Correction Appended
Conservative AU students marched on the Capitol Building Sept. 12, along with tens of thousands of other protestors demanding that President Barack Obama curb spending, withdraw support for liberal health care reform and other measures seen as unconstitutional.
The protesters, a loose coalition of fiscal, moral and foreign policy conservatives animatedly cheered along with speakers denouncing Obama’s “socialist” agenda. When former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, spoke to the crowd, they chanted “freedom works.”
| Attendees of Saturday's taxpayer protest sing the national anthemCHARLIE SZOLD / THE EAGLE |
The crowd ranged in age from young children riding in strollers — some with signs propped against their little hands — to senior citizens in wheelchairs. One young child held a sign that read “We [the children] can’t afford your health care.”
The crowd, estimated in the tens of thousands by the Washington Post, crowded around the West Lawn of the Capitol Building. Some spectators perched atop statues depicting Civil War soldiers struggling against unseen forces. One man straddled a statue near the Capitol Reflecting Pool, holding an American flag high above his head.
Michael Monrroy, the president of the AU College Republicans and a junior in the School of Public Affairs, was there volunteering for a conservative organization.
“It’s just amazing to see this huge turnout,” he said. “All ages, all races, all over the United States, they [were] all [t]here expressing their views in this democratic process of peace.”
Monrroy estimated 10-15 other members of the College Republicans attended the protest. He said he is concerned that Obama’s policies would make it more difficult for him to find a job.
“All of these issues ... in terms of this health care [bill] which is going to be forced on us, in terms of me finding a job [because] these employers [won’t] be able to provide jobs because they are ... out of business.”
Protestors came from as far as Tennessee, North Carolina and California. One speaker at the protest claimed that 45 states were represented at the march.
Eric Reath, a freshman in SPA, attended the protest because he wanted his views to be heard by the Obama administration.
“I hope Obama will respond and see that people are protesting, trying to make sure that our point of view is heard,” he said. “I know he can hear us. Whether or not he’ll listen to us remains to be seen.”
Colin Boese-Meddings, a junior in SPA, went to the protest as part of a libertarian group.
“I didn’t know if there was really a unified message to the protest on Saturday,” he said. Boese-Meddings still thought the protest was an important message to the government.
“I think Congress will take notice of it ... they still have to be concerned with reelection,” he said. “If they really anger people who don’t vote for them, those people will make it really difficult for them to be reelected.”
Some AU students didn’t even know about the protest until the Washington Post ran a front-page story Sept. 13.
“I think the insurance companies are paying them to protest,” said Mona Abutaleb, a junior in the School of International Service. “I think there’s a lot of conspiracy in this country and I think that’s one of them.”
Throughout the protest, which was punctuated by angry chants of “liar” — aimed at Obama — and other outbursts against the government, there were some beautiful moments. During a rendition of the national anthem the crowd silenced and began to sing along.
“That was amazing,” Reath said. “My buddy Robert is from Germany and seeing him mouth the national anthem — I’m like ‘wow, that is nuts.’ That was pretty cool.”
You can reach this staff writer at cszold@theeagleonline.com.
Correction: In this story, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, was misidentified as a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. This version has been corrected. The Eagle regrets the error.
