Brew City Brawler

Scenes from a Milwaukee Tea Party: No to TYRRANY!

Scenes from a Milwaukee Tea Party: We heart Glenn Beck

Also, glad to see the guy on the right thought people might not get his Orwell math.

Scenes from a Milwaukee Tea Party: The real reason 2 million people showed up

Apparently, the Decemberists were not available.

How many people attended the Milwaukee tea party?

How many teabaggers packed into the Milwaukee lakefront yesterday? The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says several thousand. As noted yesterday, Dad29 pegs it at at least 3,000 to 5,000. National treasure and insubordinate ex-cop Glenn Frankovis, channeling AFP honcho Mark Block allegedly channeling the Sheriff's Department, puts it higher (via Badger Blogger):

I just received word from Mark Block (AFP) that the Sheriff’s Dept. estimated the crowd size at 15,000. Not too shabby.

Haven't seen this number publicly reported (may have missed it). Interesting, if true. Was David Clarke, who spoke at the event, giving the estimate?

As mentioned yesterday, the Brawler left the festivities just as they kicked off yesterday. This was the shot of the crowd I took from the Mason Street ramp off Lincoln Memorial at approximately 2:40.

I'd believe that this crowd, which I inexactly estimated as high as north of 1,000 (an inexact but  in line with Dad29) grew over the course of the event. But did it grow ten times in size? Anyway, we can trust Charlie Sykes will say the number was MORE THAN 15,000. Or maybe he'll go with Illusory Tenant's estimate of 2 million.

JUST IN! AFP doubles down on more than 15,000! TMJ reports that organizers estimate attendance at 3,000 to 10,000! Close enough for wingnut math!

This guy pegs the crowd at 10,000, citing this picture:

That's not 10,000 people.

If the words "15,000 at tea party" sound familiar, they should. That was the number cited by organizers of an Atlanta tea party, a number picked up by the media and widely reported -- and then determined to be physically impossible.

As noted in the Galloway article, a man typically takes up 4 square feet, women a bit more because they on average have wider hips. A good number of people at the rally brought chairs, meaning they would take up even more space. So a crowd of 10,000 would take up more than 40,000 feet; a crowd of 15,000 would fill up more than 60,000 square feet. Unless the AFP can demonstrate how they did that -- what was the allotted space, anyway -- I think the estimate of 3,000 to 5,000 (i.e. several thousand) sounds about right.

JUST IN! Obama attracted a crowd of 15,000 when he spoke at the Minneapolis Target Center. Here's a sense of what a crowd that size looks like (and obviously the photo doesn't capture the full crowd).

(h/t Minnesota Prairie Roots)

I didn't see a crowd approaching this size or density when I left, as the festivities began with people reading the Bill of Rights. Maybe the AFP parachuted them in after I left. A crowd of several thousand people is nothing to be unhappy about. No, it doesn't suggest that there's any sort of mass uprising against Obama. I don't see the point in the AFP trying to delude people.

JUST IN! Hilarious. AFP says more than 15,000 ... MacIver claims more than 10,000!

MacIver claims it could not find a high enough vantage point to capture the entire crowd ... which causes the Brawler to question their thinking ability, given even he was able to do it (see above). MacIver did provide photos shot at areas of high density. This looks like a huge crowd, right?

Compare to a pic the Brawler took when while the front was relatively dense, there was plenty of elbow room in the rear.

JUST IN! At a rally that counted County Exec Scott Walker and Sheriff David Clarke as speakers, the Sheriff's Department estimates the crowd at 8,000 to 10,000. So some 7,000 to 8,000 people showed up fashionably late. Then who told AFP's Mark Block it was 15,000?

Scenes from a Milwaukee Tea Party: Joe the Plumber spreads his work ethic

Scenes from a Milwaukee Tea Party: TREASON!

Scenes from a Milwaukee Tea Party: The AFP-Milwaukee County Parks axis

Parks logo seems odd there. What's up with that? (I get that it may be standard issue for the Parks logo to appear on banners for the sponsors of events on county grounds. Still, seems oddly prominent. And obviously it could be a matter of crappy design.)

Scenes from a Milwaukee Tea Party: Hip Musings

James T. Harris, possibly saddened that Bill Cosby would have the temerity to take a break from critiques of African-American culture to suggest that maybe, just maybe, race is a factor in the tone and nature of some of the attacks on Obama.

I agree with President Carter that racism is playing a role in recent outbursts against President Obama. During President Obama’s speech on the status of health care reform, some members of congress engaged in a public display of disrespect. While one Representative hurled the now infamous “you lie” insult at the President, others made their lack of interest known by exhibiting rude behavior such as deliberately yawning and sending text messages ....

Various polls prior to the election indicated that between five and ten percent of Americans would never vote for an African American president. That number, of course, only includes those who actually admitted to their prejudice. How many others harbored such feelings but did not respond honestly when asked the question? And how many people oppose Obama’s plan because the President is African American?

Scenes from a Milwaukee Tea Party: Birther on Board!

The full sign reads: "Don't blame me! I voted for the American!" Spotted a bumpersticker with the same snappy legend.

You'd be hanging by your thumbs in Lubyanka right now, for one

A thoughtful critic of Obama's policies, who no doubt has read every paragraph of HR 3200, makes sure his voice is heard at Saturday's teabagger rally. Remarked a neighboring teabagger: "I like your sign."