Thousands, likely in quintuple-digits, showed up to protest the impending passage of government-run health care.  I was pleasantly surprised to see just how many made it to DC on such short notice on a weekday.  People, and in particular the grey-haired brigade, are fired up. They spell electoral trouble for the Democrats.

Speakers at the events included Rep. Michele Bachmann, who hatched the House Call idea, conservative radio host Mark Levin, actor Jon Voight, Rep. Mike Pence, House Minority Leader John Boehner and Rep. Eric Cantor, amongst many others.  The crowd was prone to chanting “Kill the bill,” with the occasional “Naaaaaancyyyyyyy” taunts aimed at the ever-oblivious Speaker Pelosi.  We also did crazy, liberal-maddening things like recite the pledge of allegiance and sing the national anthem.

I snapped a handful of pictures:

Get more coverage from Michelle Malkin.

Update: Now with video

More individual speaker videos will be added as I find them, but the entire event is viewable on C-SPAN.

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Anytime world leaders meet to discuss economics, violent left-wing protests are guaranteed to follow.  A ragtag band of no-nothing, anti-capitalist losers made sure the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh was no exception.

Not surprisingly, the press which was so conspicuously absent at the massive tea party protest were all over it, even outnumbering the protesters for a while:

For much of the day, the park had been populated with reporters, photographers, and neighborhood residents walking their dogs. The protesters now number in the low three figures, finally beginning to outnumber — barely — the press.

Knowing the violent tendencies of left-wing fanatics, residents have fled the city and businesses have boarded up.  The process for preparing for these reflexive, thoughtless protests is akin to preparing a house for a new baby.  Everything has to be made safe for the children.  The radicals even distributed a list of businesses to target with their violent, emotional outbursts.

Protesting with a purpose is a time honored American tradition.  Over 100 many Tea Party patriots were able to do so with nary an arrest.  Unfortunately, for these left-wing agitators their purpose is never more sophisticated than destroying as much property as possible while simultaneously displaying for all the world how desperately insecure they are.  But you never know, maybe that will finally get daddy to love them.

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I knew as soon as I got to the metro station at 9:30 that today would be historic.  Despite being all the way at the end of the red line – normally a 40 minute ride from the heart of downtown DC, but made long by the track work being done every weekend – the station was packed with people waiting up to 20 minutes just to purchase tickets.  The train was almost full by the time it left the station, and within 3 stops it was beyond even rush hour loads.

At 11:00 I arrived at Metro Center station not expecting to see the large crowds until I got to Freedom Plaza. I never made it. Although the schedule said the march from Freedom Plaza to the Capitol would start at 11:30, eager protesters were already streaming toward the Capitol.   Approaching Pennsylvania Ave. I saw a giant, mobile mass of humanity.  The street was full of patriots (pic; time-lapse), from sidewalk to sidewalk.  Music and commotion could be heard in the distance, but it was clear I wasn’t going to make it to Freedom Plaza, as I was sucked into the fold of marchers and on my way to the Capitol Dome.

Occasionally I stopped to admire the array of signs and colorful personalities passing by.  Although the rapid expansion of government has given them so much to be justifiably mad about, the atmosphere was not only energetic, but downright jovial.  Almost everyone was friendly, chatting with those near them about their respective home states, and all smiles.  Every few minutes a tremendous roar would begin in the distance – a wave of cheers traveling from one end of the march to the other.  It was simply breathtaking.

The enthusiasm didn’t let up upon reaching the Capitol grounds.  A wide variety of speakers, mostly local activists and members of various conservative organizations, kept the crowd captivated.  Various chants would break out, one of the most frequent being “USA! USA! USA!”  though “you lie! you lie!” wasn’t uncommon either. “We’re here” was offered in clear defiance of Obama’s pledge to “call out” his opponents, but “can you hear us now?” was the most common declaration.  They’d have to be deaf not to.

The speakers represented the diversity of the crowd – ranging from traditional conservative to libertarian – by bringing calls to both support the troops and audit the Fed.  The main theme, however, was simple: we want government off our backs and its nose out of our lives.

The event was also notable for what it lacked.  There was no violence.  There were no vitriolic, racist outbursts.  No riots.  No confrontations with police.  From what I saw the police were friendly and helpful, and the protesters repaid them with smiles and thanks.  If a child was separated from his parents, event organizers took to the microphone to make sure they were reunited, then followed up later with the good news – to loud applause.  I’ve heard descriptions of one or two objectionable signs, but encountered none myself despite deliberately wandering through much of the crowd.  There’s always something to object to at any protest as people take it too far, but it was atypical for the event.

I don’t know how many people were there.  I’ve seen everything from 70,000-200,000 to an estimated 2 million (Update: this figure was erroneously attributed and is not credible).  Whatever the final turnout numbers – made more impressive when you consider the thousands more rallying simultaneously all across the nation – the message is clear: we’re not going to lie down and take it without a fight.

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