Brendan Steinhauser, the organizer of logistics for FreedomWorks, said this event should be put in the same category as Martin Luther King's historic march on Washington for civil rights or the Vietnam War protests.

Sweet Jesus.

And this?

I wish I was not doing this. If my mother calls me and asks how many, i'll say this was hundreds of thousands."

is, well, um...TPM? Thank you for tracking down people involved in this and actually speaking to them about the issue. It's a very refreshing change from people simply printing assumptions.

That said, the comment quoted above is a bit weird.

Can't we just get some Iranians with cell phones and be done with this?

these nitwits are getting to much attention, even here on TPM

YOU LIE!

Shorter Kibbe: Why won't the MSM rubber-stamp our astro-turf as legit?

When are the progressives going to get angry, have protests, and get media coverage? These people maybe nuts but at least they are audacious enough to publicly display their disgust and outrage (faux though it maybe). We need some of this on the left.

also from shuster: "I've covered rallies at dc capitol for 20 years. When the crowd goes only as far as 3rd st, it is 50,000 or less."
5:57 PM Sep 12th from web
http://twitter.com/DavidShuster/status/3942120853

so there's that.

and this: "Brendan Steinhauser, the organizer of logistics for FreedomWorks, said this event should be put in the same category as Martin Luther King's historic march on Washington for civil rights or the Vietnam War protests." made me throw up a little in my mouth. puh-leaze.

No way, no how. I live in DC, about a block from Pennsylvania Avenue where they started their march. I would be shocked if this crowd was even 50,000. DC was busy, but not at all disrupted the way it is when the big crowds come through.

Max Fisher over at The Atlantic Politics site: http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/09/the_other_912_rally.php
Says this in an article title "The Other 9/12 Rally":

'What no one has noted is that two-thirds of the National Mall was filled by an entirely separate event on Saturday that had nothing to do with protesting the president. September 12 just happened to be the 24th-annual Black Family Reunion...'

It was "definitely the largest conservative protest in American history," he told me, "and it's really not received the coverage it deserves."

Kleefeld's Kovering. What does he want?

I tell ya what I want - the same coverage given the nationwide and DC anti-war marches in 2002.

Nothing hurts the morale of a protester more than being ignored by the media.

Take my word for it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1I9xsV-g9Y
let's save the status quo brought to you by the billionaires for wealthcare; just too damn funny!

The largest conservative protest in American history??? Has there ever been conservative protests before? Sure we had Southerners ganging up with torches demanding slavery for people like Obama just after Lincoln was elected, but has there ever been an actual "conservative protests" before? Maybe I'm dumb on this. Wouldn't be the first time.

How many thousands were hanging around the mens restrooms in the parks... betcha Santorum, Rash Lintballs and Glenn baby were there on their knees... Boy butter musta been on special for the huge overflow errrrrrrrrr....... Hoo boy!!!!

I thought the War Against Northern Aggression was the largest conservative protest in our Nation's history. Silly me.

Well, it may have only been 30,000-60,000 bodies, but they're just so special, each physical person counts as, like, 10 people. It's the new new math.

And I hate to be ageist, but the funniest thing about that hearse picture with the "no government run healthcare" slogan on the side? Both the driver and the passenger look to be either qualified for Medicare, or approaching eligibility.

Let's parse this dance:

"Brendan Steinhauser, the organizer of logistics for FreedomWorks,"

He has a dog in the fight, but he's not biased, cuz the dog is old enough to be on Medicare, as shown by the fact it is toothless.

"said this event should be put in the same category as Martin Luther King's historic march on Washington for civil rights or the Vietnam War protests."

I agree. It should be put with those in the category, "Protest Marches in and on Washington, C.C."

"It was "definitely the largest conservative protest in American history," he told me,"

I agree: it visually demonstrates just how few "conservatives" there are in the US.

As for "in American history": I'm sure he researched that question, so can back up his finding with visual proof -- photographs, video clips, copper engravings of protest gatherings by the Founders.

"and it's really not received the coverage it deserves."

I agree it hasn't been sufficiently exposed as a massively hyperbolic lie that there are as many as a million teabag nutballs in the US.