Tea Party Could've Used Some Crashers
A crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 Tea Partiers gathered on Capitol Hill for an afternoon rally to protest the Democrats’ health care legislation, a figure far short of the organizers’ expected turnout of 15,000.
When only about eighty people turned out for the morning protest and ‘storming’ of the Senate office buildings, Jenny Beth Martin, a national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots said that she expected upwards of 15,000 protestors in the afternoon. FrumForum was on the scene, and estimated only a few thousand in attendance.
Much like the morning protest, those assembled told FrumForum that they were on Capitol Hill to combat the healthcare legislation currently in the Senate.
“I’m answering the call at high noon for healthcare. I've been to every tea party, every town hall I could, protesting at pro-healthcare rallies... this is wrong. It's not what is in the Constitution. They're not representing us. They're not listening,” said Whitney Riley from Sparks, Maryland.
“We came out today over the health bill... we have family members that live in other countries and have similar [government] health plans. It's totally a disaster. They just can't understand why we're being so stupid,” said Bill McCormick of North Carolina.
Alongside the protest being held on stage, a disturbing anti-abortion protest took place nearby. A man dressed as the Grim Reaper pretended to whip three individuals dressed as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama, all covered in fake blood. It appeared to be the same protestors that had held a similar protest on the Hill in October.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdRfd9GweCs
The Tea Party protest appeared to have occurred with relatively little organization, with activists following news of rallies online and showing up. That said, a few groups play a role in spreading the word regarding protests and rallies. Of note are Freedom Works, the group founded by Dick Armey and sponsor of the Tea Party Documentary, as well as the Tea Party Patriots, a website that helps list local tea parties.
“There’s no formal membership required,” said Mark Meckler, a coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, of the tea party movement.
Meckler continued by pointing out that top-down organization was relatively minimal in the movement: “There’s no centralized fundraising. We fundraise on a project by project basis, and the projects are always proposed by the grassroots, rather than from our organization. And, [the Tea Party Patriots] are all volunteers.”
Flickr: More FrumForum Pictures from the Afternoon Protests
Tea Party Rendition of Twelve Days of Christmas: