In retrospect, the people who organized Newt Gingrich’s Wednesday night fundraiser in a room in a D.C. hotel that had glass doors facing the outside on both sides might regret their selection. But for demonstrators with Take Back The Capitol — a week-long series of events aimed at encouraging politicians to support the needs of the “99 percent” — things worked out pretty well.
Gingrich’s fundraiser was held at the Willard InterContinental hotel, located a short walk from the very White House the former Speaker of the House wants to occupy. A few dozen protestors gathered at the entrance and handed out fake $100 bills with Gingrich’s face on them which were later placed on the glass outside of the fundraiser (above).
“The poor get poorer, the rich get rich, that’s the platform of Gingrich,” they chanted.
The protestors, most of them unemployed workers from across the country, started arriving in D.C. on Monday. They’ve done sit-ins in Congressional offices and shut down K Street. While they have been working with the Occupy D.C. encampment at McPherson Square, Take Back The Capitol (which is aided by MoveOn and the Service Employees International Union) is a separate entity.
Most people arriving the hotel walked right by the protestors, but at least one attendee stopped to chat. “Y’all wanna say anything, I’m listening,” Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) told protestors as they chanted “hey you billionaires, pay your fair share.”
Soon the protestors moved to other sides of the building so they could peer through the glass and into Gingrich’s event. Cops lined up on both sides of the building, ensuring no protestors pounded on the glass.
Inside the hotel, Andy Kroll reports that some of the protestors snuck into a separate room where those attending the Gingrich event were dining and were later kicked out by security.
