Maybe the tea party movement has had enough of DC’s endless subway delays. An hour and a half in to FreedomWorks’ second day-after-9/11 megarally, 9/12/10 is no 9/12/09. The thousands of angry Americans who packed Washington during the House vote on health care reform, who poured into town on Tax Day, and who came by the busload to heed Glenn Beck’s call on August 28 just haven’t materialized today.
The crowd is downright tiny by comparison to those past events. Sure, there are several thousand people here. But it’s nowhere near the size of last year’s 9/12 crowd. If FreedomWorks wanted a repeat of last year’s traffic-halting protest, so far it looks like they’ve failed.
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Scenes from the 2009 9/12 rally]
Things might pick up later this afternoon, though, as this morning’s hour-long prayer rally on the grounds of the Washington Monument turns into a march and then a star-studded rally at the Capitol. The weather could be a factor, too. This morning it was overcast, drizzly and just plain gross. The forecast says things are supposed to improve as we get closer to the day’s 5 p.m. finale.
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Tea Partiers Storm DC For Second (And Smaller) 9/12 Rally]
Diversity update: Minorities on stage? About five. Minorities spotted in the small crowd? None.
Read my preview of the day’s event here. And follow my live coverage throughout the day here.
