Open thread/commentary

In the post below, we’re updating all day with your reports and pictures from your events.

This is an open thread–say whatever you want in the comments.

I’m also going to add links here to good commentary that I see elsewhere on the web, starting with:

The response to the tea party protests.

An FAQ on the Tea Parties.

Tea Parties launch movement for liberty. (Good news round-up there also.)

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See something you want me to feature here? Email me the link at roxannekramer@gmail.com

Thursday morning news round-up

Good morning! The reports compiled below were submitted here as comments on state pages or sent to us via e-mail. This post will be updated throughout the morning.

Here’s the report we started compiling yesterday: You did it!!

For other round-ups, check Michelle Malkin and Instapundit throughout the day, and here’s a collection of videos.

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“1,500 In Mountain Home Arkansas!!!!!! Im the 18 year old organizer it was amazing! In a town of 11,000 WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?”

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“According to the news tonight, they estimate that we had close to 10,000 people at Albuquerque’s Tea Party. We didn’t have any speakers or special music. We just had Patriots and signs and we stood along Montgomery Blvd. which is the busiest street in town. Our group stretched from Carlisle to Juan Tabo, which according to Map Quest is exactly 5 miles. We lined BOTH sides of the street. That’s 10 miles of people!”

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Sacramento, California (More here.)

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“I was so surprised by the big turn out here in Lahaina. On an island of maui we still have hippie colonies, but to see that this many people just won’t take it anymore makes me happy. I hope this wakes up the people our state and motivates us to get rid of the congressmen and women that vote for these bail out plans.” (Hawaii)

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“ST. Clair Shores, Michigan. Inspired because we couldn’t join the party in Lansing. We thought we have a local Tea Party in our little city. We were hoping for at least 50 to come and at the height of the event I counted at least 368. It was an amazing day.”

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Photo from Salem, Oregon (More here.)

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“The 4PM organizer in Austin said we had 5000+. Enough people for the cops to shut down the streets so we could march.”

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Picture from Vidalia, Georgia:

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“Manchester, NH tea party had 1000+ people. Great crowd and great speakers talking about changes needed in Federal and Local Government-let’s keep this movement going!”

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“We went to the MORRISTOWN NJ TEA PARTY. They expected a few hundred, got 2000!!!! IT WAS THE LARGEST IN THE ENTIRE STATE!!! Despite the rain (and hail at times) people kept coming and coming. It was absolutely AMAZING! Great job EVERYONE!!! Let’s KEEP IT UP!”

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Lake Jackson, Texas:

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“Everyone had a fantastic time in Charleston, SC. The weather was

awesome and the crowd was phenomenal. When we started planning three

weeks ago we had a few hundred people committed to coming. At the

event, some of the folks estimated it was close to 6,000, I say about

5,000 at it’s peak. Traffic had to be redirected because the street

was filled with people.”

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“In Annapolis: No Buses = No Problem = We walked.”

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“200 in Flemington NJ, on the steps of the old courthouse where Charles Linberg’s baby kidnapping trial was held so long ago. We slowed traffic on main street; gaukers and honking horns…very cool! Trenton NJ held a much larger event not 15 miles away so 200 in Flemington on a cold rainy day where we had to attend on our lunch hour, not bad!”

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Baton Rouge, Louisiana:

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“I thought the teaparty went well in Franklin. It was well organizied. For a small town in Appalacian Mt. We had a great crowd.” (North Carolina).

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“Fort Worth, Texas Tea Party had 5000 and Texas Governor Rick Perry! We filled a minor league baseball stadium!”

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“Gulfport had a great crowd tonight last count that I heard of was about 516″ (Mississippi)

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Oswego, Illinois (More photos here.)

“Attended the Oswego, IL Tea Party… was not expecting a large turnout since it was at 5:30pm and there was not alot of information out there on what would be happening. Instead, what I found was hundreds of cars, parking at a minimum, and easily hundreds of people in this small western burb of Illinois.”

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From Shreveport, Louisiana: “We had way beyond our expectation!! Last count was around 5000 people! It took my breath away to see how many showed up to show how fed up and outraged they are with the Gov’t!”

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Citrus Heights, California attracted a security detail:

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“We were there with our 6 kids - it was wet and miserable, but so uplifting. People were very kind and smiles were on soggy wet faces. I want to say a special thank you to the nameless man who emerged from the crowd, handed me a rain poncho and faded away! What a great, loving country we live in.” (Washington, DC)

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“I attended the Tea Tax party in Endicott, NY, and was overwhelmed by the amount of people that attended–at least 200! All with the same message - stop taxing us to death, keep our freeedoms, and reduce government spending.”

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Photo from Hyannis, Massachusetts (More here.)

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“The Worcester Tea Party in Worcester, MA Had well over 2000 people. Amazing energy, Amazing turnout!”

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“500 in Hollidaysburg PA. in the pouring rain.”

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Photo from Salem, Oregon (More here.)

“Salem Oregon, had appx. 3500.”

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Grand Rapids MI, official number was 3,600.

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Sacramento, California (More here.)

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“We all took off work and attended the Tea Party in Greensburg, PA. Over 1500 people showed up *in the rain* and we had a blast standing shoulder to shoulder with other Americans! One of the highlights was how many cars and trucks were honking their horns in support as they drove by. No troublemakers at all, just great Americans. Wow.”

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“We were hoping for 100 people in Adrian, MI. 267 people show up without putting an notice in the paper or on the radio. Just tea party websites and word of mouth. The Patriots cheered, yelled and got involved. It was an awesome crowd.”

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Dallas, Texas. (More here.)

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“Ann Arbor news reports 450 in Washtenaw County, including 200 in Ann Arbor. Having been at the Ann Arbor event, I would say that number is about right.”

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“Georgetown, Texas not sure of exact head count, but I fly an airplane that carries 200 people and I’m guessing there was at least 4 airplane loads of people.”

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“The Tea Party at Stuart, Florida was a blast. My best guess is well over 1,000. Started in front of the downtown Post Office and the crowd eventually stretched out along US1 for about 3 blocks. Lots of rubbernecking cars honking their horns and giving thumbs up.”

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“Let’s be sure to count all smaller cities in this as well. Also the even smaller parties that stood in protest along side streets and highways all across the nation. I wished I could find out a good estimate of all participants in this amazing historical event.

To help in this count York, SC, the very accurate estimate was 300 + . This party has just begun.”

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Madison, Wisconsin. (More here.)

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“We had over 110 people who braved the elements and met on the old bridge in Fort Benton.” (Montana)

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“LaCrosse had 500 to 600 patriots at the rally. Amazing turnout, beautiful day. Thank you to all who showed up. Lets keep the momentum rolling and take our country back.” (Wisconsin)

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“We attended the Tea Party in Indianapolis, Indiana and was thrilled to see so many people that felt the same way we did. It was a great day for Indiana.”

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“We had 110 in Winamac, IN - a town of about 2,000. Half were local, half drove as the next nearest event was more than an hour away. We had folks who drove from as far as Plymouth and Kokomo - 45min - 1hr drive. I think that is testament to the shared feeling of disgust with Washington, D.C. 100 was the number I had in my head going into this thing.”

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“Manchester, NH tea party had 1000+ people. Great crowd and great speakers talking about changes needed in Federal and Local Government-let’s keep this movement going!”

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Indianapolis, Indiana (More photos here.)

“Happy to REPORT 10,000 at Indianapolis, Indiana.”

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“In New Bern, we had somewhere between 1200-1500 people.” (North Carolina)

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The Alamo, Texas (More photos here.)

“I was at The Alamo, home of Texas Liberty,,,,with 20,000 of our friends and neighbors.”

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i live in very liberal town in southern Colorado and i was only expecting to see 40 or so people at the tea party but no there were hundreds of people there it really shocked me

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“Thank you, thank you to all the organizers and all the attendees at the Plymouth tea party. I was amazed at the turnout, proud of all the friendly people. I literally had tears in my eyes.” (Michigan)

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Green Bay, Wisconsin. (More photos here.

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“About 175 turned out for 12:00 noon Dubuque party - wished we could have gone to the 3:30, had a wonderful time talking with folks who have had enough of taxation, like us!”

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“The Charlotte Tea Party was smaller than some but had great energy…around 2500 people attending… people driving by the rally were constantly honking horns in show of support.”

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Madison, Wisconsin: (More photos here.

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“I just wanted to say that I attended the Richmond tea party and it was a HUGE success!!! Many thanks to all who organized this event! GREAT JOB!!! This was my first political protest ever and it was totally exhilarating! I am psyched and ready to take on Washington!!!”

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Olympia, Washington (More here.)

“I am STILL hyped from the Olympia rally! Estimated count was OVER 5,000! Add that to the rest of Washington State and the numbers say to our government here - Wise Up or Pack Up!”

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“I was at the Greenville Tea Party at Chiefs. It was a rousing success! At least 1,500, maybe 2,000 people. Great event!” (South Carolina)

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“For the Tea Party in Eau Claire Wisconsin we figure roughly 500 attended, over about a 2 hour period.”

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“We had a Tea Party today here in Chillicothe, Missouri. At least 50 people attended. (We had to leave early, so more people might have come after we left.)”

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“I was not sure if everyone knew that we had a great turn out in Mission Viejo, down in Orange County!!!!! It was great, I was happy to see the street corners packed with people!!!”

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“I was at the Valencia, CA TEA Party and it was great! More than 4 City blocks’ worth of true Americans…”

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“My wife and I attended the Eugene/Springfield Tea Party. It was outstanding–we were AMAZED at the high turnout–at least 1000 people, if not more.” (Oregon)

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“Thank you to my SW Washington friends who stood with me at the Clark County Court House tonight April 15, 2009 at 6:00pm. We stood together not for media attention or personal recognition. It was people of like mind who stood on principal. The principals and values of this great Country are more important than my feelings and it is these same values that guide my life and want my elected officials to reflect in their civic duty as my representative when they walk the halls of the local, State and Federal government. Thank you again; it was an honor to meet all of you tonight.”

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“We had over 640 at our St Simons Island / Brunswick GA Tea Party!”

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“In Anchorage, Alaska more than 1,000 people met at the Federal Building starting at 11 am. Scores of people drove by, honking and yelling. Many great signs, but one of the best was “Don’t Tax Me, Bro’” I was told there were other events around the state, including 2 in Fairbanks, Wasilla, Juneau, Ketchikan and Kodiak.”

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“All of us Gulfport Tax Day Tea Party organizers are proud to announce that by our best guess estimates, based on the number of cars at the event, and that well over 800 signed our petitions (and some didn’t); we estimate that between 1200 -1400 attended the event. We were pleasantly surprised at the turnout. We had a super crowd, and can hardly wait to do it again.” (Mississippi)

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“Over 500 people attended the Cody, WY tea party in the middle of a SNOW STORM! This from a town of 8,500 people! Today I am proud to be an American, Wyomingite, and a Codyite! Well done Cody… WELL DONE!”

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“I went to the Hobbs Tea Party today and was amazed to see such a large crowd for that time of day. People showed their suport and shared stories with total strangers. People united b/c of their love and concern for their country. I am so proud to have been a small part of this historical event as well as thankful that at least for today I am free and more than ready to express myself to “my government”.”

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“I stopped by Southern Pines, NC today, where roughly 300 people gathered in front of the post office. Nearly all of the cars that passed by on the street honked their horns in support.”

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“2000+ In South Florida on Broward BLVD, Amazing!”

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“Polson Tea Party a GREAT success! Around 250 people - inspiring speakers.” (Montana)

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“We had 186 people register at the Boiling Springs TEA Party today. Many did not even come by the booth to sign up as they brought their own signs and went straight out to the street. Many that signed in were couples and only one of them signed the registration. We started planning our event 2 weeks ago. Just 3 people planned that and got that crowd out there within two week period. With not advertising! Not time to really advertise the event. We estimate that throughout the 3 hours, we had close to 300 attend total.” (South Carolina)

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Photo from Utah:

“3,000+ attended the St.George,UT Tea Party! It was awesome!”

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“Spencer Iowa Tea Party had 275 people. Great turn out for small town Iowa.”

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“In Columbus, IN we had about 2000 people show for our Tea Party - it was AWESOME!!! True heart and soul of what America is - American’s speaking out for what is right - what they believe in - what our country was FOUNDED on!!!”

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“We had a tea party in Boone, North Carolina (population 15,000). A couple of concerned citizens organized the tea party and we were thrilled to have 350 or so people there!”

CNN = FAIL

I guess CNN forgot what real journalism is. Note to CNN… this isn’t it.

UPDATE: We’ve now added a MUCH better video with a behind the scenes smack down of the CNN reporter.

Good night. More in the morning.

Since we last updated this post of your reports from the field, we’ve gotten many dozens of new reports.

If you’ve sent in a comment or an email about your event, we’re doing another round-up tomorrow morning.

You’re the best.

10pm EDT Update

California: Chico: Fed up tax payers packed Chico City Plaza Wednesday for a tax day tea party. Many in the crowd responded with cheers, while holding signs criticizing President Obama and calling recent economic policy outright socialism. “If my business was belly up there would be nobody there to bail it out.”

Tennessee: Chattanooga: Wednesday’s Tax Day Tea Party at Ross’s Landing drew about 1,000 area citizens who came to protest runaway federal spending. “We’ve gotten to the point where Congress just passes spending to make people feel good, but there is little accountability to ensure that spending gets real results. Continued spending of this magnitude will force huge tax hikes for everybody, not just the so-called rich, and limit economic opportunity for our children and grandchildren.”

West Virginia: Martinsburg: Hundreds of people rallied Wednesday in the Eastern Panhandle against government spending and taxes. “Basically, the government just needs to stop — they need to think about what they’re doing,” Kathy Lane said. “They’re bankrupting our country and I think they’re taking away our rights. And I’m sick and tired of it.”

Washington, D.C.: Shades of 1970’s paranoia from Inside the Beltway

Virginia: Richmond: It rained on the Richmond Tax Day Tea Party, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of several thousand chanting, sign-waving Virginians. The signs told the story: “The Real Pirates are in Congress.” “Stop Toxic Spending!” “Tea Party Today. Tar and Feathers Tomorrow!” “Unrepentant Capitalist!” “Obamanomics. Trickle Up Poverty.” “Obama Wants Your Dollars. Do You Want His Change?” “Who Will Bail Out the Bailout?”

Texas: Victoria: Signs such as “Give us liberty, not debt,” “Stop spending our kids’ money,” and “Can we lay off Congress?” waved high in the air at the Taxed Enough Already Party in Victoria Wednesday evening. “The founders were real specific about the limitations our government was supposed to have. Over time, they just gradually expanded and expanded which now we have a federal government that is pretty invasive in our lives,” said Mike Cloud. “I think (taxes) can be a lot lower if the government did what the Constitution says it should do. They’re too high. We should go to the fair tax. It doesn’t tax productivity. It taxes consumption,” said Peter Aparicio.

Montana: Great Falls: Hundreds of people braved the snow, rain, and chill in downtown Great Falls on Wednesday to participate in a tax day “tea party.” Video and photos here.

Mississippi: Jackson: Between 400 and 500 people showed up for the protest. One of those was Judy Bivins of Jackson, dressed as a pig. She toks WKHM that she’s fed up.

After the Tea Party

The following was submitted by the good folks behind AfterTheTeaParty.com, an organization that has been a huge help in promoting our efforts.

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Many have been asking, “What comes next?”  After hundreds of thousands of people gather across the country to protest against out-of-control government spending and so-called “stimulus” bills, where do we go from here?

Simply put, we must keep revolution going and sustain it for the long term.  We must transition from protesting on behalf of freedom and limited government to becoming implementers of freedom.  We need a new network of trained leadership (candidates, activists and community leaders) who will become those implementers.

American Majority is one organization that is empowering individuals to become implementers of freedom.  American Majority has just launched AfterTheTeaParty.com, a special website where Tea Party participants and supporters can sign up to receive information on how to receive training on running for state or local office or becoming a more effective activist.

Real change begins not in Washington or through government bureaucrats; real change begins by private citizens taking ownership of their communities again.  The Tax Day Tea Parties are the first of many steps toward achieving this goal.  The next steps include training and equipping the next generation of liberty-minded leadership so that we can start seeing the principles we so passionately defend become reality.

I hope you will join forces with American Majority for a long-term investment in the future of America and sign up at AfterTheTeaParty.com.

9pm EDT Update

Nationwide: In Tennessee, an overwhelming crowd of 10,000 people met on the Legislative Plaza, spilling into sidewalks and up the hill toward the Capitol building. Cars circled the area honking horns. In Rochester, N.Y., 1,000 tea partiers marched on the county administration building and city hall. Approximately 4,000 people crowded Fountain Square in Cincinnati, while 8,000 gathered in Madison, Wis., 5,000 surrounded the Oklahoma Capitol and 4,000 attended the Chicago party. Even Rhode Island, the smallest U.S. state, brought 1,000 protesters to its Capitol. Washington state police estimated crowds of 5,000 in Olympia while 2,500 marched the streets of Boise, Idaho and 1,500 rallied in Austin, Texas. In Lansing, Mich., throngs were measured at 7,000, while 3,000 gathered in Hartford, Conn., and 2,000 Floridians in Jacksonville poured wagons of tea into the St. Johns River. An additional 1,000 people packed into Market Square in Pittsburgh, Pa., while 1,000 gathered in Des Moines, Iowa.

Read the rest of this entry »

Open thread

Here’s the thread we started earlier with reports our readers sent in from many dozens of local rallies.

How ya feeling? What happened today? Feet hurt?

Nah. Cuz you’re too happy about how it all went, aren’t you?

8pm EDT update

Ohio: Ashtabula County: 350 estimated - “Today really could be the start of the second American Revolution,” said Schultz. “The biggest problem with the Republicans is they are letting it happen and doing nothing about it,” said James Von Tesmar of Ashtabula, who warned that Barrack Obama is taking the United States down the road to “fascism.” … Pataskala: 30 brave the cold, rain - “I think it’s the voice of the American people,” said Rodgers, when asked about the event. “We want wasteful spending controlled. People are working two jobs to pay their taxes.” Fellow Pataskala resident Richard Fowler dressed up as Benjamin Franklin for the occasion. “Nothing is assured except death and taxes,” said Fowler, taking a break from waiving a sign emblazoned with the slogan “no new taxes.”

Read the rest of this entry »

7pm EDT update

New Mexico: A crowd of thousands are gathered near Montgomery and Louisiana to protests the federal governments spending habits. Party goers say they are ticked off with both parties, saying both Democrats and Republicans are responsible for over spending and over taxing.

Texas: Austin draws hundreds: Protesters said they oppose high taxes, careless government spending and stimulus and bailout packages. “Our government is running mindlessly, blindly and with overt deafness to our voices,” protester Todd Maraist said. “I would like to see the whole Congress tossed out. Let’s start from scratch. We need a revolt.”

Read the rest of this entry »

6pm EDT update

Kansas: Salina: Romm estimated 500 people had gathered to protest the tax-and-spend — or is it borrow-and-spend, or borrow-and-stimulate, or borrow-and-bail — policies of the federal government. Many in the crowd carried signs with such sayings as “Don’t Tread on Me,” “Give us Liberty, not debt,” and “Obama and Pelosi, the Detrimental Duo.”

North Carolina: Thousands of protesters across North Carolina are using tax day to show their distaste for government spending and federal bailouts. From Charlotte to Edenton, more than two dozen towns and cities saw protesters holding “tea parties” on Wednesday. A 50-year-old chemical supplier echoed other protesters’ concerns when he said the government must stop spending money it doesn’t have. He said his daughters will shoulder the debt.

Read the rest of this entry »

Crowd estimates (updated)

Pajamas TV is keeping a running tab as figures come in.

Our readers are sending in their pictures and numbers here, on a post we are continually updating.

Here’s another website collecting crowd reports.

An Internet Tea Party fit for Millions

Hi all.  This is my first, and likely only post.  One night in March when I heard about this site on Fox News, I went to the site’s URL only to find it unreachable. Being a technical kind of person (I run an Internet hosting and IP transit company), I looked a little closer as to why the site wasn’t online, and determined that it was either from a Denial of Service attack, or a barage of hits to the site.  These are problems I solve for people on a regular basis in my line of work as an Internet hoster and a systems administrator.

I made contact with the site administrator, offered the use of server hardware and the Internet capacity to move the site’s information around the Internet (commonly referred to as “bandwidth”) at no charge.  Ever since, I’ve spearheaded the effort to scale the site up to hundreds of thousands of hits per day, being constrained only by my available time.  With the contribution of source-code from people across the globe, along with guidance by various peers (among them, someone in Twitter’s operations department), I made daily tweaks and enhancements that ultimately helped this site become the success that it is.

Read the rest of this entry »

Reports from our readers. YOU DID IT!!!

These reports are coming pouring into our inbox and our comments boxes from all over. Keep scrolling. This post is being updated about once every five minutes…and there are still hundreds of Tea Parties still in progress or that haven’t started yet!

Besides scrolling and re-freshing your page, click on the comments as readers leave reports there.

“New Jersey: Flemington (tiny town) 200+ regular folks stood in the rain and sleet for two hours and made sure their voices were heard…awesome turnout!”

“I’m not good at estimating numbers but it appeared that at around 500 people turned out for the tax rally on the lawn at the statehouse in Montpelier. I was suprised by such a large showing in a state that is so liberal. The rally was from 12;00-2:00. After the rally, demonstrators entered the statehouse while the representatives were in session. They were surprised by the number of people there!”

“I would like to thank the 300 to 400 people who showed up at the courthouse here in Montrose. We had a great day exercising our right to peaceful assembly.” (Colorado)

“Just got back from the one in Denver and it rocked! Way more people than I would have expected!!”

“Over 1000 people turned out at the Trussville Tea Party.”

“I was at the CULPEPER, VA rally earlier today and there looked to be 300-400 people. It was cold and rainy, but that didn’t stop a good-sized group from gathering peacefully and protesting. It was a good cross-ection of Americans and a good vibe.”

(Photo above from Nashville}

“The Tulsa Tea Party had THOUSANDS in attendance. See link for pictures.

“I just got back from a TEA party in Ventura, California and it was great. There were about 300 people assembled listening to speakers and another 100 or so people lined up on the streets in front of the Government Center. Not only were the protesters on the street invigorating, but so were the constant honks and cheers from the numerous cars passing by. It is apparent that MANY Americans agree with these TEA parties!”

“Glad I attended the event at the state capitol. Very inspiring. Pleasantly surprised by the turnout. Very reassuring to see that not everyone is being lulled to sleep by the spin put forth by our elected officials.” (Connecticut)

“The rain in Harrisburg, PA could not keep away a very patriotic noontime crowd. My tea bags for Casey, Specter, Rendell and Obama are in the mail!”

“We had about 500 people out at lunch time in Crystal Lake, IL taking up all four corners of Rt. 14 and Main St. I saw and talked to people that had never been out to a protest before.”

“I just left the tea party in Hammond, LA, there was about 100-150 people there. I was really surprised and excited about the turnout.”

“I attended the tea party in Nashvile at 12noon, it was said we had 10,000 but I’m not sure. I know it was huge. I am so proud that I took off work to stand to attend and stand against all this spending. Keep it up fellow Americans, this is our time to stand and defend our Nation, our Constitution, and protect the future of the next generation.”

“Massapequa, NY: approximately 300-400 tax day protesters at Massapequa Long Island Rail Road train station.”

Awesome pics!

“1,200 people gathered on the banks of the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio, enduring cold, wind and rain to demonstrate their opposition to the direction in which our country is being taken.”

“Just got back from the protest in Bel Air, MD. Cold and rainy, but about 300-400 of us still managed to crowd the green in front of the County Courthouse to make our feelings heard. A call for limited government and liberty from all comers. It was awesome.”

“Attended a rally in Montpelier from noon - 2 . . . it was huge! I would estimate the crowd size to be near 1,000 people. I was amazed at the number of people who showed up in the middle of the day on a work day. The size of this gathering by Vermont standards was HUGE!” (Vermont)

“5,000+ at Denver Colorado Tea Party being reported by Denver Post.”

“The lunchtime Tea Party in the little CA town of Danville, which was not advertised (didn’t even get listed on this site until 4/13/09!) was EXCEPTIONALLY well-attended. At the busiest time I counted almost 100 participants!!”

“Thank you to all the people who came to the Tax Day Tea Party in Naples, FL at the corner of US 41 and Pine Ridge Road at 12:00 Noon today. I am told, last count, we had 3,000 people attend!!!”

“JUST GOT BACK FROM THE GILBERT TEA PARTY….ABOUT 2000 PEOPLE SH9OWED UP….GREAT GREAT GREAT LET FREEDOM RING………WE THE PEOPLE .”

“I went to a small local one here. The paper reported 300. The actual number was about 600 (I counted). The organizers were expecting 50. It was a street corner protest instead of a rally.”

“I just came from the Ogden, UT tea party. It was AWESOME! There was about 200 people!!! And it was snowing! You can’t stop us! Way to go Ogden!!!”

“The Lansing (State Capitol) Tea Party was awesome.. 4000+ people in attendance.” (Photo below from Lansing.)

“We held our Tea Party in Montgomery, Alabama at noon today….We were hoping to draw a few hundred people… 100 - 200 was what we hoped for, and we figured that 500 - 600 would be awesome. Our official attendance estimate is 2300 - 2500 people! It was AWESOME!!!”

“Picayune was a huge success. I was all ready to stand out there with the ten people who might show up. Turns out that upwards of 250 people showed in the sleepy town (not so sleepy afterall).”

“Just got back from the Colorado Springs Tea party. Talked to two cops, they both agreed that there were at least 2,500 in the park. Very peaceful and lots of great signs..”

“I too just came from the tea party in Pocatello. I was very impressed to see nearly 400 come out in support even in the rain. Keep up the fight my friends!”

“Mobile Alabama- About 1000 participants held a rally at Cooper Riverside Park demonstrating against increased debt by an ever increasing government and the taxes that it will take to pay that debt. Power of the People!”

“I went and there was a good deal of people at the boston one.”

“Looks like 3,000-4,000 patriot rally in Colorado Spring’s Acadia Park. I was so proud to be an American today.”

“Just came from a local tea party in Gilbert, AZ. Expected turnout: 50-100 people. Actual turnout, witnessed by my own eyes: 1,000-2,000 people. Listen up, D.C. - the people are speaking today - LOUDLY!.”

“1000 People at the Sarasota Marina Jack Tea Party at 12 Noon!!!!!!!!!!!”

“New Haven Tea Party backed up traffic for 5 miles in either direction as rubberneckers honked and waved.”

“500 people at wyomings protest in cheyenne, another protest at 530pm 2nite.”

“Canton Ohio. A crowd of 2000+ showed. I am stunned. All ages, parties, backgrounds!”

“Just got back from our TEA PARTY in Pocatello Idaho. We had a great turn out. There in the rain and cold we had 300 or so show up. A GREAT TURN out. A great beginning.”

(Photo above is an aerial of San Antonio’s Tea Party)

“I attended the tea party in New Port Richey Florida today. What a moving experience! A Wonderful gathering of Peacefull ,Sincere , and concerned people ,expressing their frustrations the way our founding fathers intended. the March to City Hall from Veterans Park will go down as one of the most memorable even ts in my 57 years.”

“reports have approximately 4500 in the early hours of an all day event in Boise, Idaho.”

“In our town of Salina we had over 500 people turn out this afternoon.”

“Just came back from the Oklahoma City gathering and it was AWESOME! Someone had set up 1500 American flags on the ‘mall’ in front of the Capitol, so as you’re walking up the street you saw a mass of American flags. The turnout was large and enthusiastic - much bigger than I expected! I am terrible at guessing crowds, but I’d venture to say it was between 5,000 and 10,000 (the media had been predicting 1,500-2,000).”

“2500 people in front of the Capital, Sacramento, 11:15 AM before the party even starts.”

“A crowd estimated at 400+ straddled both sides of the Burlington Street bridge at the Iowa City Tea Party!.”

“Greensboro, NC had upwards of 800 people at our rally (some estimates up to 1500)!”

“Just got back from White Plains TP. About 250-300 showed up and it was a spirited event.” (New York)

Photos from Cincinnati.

“Just came from the one in Tupelo 600+ attended. It was great.”

“I don’t see where we are to record the crowd size of our event. In Adrian MI we expected 100. We only put it on the teaparty and 912er websites. We had a total of 267! It was a great group. It was so cold outside and everyone had to stand in the wind, yet everyone had a great time and had good things to say.”

“Just got back to work from the Columbia Tea Party. Maybe 2,000-3,000 folks there. Lots of flags and signs and kids.”

“In North Carolina: Greensboro: 1,000-1,200; Charlotte: 700-1,000; Fayetteville: 300.”

“There was a pretty good turnout for the Tea Party at the Court House in Elko considering that it snowed the entire time. I estamate that there were close to 75 people in attendance.”

“8000 in Madison.”

“Here in Nashville we had basically 10,000 people in attendance. Attendance on actual Legislative Plaza was pretty definitively set at 7,467 and about 2,500 spillover on steps, sidewalks, the hill up to the capitol building and in cars circling and honking their horns (ala anti-tax protest from 2002) and who couldn’t find parking.”

“Fort Collins, CO at least 2,500 attended. It was Amazing, very divese and powerful.”

(Photo above from Madison, Wisconsin).

“Thank you so much for a great Tea Party today! Could not hear Grover Norquist because 3,000 people showed up!”

“Way to go Vegas. I just got back from the Tea Party at Sunset&Eastern roads. All I can say is that the party is a huge success. Wow! What a great turnout. I estimate,conservatively that approximately 5000 to 6000 patriotic Nevadan’s showed up for this well organized and peacefull demonstration.”

“I went to the one in my small town of Frederick, MD and over 1000 people showed up despite the cold and rain. It was definitely an event that impacted me in a way that I have not experienced before. Just being a part of that group of people who were standing up for themselves was so empowering.”

(Photo above from Pennsylvania).

“Harrisburg PA had around 4,000 to 5,000 on the steps of the Capital.”

“Went to the DC rally today. It seemed like a few thousand people between 11:30 and 12:00. I could only stay for a half hour, due to work.”

“Great turnout today in Columbus! Very happy to see there was such a good crowd in Tupelo. Let’s keep this ball rolling, folks!”

(Photo above from Oklahoma City).

“OKC estimates were around 7k.”

“…roughly 300 on a cold and snowy day here in Helena, MT.”

“700 in the hamlet of Hudsonville.” (Michigan).

(Above photo from Denver).

“I’d estimate 2-3,000 at what was supposed to be the ’small’ protest for the SE area of the greater Phoenix area. Downtown rally should be HUGE!”

“I was racing, tax returns in hand, to make the last pick up at the post office when The Beatles’ “Tax Man” came on. Smiling and thinking how prophetic the old song was, I rounded the bend near Pray Park in Waterville, Ohio (Rts 24 & 64), to find a crowd of people from this small village on the banks of the Maumee River, gathered in protest. Trust me…I’ve lived southwest of here and have driven this route for 10 years; I’ve never seen anyone at Pary Park, much less a rally like this. Didn’t seem to be organized; only an impromtu gathering of citizens. Amazing…they’re demonstrating what I’ve been thinking. If I weren’t so tired from trying to meet the filing deadline, I’d have stopped and joined them.”

“I too just got back from the Tea Party at Sunset & Eastern and it was FANTASTIC. They estimated about 2000 people there, but for every person actually there, there was also at least one car driving by honking in support.”

“Over 350 in Sault Ste. Marie, seems small, but this a huge turn out for a town of barely 13,000.” (Michigan)

“Just got back from the Jackson, Mississippi tea party. I estimate the crowd to be 3,000 people.”

“Hard to estimate because a lot of people arrived after the protest started, but Hattiesburg had between 700 and 1000 people.”

“2500 in Boise Idaho!!!!”

“700+ showed up for the Tax Day Tea Party in Corning, New York (pop. 10,000).”

” 2,000 in Appleton.” (Wisconsin).

“Just got back from the Reston, VA tea party. Excellent turnout… easily 400 in the pouring rain.”

purple.”

(Photo above from Resistance is Growing.)

“Started out today at the Greensboro Tea Party. It was a great crowd, somewhere north of 1,000 patriots. Superb placement in the courthouse square attracted onlookers and curious downtowners. Fantastic mood and enthusiasm.”

“Went to the Livonia/Northville rally on Haggerty Road. There were between 300 and 500 people there.” (Michigan)

(Photo above of San Francisco from Daily Pundit.)

“Toledo was expecting 300 and we had around 1,000.”

“Just got back from the Plano, TX tea-party, was still going strong when I left. About 200 folks, ages 7-70, lots of flags, horns, and patriotism.”

“went to the Boston Tea Party ! where it all began.. fantastic turnout ! never knew taxachussetts had so many conseratives ! huge turnout Sam Adams would have been proud ! I certainly was.”

“New Jersey - Piscataway about 300- 400 people. Marched to the Raritan river and threw our teabags in. Today I knew why I have always been proud to be an American.”

“Although small our little town of Geneva, Illinois held a Tea Party today at the Kane county Civic Center. It was held between 4-6 pm and about 300 people turned out on a beautiful sunny afternoon.”

(Photo above from Denver.)

“Over 300 showed up to the Findlay, Ohio Tax Day Tea Party. The rain and cold didn’t deter people from showing up.”

“Just got home from Tea party in Hauppauge and it went well. I would estimate maybe a thousand people but hard to tell as they were pretty spread out. A lot of great signs held up to traffic along a busy Vets Hgwy and a LOT of honking in solidarity.” (New York).

“We had about 2000 - 3000 at the Tea Party in Louisville KY throughout the day. We had great media coverage and everything went perfect. No police harrasment, no anti-protesters, everyone was kind and organized. We made a big impact here in Louisville, Go Get’em America.”

“Attended the Longview Tea Party earlier today and it was announced that we had about 1,000 people. Not bad for a city of that size.” (Texas)

That’s it for this thread! Please keep leaving your reports and soon we’ll start another thread.