“Hell hath no fury like a taxpayer ignored,’’ declared Andrew Moylan, head of government affairs for the National Taxpayers Union, urging protesters to call their representatives. The demonstrators roared their approval.
“We own the dome!’’ they chanted, pointing at the Capitol.
The demonstrators are part of a loose-knit movement that is galvanizing anti-Obama sentiment across the country, stoking a populist dimension to the Republican Party, which has struggled to find its voice since the 2008 elections.
With Democrats in control of Congress, battling the president legislatively has been difficult. But after a spring of antitax rallies and summer health care protests proved to be effective, a growing number of GOP leaders are dropping their wariness and seeing the political possibilities of latching onto this freewheeling coalition. Others are cautious about embracing views that can be seen as extremist.
No official crowd estimate was available, but yesterday’s throng appeared to number in the many tens of thousands. The sound system did not reach far enough for people at the edges of the rally to hear the speakers onstage.
“You will not spend the money of our children and our grandchildren to feed an overstuffed government,’’ Representative Tom Price, a Georgia Republican, said of the Obama administration, drawing raucous applause.
“Our history is decorated by those who endured the burden of defending freedom,’’ Price said. “Now a new generation of patriots has emerged. You are those patriots.’’
The group’s sponsors included FreedomWorks, a Washington-based group headed by former House majority leader Richard Armey, a Texas Republican, and the groups Tea Party Patriots and ResistNet. They and others involved in the rally comprise a loose coalition of conservative groups that helped organize the health care and antitax demonstrations in the spring and summer.
“Health care is not listed anywhere in the Constitution,’’ said Brian Burnell, 45, who owns an insurance company in Maryland. His placard read, “How Is That Hopey Changey Thing Workin’ Out For Ya?’’
