Nationwide Protests Against Obamacare! Democrats Harrass Tea Partyers as Healthcare Monstrosity Stalls in Congress

Today was another big day for the national tea party movement.

Turnout was robust around the country, although some protesters were met with harrassment and profanity. Michelle Malkin and Glenn Reynolds have reports. Plus, at Pajamas Media TV, Amy Kremer of TeaPartyPatriots.org (see, "Nationwide Protests Target ObamaCare: The People Say No to Gov't Run Healthcare"). Also via Instapundit, "Bureaucrash at the Healthcare Freedom Tea Party Protest" (YouTube).

For the Democratic pushback, see Gateway Pundit, "McCaskill's Office Locks Doors, Pulls Blinds, Calls Cops & Forces Obamacare Protesters Off Public Property." And The Rhetorican, "The Great Tea Offensive."

I attended a protest rally at Democratic Representative Loretta Sanchez's office in Garden Grove. That's me with the House GOP's "Organizational Chart of the House Democrats' Health Plan." Megan Barth is with me in the second photo. She organized the event and created the awesome protest signs. (Essay continues below ... but notice our little right-wing extremists in the third shot down!)

Turnout was moderate for our event. We had a couple of dozen protesters lining up along Lewis Avenue in Garden Grove. Peak turnout was 30-40, with some folks coming and going.

The group first turned up at the door of Rep. Sanchez's office. As Megan reports, "Loretta's office was not too kind in letting us stand by the doors." The group took the event out to the main entrance to the office complex. After an hour or so, we were met by Mr. Chris Clark of The Abbey Company. He said protesters were illegally parked, and ordered that we move our cars. A number of members of the group left the event to find street parking (myself included). My hunch is that Sanchez's staffers called property management, who probably weren't too happy with a bunch of activists marching out in front of their facility.

But check this out from The Chicago Boyz, on Senator McCaskill's office, "Their Fear Tells Us a Lot":

Honestly, they called the cops on these people? What did they think, that a church’s ice cream social had got out early and now the participants were roaming the streets in a sugar and milk-fat induced frenzy seeking to drink the blood of leftists?

I make a point of the protesters being white because it feeds into the same perception that I touched on in the Neo-Nazi Boogyman. A lot of leftists have heaped abuse on various tea party protesters as being racist and violent based on no other criterion than that they were non-leftist whites. Clearly, these people have wildly exaggerated, hysterical fears of politically active non-leftist white people, and they lump all of these ordinary people in with the racist, left leaning, white-supremacist micro-minority.

Somehow, I don’t think that if a bus load of leftist, African-American protesters showed up that the first response of the staff members would be to close the blinds, lock the doors and call the cops. Even though I know absolutely nothing about Senator McCaskill, this little incident tells me a lot about how the people in the Senator’s office, and therefore the Senator herself, view their fellow citizens.

Okay, elsewhere: In Los Angeles County, local organizer Jonathan Wilson welcomed 70 protesters to the Pasadena event, "Pasadena Patriots Speak Out on Health Care Reform."

Plus Kenneth Davenport reports, "Breaking! Fort Collins, CO Anti-tax Protest!" (about 100 demonstrators). And 250 people turned out in Asheville, North Carolina. See, Silent Majority No More, "July 17th Nationalized Healthcare Protest."

Also, from Florida, Naples News, "Small Local Group Protests Obama's Health Care Plan." From Washington's Bellingham Herald, "Bellingham Tea Party Protests Health Care Reform." More from Houston's KHOU-TV, "Houstonians Against Health Care Overhaul Hold Tea Party Protest Downtown."

Also Atlanta's 11Alive.com reports that "The 'Tea Party Patriots', as they call themselves, staged 254 similar protests across the nation, 37 in Georgia." See, "Tea Parties Protest Health Care Bill."

I'll post updates if things develop. But don't forget: Every voice against Obamacare counts! See, the New York Times, "Democrats Grow Wary as Health Bill Advances." And the Washington Post, "Obama Urges Bolder Action to Shrink Costs: Some Democrats Protest Surtax on Richest Americans." Plus, USA Today, "Discord Grows Over Public Health Care Plan."

Also, check Memeorandum and Instapundit for updates.

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UPDATE: Instapundit links!

And, in my inbox, Gathering of Eagles, N.Y., "AAR: Hands Off Healthcare Friday":

We started the day outside Rep. Carolyn McCarthy’s office in Garden City ...

We were joined by tenants and employees from that building! Security wanted us gone, and when we didn’t immediately comply they called the police ...

Also, Ace of Spades HQ, "Hmmm: Obama Implicitly Abandons August Deadline for Health Care, Moving Goal Posts to End of Year?"

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UPDATE II: Skye at Midnight Blue has a post with lots of photos, "Philly Hosts a HealthCare TeaParty."

And, in my inbox, "Cleveland Tea Party Patriots, "Health Care Tea Party After-Action Report."

Plus, from Gila Courier and AZ 8th (A forum for the conservative point of view on Arizona politics), "Photos of Protest at Giffords Office."

Also, from the Los Angeles Examiner, "TEA Party Patriots: Update - July 17 Simultaneous Health Care Freedom Rally"; Danville News, "More Protest Health Care Reform at Tea Party"; Contra Costa Times, "Tea Party Targets Thompson's Office"; The Greenville Sun, "Davis Strongly Supports Tax-Protest 'Tea Parties' " (on former Congressman David Davis).

Plus, from The Desert Sun in Palm Springs: Tea partyers to Mary Bono: "You're fired!", "'Patriots' lead demonstration outside Bono Mack's office: Group concerned about taxes, the nation's debt and the ‘cap and trade' bill."

Don't miss, PoliGazette, "Anti-Obamacare Protesters Take the Streets, Democrats Panic."

Related: Darleen at Protein Wisdom, "ObamaCare: Pushing the Taxrate Over 50%"