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Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Go Home Already: Make Room
Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
So, you decided to take a nice leisurely stroll around the National Mall today, eh? You probably ran into a sizable contingent of tea party protesters. The AP and WTOP are reporting that somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people made their way towards the Mall, completely obstructing Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 14th Street and the Capitol building along the way.
Fellow weekend editor Kriston Capps -- who is down on the Mall covering the scene -- texted DCist HQ to say that proceedings are moving along "remarkably smooth[ly]." At this junction, Capps reports that he isn't sure when the rally is going to break up, but that as of 1:15, "there were more people leaving than arriving." How are the protesters taking a break? There is "a standing line outside the door to the National Museum of the American Indian," according to our roving reporter.
Lest you think that Glenn Beck's grainy Fox News feed from the scene (see right) is the only viewpoint of the kind of people attending today's protest, well, think again.
"[There's] lots of nice people sitting in chairs on the Mall," notes Capps.
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Philsophically I see some merit to "some" of what they have to say. Realistically, trying to drive in from Arlington up 14th St killed any empathy I might have had. Where were the rogue bus drivers/bicyclists when I needed them? Oh yeah, keep your kids out of it too. Your 4 year old doesn't know what Socialism is.
TEABAGGERS!!!
That can be interesting to see. lol
I wanted to go down there with some truck nutz and some candy wax lips as a patriotic counter protest: TEABAGGERS ON A WHALE CAKE, WHOOOOOO!
Rukasu... you might want to go down there and investigate before you post inaccurate comments.
The protest is not using the mall. They do not have a permit for the National Mall so they're on the Capitol grounds.
They also come from virtually every state, red and blue. I talked to a group from California and more from New Jersey.
I should also point out I ran into a group of democrats from my home state of Delaware also taking part in the protest. They came over on a bus because they feel - like many republicans - their party has been taken over by a fringe.
Classifying this event as anti-Obama or purely conservative is woefully incorrect.
You're a piece of shit... admonishing people for saying things about Robert Novak when he passed away then making jokes about chappaquiddick when Ted Kennedy died.
Where were you and the rest of these fucktwats when Bush took a trillion dollar turd in the desert? Or how about the $1.4 trillion dollar tax cut for the wealthy? Morons.
Heh. Profile history is a bitch getting tea bagged.
I'm staying out of the political fray, but I do love it when a partisan hypocrite gets called out.
Kennedy and Novak are two very different situations, which is why they got very different responses from me. People admonished Novak because he was a conservative, I admonished Kennedy because we was responsible for someone's death.
And today's activities weren't a rally against "health care reform." Why do you all continue to regurgitate this myth. It was a rally against big government, socialism and the loss of freedom that comes with these welfare state policies. Not one person I know who is opposed to this particular health care bill is opposed to health reform. Opposition to one bill doesn't mean you're opposed to change. You all are just stupid enough to take the first bill rammed down your throats and chastise anyone who disagrees with you.
And MikeB... when I walked through the rally, the speaker was ripping democrats AND republicans for massive government spending. These folks are clearly fed up with everyone, including the previous administration.
I thought they were admonishing Novak for being a douchebag that hit pedestrians with his convertible and tried to flee the scene.
I'm not a conservative, I'm not a liberal, I'm not a democrat, I'm not a republican. The only thing I hate is partisan hypocrisy, and you sir are a partisan hypocrite
the first bill rammed down your throats
The first bill?!?
Are you out of your fucking mind? Congress has wrestled with universal health care for the better part of a century!
be careful, your sheet is showing.
That's nice they were ripping both sides (even though about 80% of the signs I saw were targeted at Obama and Pelosi while the others were just generic "keep your hands off my guns" or "put your faith in God, not government" type signs).
But I'm serious. If their main beef is the growth of government, then why didn't they hold these tea parties after Bush/Paulson launched the TARP bailout? Or when Congress/Bush passed a $400 billion Medicare expansion/overhaul four years ago.
People admonished Novak because he was a conservative
Well, that and his hit and run antics...
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11985.html
And plowing through red lights into intersections...
http://www.tmz.com/2008/07/24/right-winger-a-serial-dinger/
So golly, you're right, it's not like there's any history of violence and negligence behind the wheel there.
I know, it must be hard to look inside and find oneself a racist hypocrite.
Even a caveman can read your shit. Paybacks are hell when you lector the american public. Show is over for your clan.
I was down there, first of all, and it did spill out onto the mall and public streets, and as others have said, the Smithsonian (also predominantly taxpayer funded). I didn't say it was anti-Obama, it was predominantly anti-tax and anti-healthcare reform, not to mention the fanatical evangelicals. But judging by some of the signs, it was also anti-Obama.
See here: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/09/12/us/20090912-PROTEST_7.html
here: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/09/12/us/20090912-PROTEST_3.html
here: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/09/12/us/20090912-PROTEST_index.html
Novak also caused problems for CIA agents in the field when he exposed Valerie Plame on the front pages of the Post. Any network she worked with (and any person in that network) became suspect once she was exposed. His hit and run antics extended to what he did weekly in his column.
I support their right to protest, as long as they are doing it correctly and according to the law. I don't know what's going on so I can't say if they are or not, but I hope that they are! And if they are using the National Museum of the American Indian to relieve themselves that is using tax-payer property.
I may think they have the right to protest, but I'm sorry, the fact that they call it a Tea Party and talk about using teabags to protest... ahahaha! Who wasn't thinking about us dirty minded people who would just take that to a level they weren't intending! I just can't take it seriously!
Hopefully the museum anticipated this and set up an exhibit about the one-third of all Native Americans who do not have health coverage.
http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=52
just covering my ass...
don't worry, teabagging doesn't involve your ass...
Wake me when it's over. Zzzz...
Yeah, there are a ton of them down there, and still going pretty strong as of 30 min or so ago when I was down there trying to jog around the mall. They aren't really on the mall (there is some other event going on on the mall itself), they are all down at the capitol. They were reporting their numbers at over 1 million on the loudspeaker, but I think thats a bit of an exaggeration. Un fortunately I couldnt find a counter protest or I would Have joined that, but instead I walked around giving people a disapproving look, since I'm too pussy to try to start shit. I certainly support their right to be doing what they're doing, but I think they're mostly misinformed. It's weird being on the opposite side of protests like this after 8 years of Bush.
Anyway, does anyone know of any pro health care reform events in the area? It would be good to show that just because they can bus people in from all over the country to oppose it, there are still a lot of people who support health care reform.
I just did a little research, and in case anyone else is interested, There is supposed to be a rally in support of health care reform tomorrow 12-5pm starting at upper senate park (accross from the russell building). here is the inf: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpfkgt
More than just some people, most people support health reform Obama's way.
I'll be at that rally tomorrow.
So where were these folks when Bush grew the government?
You may have missed them... They were in the "Free Speech Zone" in the corner. If you missed them, you can probably still get a recording of everything they said from the NSA, or you may get their domestic terrorism profiles from the FBI.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jB_Sp7DBMbA/SnyxAAgniSI/AAAAAAAABUg/IH5lA6CDGiY/s400/lindsay2.jpg
No, I spent a lot of time in Free Speech Zones and, trust me, if these guys were there it was as paramilitary deputies patrolling the borders.
Give me your poor, your tired, your crazy masses of teabaggers yearning to spout incoherent hateful nonsense. And give me a great big can of Raid...
Won't someone please send this mass of fucking idiots home?
for fuck's sake... if you want to protest, learn how to use the fucking metro. assholes.
Eh. They couldn't even muster the sort of crowd that attends a run-of-the-mill 4th of July.
I'm glad they used the taxpayer-underfunded police department without representation in Congress to protect them... and then let the taxpayer-funded sanitation crew clean up after their mess.
I'm also glad they used they used the taxpayer-funded Smithsonian toilets and let the taxpayer-funded janitors clean up their crap.
Did anyone else notice how uniformly WHITE the crowd was? I'm just sayin...
don't think it could get whiter for a group of teabaggers. The older white crowd was well represented.
Heck, yeah. The crowd at the National Black Family Reunion on 7th Street was more integrated.
I did see a few non-white protesters on the Metro as they were clearing out, but yeah, it was probably a 99% white crowd.
What a load of right-wing-white-suburbanite-crapola! Those people were disorganized and none of them were there for the same reason... they all just got mad and rushed down there to show their inherent racism toward the President with signs about a village in Kenya wanting their "idiot" back, etc! What a bunch of suburban b17che5 to be whining about paying taxes like that--at least they get representation and state autonomy with their taxes--I sure as hell don't! Protest an actual cause you idiots, not the President! I admit I didn't like Bush but it was his actions I would have been protesting, not his race or familial origins!! Ugh... this kind of stuff just pisses me off!
I have to agree with this. Isn't taxation without representation a lot worse than taxation with representation?
The truth that the right doesn't want you to know about :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXFHXqrrJ6g
From reading about the event in different sources, everyone showed up for many different reasons. However, the main reason: they were fed up with the government. It didn't matter if they were white, black, asian, hispanic, right, left, or high on pot. They came together to show their disapproval without wreaking havoc in the city. Yes, there were probably traffic problems, but that's normal in DC.
A government none of them did anything about up until Obama. This is just a classic case of hypocrisy & denial:
It ain't your guy in office, so you're against it. Don't worry, many liberals do it too.
Can there be a point in our political future where the extremes do not dictate the political discussion in this country? Please?
"However, the main reason: they were fed up with the government."
What does that even mean? It's such a generic statement.
You got a problem with the Dems health care plan? Fine. You've had, what, 50 years to present one of your own (and by 'you' I mean the political forces currently opposed to Obama). And how many real plans have we seen presented? Oh, yes. Zero.
You got a problem with the deficit? Where were you when we invaded Iraq?
Yes, there is certainly waste and bloat in government. But it's been my experience it's actually usually far worse at the local level (anybody care to argue that DC's local government is better than the Feds?).
And the excesses in our private capitalist sector FAR outweigh any damage done to us by government. I guarantee you that private insurance companies will, by and large, fuck you over way faster than any government plan would, both fiscally and from a treatment perspective.
But if you are going to bitch about 'the government' you really need to provide some specific solutions.
That goes for nutcase Obama-haters, Paultards, and people that have legitimate complaints alike.
Molly!
Please tell me they left the guns at home....
Story time: This morning I went dove shooting. I had no idea this Tea Bagger thing was going on. So I drive home, wearing full camo, with my LEGALLY registered shotty LEGALLY stored in the trunk. Per DC law, I take the most direct route home...right up indepen. ave. by the Capitol. I watched the news and had a stiff cocktail thinking about being crucified on Huffpo as a "right wing nut job who tried to enter the Capitol grounds" if i happened to be pulled over. Ah the city we lve in.
BTW, for you PETA Folks, it was DOVES-1, NEWHCE-0.
Please tell me they left the guns at home....
I saw a sign, "We left our guns at home... THIS TIME". So, yeah, probably.
Just one? Man you gotta get out earlier.
Was this a Klan ralley? These people are idiots. What would they suggest? They got nothing but a voice.
Teabag the teabaggers!
I'll believe this is non-partisan 'tax protest' and strictly deficit-related when I see an equal number of signs demanding that we undo the trillion dollar Medicare drug benefit plan that Bush passed that denies the government the ability to even negotiate drug prices, demanding that we close corporate tax loopholes that cost us hundreds of billions, investigating the deficit benefits of legalizing marijuana, etc.
Oh, and when they come out expressing outrage over the taxation without representation status of the District of Columbia. I mean, if it's all about being taxed without your consent and all, wouldn't they be in favor of fixing the ultimate taxation without representation example we've got?
And when they specify some of the government services they are willing to see cut. Like, say, roads and bridges. Or fire and police. Or social security. Or Medicare.
And when they admit that Iraq was a massive financial boondoggle.
Until then, they are primarily but not exclusively just Obama-haters looking for a politically justifiable rationale for their hate.
Wait. I'm on a roll.
This is all about your government taxing you and then not giving you benefits, and your government not representing your interests, loss of personal freedom, etc.?
What about gay couples? Taxed like everyone else but denied a thousand plus legal and financial benefits that are doled out by government, supported by taxes.
Where is their outrage for that taxation issue?
Where is their outrage at the loss of personal freedom to marry your gay partner?
What? The outrage is only for straight people?
And I saw quite a few 'states rights' signs. Remember the good old days, when we admitted 'states rights' meant you could treat blacks like crap and not have the Feds come after you?
I'm betting most of this crowd will be opposed to the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, the most blatant usurping of states rights in the last 20 years.
So what I'm really saying is their outrage is mighty selective.
Where is their outrage that the Metro system they used to get to and from the protest is subsidized by government? It's totally socialism.
lmao so true.