Individuals of all ages, groups, and races converged on the streets of Washington, DC on September 12th (last Saturday) to protest the government of the United States of America. They vilified their President and Congressmen with hand-made signs depicting the likeness of a lying Pinocchio. Clever placards read “Fix Stupid, Vote Them Out”, “Let the States Decide, Read the 10th Amendment”, “When Did Legislating Morality Become PC; It’s My Party, I’ll Decry it if I Want To!” Some wore colonial outfits; some dressed as Death himself; still others sported black and white striped old-school prisoner garb and harkened a call to a certain corrupt Chicago politician.

The atmosphere was cheerful, spirits were high, and the turn-out was absolutely impressive. The only event in recent history rivaling the sheer number of people crowding the street that day was the President’s inauguration. Indeed, the group was so massive that the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol was full of marching protesters for over two hours. One local LEO, although refusing to be recorded, stated that this was “Certainly one of the largest marches I’ve ever seen”.

The crowd staged in Freedom Plaza for a couple hours prior to making way to the Capitol and surrounding lawns. There the protesters listened to speakers and waved a sea of American and Gadsden “Don’t Tread on Me” flags. Speakers included John Tate (Campaign for Liberty), Lloyd Marcus (Tea Party Express), Bob Levy (Cato Institute), Senator Jim DeMint (SC-R), and representatives Joel Winters and Tom Graves from New Hampshire and Georgia. The most moving part of the event was the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner, to which all in attendance stood facing the flag flying over the Capitol, their hands on their hearts.

People in attendance came from all over the country: Tennessee, Florida, California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maine, Nevada, the Carolinas, New Hampshire… it would be truly surprising if any one state was not represented.

One resounding theme was the fear of Big Government. These people wanted less government intervention, more government accountability, and fiscal responsibility. Most had never participated in a protest any time prior in there lives, with the exception of previous tea parties staged around the country. All agreed that something had to be done: the government was not listening to them; they are being ignored, marginalized, and mis-represented by the establishment media.

Fox ran several decent segments covering the crowds. MSNBC also featured decent segments that did not appear biased. Signs such as those displaying the President with a Hitler mustache, swastikas, and similar pictorials are prominently shown in the footage of most of the major media outlets. This portrayal is incorrect as the more offensive signs were clearly not predominant. This appears to be a way to gain “shock value” for their stories, which is completely unnecessary. Any protest that pulls mom and pop, white and black, red and yellow, republican and democrat, libertarian and Christian, young and old, should be shocking enough. What the mainstream media should be showing the country is the elderly man in his wheel chair (on oxygen) who attended… and the teenage girl who clearly represented a younger generation, smoking a cigarette and holding a sign proclaiming: “Big Government, Epic FAIL.”