A REAL Protest, And Nary A Teabag In Sight

As Media Matters tells us here, quoting Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic (h/t Atrios)…

Their origins -- organic, programmatic, accidental or otherwise -- don't matter much anymore. If -- and we'll have to see the numbers at the end of the day -- 100,000 Americans show up to protest their taxes, the onus to dismiss them as a nascent political force shifts to the Democrats.

Oh, that’s funny.

You want to hear about a real demonstration? Check this out from February 2003…

Up to 10 million people on five continents are expected to demonstrate against the probable war in Iraq on Saturday, in some of the largest peace marches ever known.

Yesterday, up to 400 cities in 60 countries, from Antarctica to Pacific islands, confirmed that peace rallies, vigils and marches would take place. Of all major countries, only China is absent from the growing list which includes more than 300 cities in Europe and north America, 50 in Asia and Latin America, 10 in Africa and 20 in Australia and Oceania.

Many countries will witness the largest demonstrations against war they have ever seen.

The majority will be small but 500,000 people are expected in London and Barcelona, and more than 100,000 in Rome, Paris, Berlin and other European capitals. In the US, organisers were yesterday anticipating 200,000 marching in New York if permission is given. A further 100,000 are expected to march in 140 other American cities.

And “the onus to dismiss them as a nascent political force” shifted to the Repugs.

Which, sadly, is just what happened.

Update 4/17/09: Meet the soon-to-begin new conservative quota hire columnist for the Times (I wasn’t even trying to prove that he’s incredibly wrong here, and I ended up doing that more or less by accident - h/t The Daily Kos).