Was Sept. 12 Washington March a portent of the 2010 elections?
October 15, 2009

by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor

Most gunowners will always remember the elections of 1994 in which they played so important a role in turning over control of Congress from the Democrats, who had been the majority for 40 years, to the Republicans. In that election, it wasn’t just freshmen and problematical incumbents who were turned out of office, but prominent long-term leaders like Tom Foley of Washington state, the Speaker of the House, as well as Jack Brooks, the powerful chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

If you don’t remember, Clinton does. And Nancy Pelosi, the current Speaker. And Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader. And so do many Democrat strategists who have been trying to keep the party from committing seppuku with another anti-gun law like the Brady bill or Clinton’s semi-auto gun ban which drove them from power for 10 years.

However, in less than a year after winning the presidency, and with full control of the House and the Senate, the Democrats are already seeing the pendulum start to swing, even though few will admit it.

Despite his original popularity, and support from much of the media, at least one recent poll shows President Obama losing some overall popularity, plus some 70% of independents are losing confidence. Perhaps some people don’t like what change looks like up close and personal.

Slipping independent support is critical. Independents command the middle ground. Some 40% of the electorate, they really decide who wins and who loses.

Earlier this year, the seeds of discontent were sown in a series of “Tea Parties,” where some independents joined mostly disgruntled Republicans in voicing their protests.

But on Sept. 12, a surprising host of “Mr. Smith” Americans went to Washington to express their concerns about a number of issues. The turnout was tremendous. People came from almost every state at their own expense to express their frustrations with government in general and this government in particular.

The New York Times reported that “A sea of protesters filled the west lawn of the Capitol and spilled onto the National Mall on Saturday (Sept. 12) in the largest rally against President Obama since he took office, a culmination of a summer-long season of protests that began with opposition to a health care overhaul and grew into a broader dissatisfaction with government.”

Australia’s Brisbane Times said “Tens of thousands of people have marched to the US Capitol in Washington in protest against the president’s health care plan and what they say is out-of-control spending.

“The line of protesters on Saturday spread across Pennsylvania Avenue for blocks, all the way to the Capitol, according to the Washington Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. People were chanting ‘enough, enough’ and ‘We the People.’ Others yelled ‘You lie, you lie!’ and ‘Pelosi has to go.’ ”

“Demonstrators waved US flags and held signs reading ‘Obamacare makes me sick,’ ‘Go Green Recycle Congress’ and ‘I’m Not Your ATM,’ ” the Aussie newspaper continued. “Men wore colonial costumes as they listened to speakers who warned of ‘judgment day’—Election Day 2010.”

The New York Times report continued “On a cloudy and cool day, the demonstrators came from all corners of the country, waving American flags and handwritten signs explaining the root of their frustrations. Their anger stretched well beyond the health care legislation moving through Congress, with shouts of support for gun rights, lower taxes and a smaller government.”

“Dick Armey, a former House Republican leader whose group Freedomworks helped organize the protest, stood before the crowd and led the rallying cries in nearly the same spot where Mr. Obama was sworn in.”

WorldNetDaily.com said the National Taxpayer Protest’s sponsors also included: Grassfire/ResistNet; Tea Party Patriots; National Taxpayers Union; Club for Growth; Americans for Tax Reform; Young Americans for Liberty; Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights; Our Country Deserves Better; Campaign for Liberty; Leadership Institute; Free Republic; Young America’s Foundation; the National Association of Rural Land Owners, and Smart Girl Politics. The Brisbane Times noted that Republican lawmakers also supported the rally.

“Republicans, Democrats and independents are stepping up and demanding we put our fiscal house in order,” Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), chairman of the House Republican Conference, said, according to that newspaper.

Chelsea Schilling and Alyssa Farah of WorldNetDaily said, “The capital was rocked today by a taxpayer march and rally that could be the biggest protest ever—potentially dwarfing the Million Man March and the Promise Keepers Rally.

“Though crowd estimates vary from as low as 60,000 to 70,000 according to ABC News to a high of 2 million by London Daily Mail, photographs and videos of the march and rally demonstrate its enormity.”

Most US newspapers that reported on the Washington rally estimated “tens of thousands.” No official crowd estimates were released.

Joseph Farah’s “Between the Lines,” in WorldNetDaily castigated the American establishment media’s handling of this huge rally.

“How many people have to march on Washington before the major news media take notice?” Farah wondered.

“How many tea parties and town halls does it take for the major news media to recognize the American people are peacefully voicing their concerns and deserve to be heard?”

Farah concluded his column by writing: “America is waking up. The tide is turning. Soon, even the hapless, twisted major news media will no longer be able to ignore this popular uprising.”

Commentator Martin Kady II on Politico.com noted: “Everywhere you turn lately conservatives are winning the public debate.

“ACORN? De-funded. Van Jones? Long gone. The public option? On life support. Cap and trade? Punted to next year. Joe Wilson, sanctioned by the House, is a hero back home.

“Far outnumbered in Congress and overshadowed by an omnipresent president …, conservatives have found ways to score points on mini-scandals while stoking public emotions about taxes and health-care spending.

“Whether this is simply an emotional surge or a long-term comeback remains to be seen. But for now, the summer of discontent for Democrats is about to bleed into an autumn of angst on the legislative front.”

Early on, John Snyder, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arm’s man in Washington, DC, sent an email with the following message:

“Americans are coming out. Gun rights are a LARGE part of it. You should have seen the crowds over the weekend in DC. Peaceful people, but MAD. Lots of pro-gun signs.

“Good, solid folks. The only thing I remember that was anything like the current fed up with government policy phenomenon was the anti-war movement but that was composed primarily of teens and early 20s. This is across the board, from teens to nineties. It’s really something. We could be on the verge of something really big.”

This is why I wonder if this is a portent of further changes to come in the 2010 congressional elections.
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