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September 12, 2009
Exclusive: FSM Attends the 9/12 Tea Party in Washington D.C.
I was among the hordes of disgruntled American taxpayers who descended upon Washington D.C. for the 9/12 Tea Party. Estimates ranged from tens of thousandsto between 1 and 2 million. Here's some of what I saw and heard:
My mother and I arrived at Freedom Plaza at about 10:15. The weather the day before had been crummy, and so we worried that it would carry over to the big day. Fortunately, although it was overcast, the air was quite balmy and a nice breeze kept it from getting too hot, even when the sun emerged later. The nice weather may have contributed to the success of the event - no one likes to march in the rain.
The march up Pennsylvania Avenue was not scheduled to start until 11:30, but when we arrived people were already marching. I heard later that the march was started early because there were too many people arriving to "contain" in one area. We joined the marchers, and were surrounded by people of all ages and all walks of life from all over the nation - Tennessee, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and South Carolina, just to name a few.
It was nice to see capitalism at work - there were small vendors selling t-shirts, flags, and even pretzels. One guy selling flags and buttons said, "I'm a capitalist pig - support me!" I purchased two hand-held "Don't Tread On Me" flags from him.
From my vantage point within the crowd, people were generally friendly, considerate, and well-mannered. Most of the signs were hand-made, with catchy slogans like:
- Latinas are Conservative Too
- Free Markets, Not Freeloaders
- Barack is Making Us BaRoke
- Don't Counterfeit - The Federal Reserve Doesn't Like Competition
- Um, Barack, America's Patriots have Come Home to Roost
- You Can't Fix Stupid, but You Can Vote It Out
- Keep Your Change
- You Are Not Entitled to What I Have Earned
- Washington Needs an Enema
There are simply too many to list here, but you get the idea. Not only were there plenty of marchers, but there were plenty of onlookers on the sidewalk lining the street, also holding signs and chanting along with the marchers.
Yes, I did see a few signs with Obama sporting a Hitler moustache, but they were held by supporters of Lyndon LaRouche, who is known for his nutty, fringe politics. Hardly mainstream.
Spontaneous outbursts of song - God Bless America and the Star Spangled Banner - erupted throughout the march, as did "waves" of general cheering and chants of "USA," "You Lie," "You Work for Us" and "We Love Joe [Wilson]." Wilson was quite the hero - I saw a number of signs either proclaiming him a hero or saying "Joe Wilson 2012." The singing and chanting continued throughout the afternoon.
Some 450 buses had brought tea partiers to Washington, with people from all 50 states and with companion events happening in 45 states. Others, like us, arrived by car and still others arrived by train or plane.
When we reached the Capitol Building, it was wall to wall people. We stood on by the reflecting pool, opposite the Capitol Building. Among the speakers was Andrew Moylan, head of government affairs for the National Taxpayer Union, declared "Hell hath no fury like a taxpayer ignored." He added, "You're being ignored today by the media and some politicians."
Obviously fed up with much of the mainstream media, ralliers did drown out a CNN reporter as she tried to give a live report. Rude? Perhaps. But people are tired of the elitist spin that emanates from many media outlets today. We’re ready for real change.
Sen. Jim DeMint was one of the few politicians who made an appearance, prefacing his remarks by saying, "I'm not here to speak to you, I'm here to stand with you."
What surprised me was that - from what I could tell - there were no counter-protesters. In fact, the only negative comment I heard was on the way to the Metro stop when we were leaving. As we crossed the street, a man in his car said, “Why don’t you all just go home?” Unsurprisingly, his car sported an Obama bumper sticker. I decided not to respond, because you never know who’s going to jump out of his car and get physical. And at that point, I was tired from the long drive the day before and standing outside for a good portion of the day.
One woman from Pittsburgh whom we spoke to told us how excited she was to be there. She had “never done anything like this before” and was thrilled to speak to so many different people from around the nation who felt like she did.
Later, when I arrived back where I was staying, I saw a Fox News report of the event, and the anchor asked the reporter if she thought it was a coincidence that Barack Obama was not in Washington, but in Minnesota, continuing to push his toxic health care plan. The reporter chuckled. I myself wonder how much of a coincidence his absence was. But then, Obama spends little time in at the White House.
It was a great day for America. The only question that remains is: Washington, are you listening?
Pam Meister is the editor of FamilySecurityMatters.org.
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