9-12 D.C. Gathering

With estimates of 1 million teabaggers, it turns out that the DC Fire Department thought from 25,000-50,000 showed up. From the visuals of the mall, I might even grant them about 75,000. A picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware--not the Larry Rivers version-said,"They didn't die for healthcare or government control. They died for freedom." A professionally printed sign held by a small child urged "Bury Obamacare with Kennedy". Probably printed by Freedomworks--stay classy Dick Armey.

A Freeper tweeted comments about how Democrats are better packagers of these things and the speakers were pretty lame. He also felt that the organizers should not have announced over 1 million because it was obviously not true. Others thought there were more people than at Obama's Inauguration--2 million there. Having lived through that scene, this would be virtually impossible--you could literally feel the people coming to town then. The Obama crowd was wall to wall people down the entire mall. This just didn't make it. I'm afraid to tell them. Another freeper was annoyed at Glenn Beck for his egotism--"This isn't about you, Glenn". Well, for him, it is.

Todd Browning would have been the perfect film director for this event. The still photographer would be Diane Arbus. The physiognomy of the attendees was amazing, particularly with the Americana plummage. Alot of the male figures, particularly, look like all the people you see coming out of big SUVs at the rest stops along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It was clearly a thrill for them--so many expressed gratitude they could make it. There was a basic American decency hidden beneath the hate signs and the rhetoric, which exhibits a cognitive dissonance. Hating the government but delighted to be in the American capital. As much getting a kick out of meeting up with old friends as bellowing against socialism and Obama. Most were delighted they were asked by the various organizers to attend. Even our old friends the Ohio Militia showed up with a few members--they had previously called on the whole militia movement to march on D.C.--fully armed. It was like an adult version of Halloween with a colonial theme. I think people just like to get into costumes.

Then the signs had the usually vile slogans linking Obama to both Hitler and Stalin, Obama as the Joker portraits, and the usual misspelled signs. I still don't understand the misspellings--is this a sign of grassrootsness, a sign of authenticity--since many were handdrawn in the offices of the organizers? Is it a parody of the people themselves--deliberately done by Fox to portray all America like a version of the Gong Show? Is it a counter to left-wing demonstrations where people spell correctly--and therefore is a taunt at the "liberal elites? I simply don't get it. This may be a derivative of the Animal House tactics of the Republican Party--mispronounce names, call the Democratic Party, the "Democrat Party", demean one's opponents with adolescent slogans, deliberately confuse fascism, communism and socialism because all three words test negatively, and emphasize taxes and government as two words. This all escapes me. We saw this in the Bush-Kerry, and then McCain-Palin campaigns--the persistant desire to belittle one's opponent. In the case of Obama, they only looked childish, stupid and more importantly ineffective as he trumped them at every term.

The people did not look prosperous but more like lower middle-class Americans looking for a cheap weekend vacation. They are probably the people that would benefit the most from both the Obama tax cuts and the healthcare reform. And given the exorbitant amount of money charged sponsors by Freedomworks and others, you have to wonder whether this was not another cynical rightwing way for beltway bandits to make money--a subject I am increasing annoyed by. Conservative groups have been exploiting seniors, ex-military and others to donate money when the cause is already moot--gun rights, for example; or ridiculous like the birthers cause. In the middle of this are the anti-Healthcare lobbyists, who have flooded this town and our airwaves with ads.

The CNN coverage of these protests interviewed two of the organizers who have travelled the country with this motley crew and who articulated the goals as: defeat healthcare; take back Congress and the Senate in 2010; and the presidency in 2012. One organizer hoped a leader would emerge for this movement in 2010. They all like Sarah Palin--a few freepers remarked how effective she had been with her twittering. I have a surprise for these people--they will be sent to the Mojave Desert or to the North Pole, if and when a political force decides to coopt them. Even though megabucks circulated between the organizers and sponsors,these people paid their own ways as the postings of the bus schedules indicated.

For the attendees, they probably were star-struck by Glenn Beck, and other lesser lights. This is the crowd that goes to Frankie Valli concerts or theater in the round with George Hamilton. The segment of our people who love the third-rate and who are grateful for seeing a big-shot politician like Mike Pence or Joe Miller, who speaks like they do when they've had a few shots too many. They're the people who liked and agreed with Archie Bunker. In the past, they would have been a part--but not all of Richard Nixon's silent majority. I'm surprised we haven't heard more language like "Welfare Queens Driving Cadillacs."

The major complaint about the demonstration was the lack of porta-potties. This is a lesson for all demonstration organizers straight from the wisdom of my mentor Bayard Rustin, who organized Dr. King's March on Washington. "My biggest fear that day was the lack of toilets", he told me. "If you have a bunch of blacks descend on Washington and they leave a mess, our cause would have been set back several years. You can imagine the image that would sent." Attendees to this year's event were senior citizens, who have more cause to go and frequently. They blamed the city workers because "they are unionized." I blame the sponsors who wanted to increase their profit margin. Always make sure there are enough facilities as my grandmother used to say.

The astroturf aspect of this has several unsavory dimensions. The first is that it is exploitative. The attendees are scheduled to bus back to their states this night. The corporate sponsors couldn't even front them a hotel room as a benefit. They paid their own way and probably will have to chip in to tip the bus driver. And all their slogans and themes were written here in Washington and then passed down. The hate rhetoric in my view is the creation of alot of DC lobby shops and conservative groups and is not from the grassroots. I think the slogans have been tested for responses and I think this is a totally cynical exercise by the organizers. In other words, these people are the rubes to be taken to the cleaners by the grifters in the capital of grifters. The hate language has given these people license to act out in ways they would not dream of. As many remarked, they are glad that so many talk shows have hosts that speak the truth.

One needs to contrast this with Barack Obama's speech in Minneapolis this afternoon to a filled stadium. The few dozen hecklers screamed at attendees they were all socialists--that's a lot of socialists in one place. The slogans that have appeared throughout the August townhalls appeared but were politely ignored. People of all political persuasions could attend to see the President. It was first come, first serve. And the people were genuinely happy and not grumpy as many in D.C. seemed when they talked about politics. The President did what he does best which is give a barnburner of a speech re-telling one more time the story behind "Are you fired up! Ready to go!" from his primary campaign. Although much of what he said, one has heard, you never tire of a great performer giving his all.

One is left wondering who the D.C teabaggers believe President Obama really is? Why after all this time is it so hard to get a sense of his character? The people in Minneapolis were joyous at seeing their President. It reminds me of a scene from the president campaign after Obama finished a speech in downtown Philadelphia in the black neighborhood. Everyone had left but an old woman just sat in her lawn chair in the street. A reporter asked her what she was doing and she answered," Wasn't that grand? I'm just sitting here and still taking it in."