Obama Citizenship

Tea Party: The Results; July 4, 2009 is Next

By Phil

(Pic from GaltsList blog) With the April 15 tea party day just over (and CNN’s journalistic hit job reaction thereto), it’s time to take a look at the results. According to the FiveThirtyEight blog, attendance was “at least 250,000″; see their link for a complete run-down of each State’s stats.

Before I get to the pictures, here are a few resources to check out for continuing coverage of the tea party phenomenon:

• PJTV — online television
• Video Today News – tons of tea party videos
• News: Samepoint – news and links for tea parties

TheRealBarackObama has an extensive listing of tea party stuff worth checking out (thanks, CitizenWells).

Update: Politician blow-back:

From TheWeeklyStandard:

But in an interview on Fox TV in San Francisco, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chalked up the GOP grass-roots effort as ?AstroTurf.?

?This initiative is funded by the high end; we call it AstroTurf, it’s not really a grass-roots movement. It’s AstroTurf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class,? Pelosi said.

Other House Democratic leaders took a different tack: One senior aide has been circulating a document to the media that debunks the effort as one driven by corporate lobbyists and attended by neo-Nazis…

In addition, the tea parties are ?not really all about average citizens,? the document continues, saying neo-Nazis, militias, secessionists and racists are attending them. The tea parties are also not peaceful, since reporters in Cincinnati had to seek ?police protection? during one of the events, it states. [emphasis from article]

From TheHill:

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) blasted “tea party” protests yesterday, labeling the activities “despicable” and shameful.” …

“It?s despicable that right-wing Republicans would attempt to cheapen a significant, honorable moment of American history with a shameful political stunt,” she added. “Not a single American household or business will be taxed at a higher rate this year. Made to look like a grassroots uprising, this is an Obama bashing party promoted by corporate interests, as well as Republican lobbyists and politicians.?

Excellent video that sums things up to date, along with promises for the future and pics…

Also, ReTeaParty.com is setting up for more tea parties on July 4, 2009. NationalReviewOnline says the following while HotAir has video of the DC party planner discussing the same:

Several sites are attempting to ensure that the enthusiasm of yesterdays tea parties isn’t a flash in the pan, including AfterTheTeaParty.com [another link] and TaxDayTeaParty.com.

If 100-1,000 people show up at a rally, the event may or may not get media coverage, and that coverage may or may not be snarky or dismissive. Congressmen may or may not notice, and the President’s spokesman will announce he’s not aware of them.

But if 100-1,000 people show up at a town council, city council, etc. meeting, in most places, that’s an earthquake. It varies widely, but most local government budget meetings are sleepy affairs, and many local lawmakers are used to settling their spending with minimal scrutiny. They’ve never seen anything like several hundred people showing up with the same message of “don’t waste my money.”

In other words, if conservatives want to make sure stimulus funds don’t get spent on crap, applying pressure at the local level is a way to leverage the tea party energy into something with real impact on the ground. Who knows? It might even get some conservatives involved in government on a more regular basis. Back in 1996, an obscure Chicago lawyer and law school lecturer was motivated to get involved in state legislature, and within a decade, he was running for president.

And now, links to pics (and more video):

• Michelle Malkin’s massive collection of tea party pics
• Huffington Post’s pics and lots of videos
• Commenter “Carol Greenberg” mentioned: Crowd lets off steam over rising taxes
• Everett WA, Tea party, April 15, 2009, Seattle area, Obama birth certificate, Obama poster, nawanawanga
• York: Look for Tea Party meaning in the small towns
• Chicago Tea Party
• Santa Ana Tea party?it was a Blast
• Dallas Tea Party in Pictures
• Photos and Video from the Atlanta Tea Party
• Some of the videos from the DC Tax Day Tea Party.
• Michelle and Cavuto at the Sacramento tea party
• Phoenix tea party photos
• Thousands gather in Martin County for Tax Day Tea Party against federal government spending
• PICS FROM THE ATLANTA TEA PARTY!!!
• ECR Live-NYC TEA Party Organizer: ‘10,000+ at City Hall’
• Atlas is Shrugging: A Tea Party Roundup
• Reports from our readers. YOU DID IT!!!
  • 3pm EDT update
  • 4pm EDT update
  • 5pm EDT update
  • Crowd estimates (updated)
  • 6pm EDT update
  • 7pm EDT update
  • 8pm EDT update
  • 9pm EDT Update
  • 10pm EDT Update
• A Few Minutes at the Philadelphia Tea Party
• Tea Parties Large and Small

I have some pics that a few folks have sent in to me. Hopefully I can get these uploaded to the web server later. In the meantime, enjoy the above; there’s plenty to look at!

-Phil

Full post as published by The Right Side of Life on April 16, 2009 (boomark / email).