redhunter - Just wanted to mention that I (as a liberal) really liked your comment and hope you encourage more conservatives to follow your advice. I actually wrote a blog post about it
, as I've been worried about all the anger I've been seeing from the right lately, and was glad to see you guys finally talking about more constructive ways of opposing Obama. You weren't the only one saying this, but I thought your comment summed it up well.
Please, more talk about getting involved politically and less shouting at congressmen. Democracy isn't about winning, it's about having a voice. And the more people shout, the less anyone can be heard.
If anyone's impressed by Dr. Blob-brain's arguments,
Richard - Which "arguments" are you referring to? You mean how I quoted from Donald's sources? Or how I quoted from Fox News? Or was it when I cited Michelle Malkin, who said the D.C. Fire Department made the 70,000 claim? Were those the arguments you were referring to?
Because I've got news for you, pal: Those WEREN'T arguments. Those were facts. You should try using them some time. Or...you can keep using your own subjective judgment about how many people were there, which completely distracts from the true purpose of the protest. Your choice.
Oh, but you do score points for the name-calling. I've honestly never seen that one before.
'Dr Bio-brain' quoth: And on the other hand, there is NO credible source for the "two million" claim.
Here's one. When originally posted, the first paragraph said "up to two million." If you don't believe me, note the page title as displayed at the top of your browser window -- it still echoes the original headline, even though the article and text headline have been rewritten.
Here's another, entirely independent source for an estimate of 2,000,000.
Personally, I think the two million number probably is overstated ... but there is no way it was overstated by 95%. There is no way that crowd is under 100,000.
I agree with Tom the Redhunter's hopes, as well:
It seems to me that a lot of the Tea Party movement doesn't see a difference between losing the country and losing an election, but let's be clear here that conservatives lost the election. Now there's a certain hysteria in the air about how Obama is trying some unprecedented power grab when really he's just trying to enact the campaign promises that he won on.
(And just to recall, let's say the nation-wide Tea Parties got up to 3million--well, that's almost a third of Obama's 10million margin of victory.)
Rather than get all hysterical over losing an election, conservatives should take Tom's advice here and think about winning the next one. I've heard a lot of triumphalism around the net--"just you wait until 2010"--but I haven't actually heard any planning.
Looks like a pretty good time!
wolfwalker - Sorry, but the Daily Mail is a conservative tabloid which cited absolutely no source for their claim. That article ALSO has the "tens of thousands" claim, and no, it doesn't help your side that they eventually lopped the headcount in half. But perhaps you're also interested in the Mail's top stories, like how Cheryl Cole stayed out partying all night or Madonna's transparent attempt to stay young. There's also a story about the famous celebrity who raped Katie Price, but she won't say who it was... Yes, a real credible news source there.
As for your second source, that's a complete joke. A "guestimate" from someone who wasn't even there? Please. I do like how Vodkapundit admits that he prefers this dude's "guestimate" over facts. After all, reality has a well known liberal bias.
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