Taxpayer March on Washington,
| Taxpayer March on Washington | |
|---|---|
 Protesters walking towards the United States Capitol during the Taxpayer March on Washington. | |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Date | September 12, 2009 |
| Website | 912DC.org |
The Taxpayer March on Washington (also known as the 9/12 Tea Party) was a Tea Party protest march from Freedom Plaza to the United States Capitol that was held on September 12, 2009, in Washington, D.C. The event coincided with other similar protests organized in various cities across the nation. The protesters rallied against what they consider big government, the dismantling of free market capitalism, abortion, and President Barack Obama's proposals on health care reform, taxation, and federal spending, among other issues.
Organizers of the event included the 9-12 Project,
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FreedomWorks, the National Taxpayers Union, The Heartland Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, Tea Party Patriots, and ResistNet. The event was also promoted by Fox News commentator Glenn Beck as a symbol of what he called "national unity" following the eight-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The march is the largest gathering of fiscal conservatives ever held in Washington, D.C., as well as the largest demonstration against President Obama's administration to date.
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FreedomWorks, the National Taxpayers Union, The Heartland Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, Tea Party Patriots, and ResistNet. The event was also promoted by Fox News commentator Glenn Beck as a symbol of what he called "national unity" following the eight-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The march is the largest gathering of fiscal conservatives ever held in Washington, D.C., as well as the largest demonstration against President Obama's administration to date.
A wide range of crowd estimates was suggested for the event, with most media sourcing the Public Information Officer of the D.C. Fire Department who unofficially estimated the attendance "in excess of 75,000" people. The D.C. Fire Department later released a statement that the crowd estimation attributed to them was false, stating that an early estimation of 60,000 was for a specific area, Freedom Plaza, not the total number of participants in the event. Event organizers also reported a range of attendance. FreedomWorks suggested between 600,000 to 800,000 participants while National Taxpayers Union said 200,000 to 300,000,.
Taxpayer March on Washington Timeline,
Taxpayer March on Washington Protest sign against 'Obamacare'
On Saturday, September 12, participants gathered at Freedom Plaza, located just east of the White House. The march was scheduled to proceed Pennsylvania Avenue at 11:30 a.m., led by a fife and drum corps, and march towards Capitol Hill; however due to a larger-than-expected number of protesters, the Plaza and surrounding area became overcrowded and the march set off one hour ahead of schedule.
C-SPAN recorded the entire two hour, 50 minute rally which was officially kicked off at 1:11 p.m. with a welcoming speech by Jenny Beth Martin, the co-founder and national coordinator of Tea Party Patriots.
During the march, most protesters sang patriotic songs, chanted political slogans, waved the American flag or yellow Gadsden flag, or held signs covering a wide range of political topics,.
Taxpayer March on Washington Signage,
Taxpayer March on Washington Protest sign with the United States Capitol dome in the background,
Some of the handwritten signs carried by protesters included statements such as "Liar Liar Pants on Fire!" and "Hey Obamacare! Hands off my body". Other signs promoted Obama citizenship conspiracy theories, depicted the Obama "Joker" image, and compared Obama to Adolf Hitler. One protester commented that many signs were "expressing concerns about the tax burdens to be carried by "our grandchildren" and other signs he didn't feel were appropriate to repeat". Gene Healy, author and vice president at the libertarian Cato Institute, expressed the opinion that the signs generally focused on opposition to government bailouts, Obama's proposal on health care reform, and the appointment of presidential "czars".
Taxpayer March on Washington Speakers
Among the speakers at the rally were former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, chairman of FreedomWorks, and a small number of congressional Republicans including Representative Mike Pence, chairman of the House Republican Conference, Representative Tom Price of Georgia, Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. Pence said that "Americans want health care reform, but they don't want government takeover,".
Taxpayer March on Washington Attendance,
Taxpayer March on Washington Protesters walking down Pennsylvania Avenue
Following the event, a wide range of crowd estimates was reported by organizers, protesters, and members of the media. The space occupied by the crowd extended from the Capitol lawn down around the National Mall as far as Third Street. The crowd estimates mentioned in many news outlets included "tens of thousands" and "between 60,000 and 75,000", while many sourced the Public Information Officer of the D.C. Fire Department who unofficially estimated there were "in excess of 75,000" people in attendance. The D.C. Fire Department later released a statement that the crowd estimation attributed to them was false and based on an early estimation of a specific area, Freedom Plaza, not the number of participants in the event.
Conservative bloggers, stating estimates reported in the news were liberal media bias, asserted the number was much higher and estimated between 1 and 2 million people had attended the event. PolitiFact, The Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Times, and other news outlets reported that some of these bloggers, such as Michelle Malkin, had originally distributed photos from a 1997 Promise Keepers march that made the 2009 march look more highly attended. Adding difficulty to crowd estimation, a section of the National Mall near the Washington Monument was dedicated to the 24th annual National Black Family Reunion on September 12,.
Taxpayer March on Washington Protesters walking down Pennsylvania Avenue,
Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, the organizer of the event, stated on stage that ABC News had reported 1 million to 1.5 million protesters in attendance. ABC News later published an article saying that they were misquoted by Kibbe, and went on to report that 60,000 to 70,000 had attended the event, citing the unofficial D.C. Fire Department number. After comparing photographs of Saturday's protest with previous events, FreedomWorks revised their crowd estimate to be between 600,000 and 800,000. Pete Sepp, a spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, one of the organizations that sponsored the march, said the group estimated the crowd at 75,000 in the morning and from 200,000 and 300,000 as the day went on.
Farouk El-Baz, a Boston University research professor and expert on crowd estimation, told the LA Times that his informal research from media coverage indicated 75,000 as the peak attendance. El-Baz noted that, because there seemed to be no aerial photos of the event, reaching any sort of rigorous estimate might be impossible. The Washington Metro reported 87,000 extra riders that day as compared to the average ridership.
Taxpayer March on Washington 2010 March,
Another march was held on September 12, 2010 in Washington, with a "thousands-strong" crowd. Two other major tea parties were held in Sacramento, California, which attracted 25,000-50,000, and St. Louis, Missouri, in addition to many local tea parties across the country.
See also
(source:wikipedia)
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