Way off in the distance, there is a platform bristling with cameras and microphones. Somewhere behind it, hidden from view, Sarah Palin was speaking, but I could not hear much. The physical arrangement was pretty poor.
This bunch was the hard left. They seem to be affiliated with the International Action Center and Workers World Party, also known as ANSWER.
The pierced and tattooed ironists of the cultural left were not to be denied their place, either:
The lumpentelligentsia is the revolutionary vanguard! If they annoy you, just remember to stiff them on the tip next time you see them.
Mitch, how big was the turnout? How big was the counter-protest?
At what point does “counter-protest” get reframed as an attempt to get publicity at another group’s event because your group isn’t popular enough to draw a crowd?
One of the guys from my blog attended a Tea Party rally today in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Lumpeninteligencia … I like that!
There were about 10,000 there, give or take, according to the news. The aerial picture seems to support that (h/t Instapundit). Maybe 10% were lefties. Considering where the event was held, that was not unexpected. There was a conscious effort by the Democrats and their allies to come and heckle, but it’s a free country. You can hear a little booing during the speeches. The predicted disruptions did not occur.
There are plenty of places nearby where the sight lines and acoustics would have been better. The Hatch band shell on the esplanade, or the band stand right on the common, or any of several hills on the common would have been better. The Tea Party one year ago had the speakers near the Shaw Memorial, right across from the State House. The crowd was much smaller then, of course, but it was very easy to see what was going on.