Had it not been for a work commitment, I would have made it down to DC today to participate with my fellow Americans. (Kudos to CSPAN for covering the event live. Check local listings for the rebroadcast.)

Why would I have made the trip? Because I am fed up, just like these American patriotic protesters.

These American people are fed up with the government taking first dibs out of the paychecks of hard-working Americans without being held accountable.
These American people are fed up with the legislative branch voting to give itself raises, especially in this down economy.
These American people are fed up with House Members and Senators who are paid to read bills but don’t.
These American people are fed up with TARP I, TARP II, Stimulus, Omnibus, Cap & Tax, unaccountable czars and proposed Government health care.
These American people are fed up with the tired argument that it’s “us vs them” or “Republican vs Democrat” or “left vs right” or “red vs blue” when it comes down to one basic struggle: CONTROL vs FREEDOM.

If you are fed up like these American people and gather with fellow citizens to express your concerns, you might be a (gasp!) protester! I am not a hippie and do not have hippie parents so protesting does not come naturally to me. In fact, when I think of protesters, I generally picture a young, unruly crowd that exhibits an anarchy-type of rebellious attitude. When my fellow Americans began taking their frustration to the street in February 2009, I knew I had found kindred spirits because these protesters were different. With broad smiles on their faces, dressed in red, white and blue, waving American flags usually reserved for local parades, my idea of a protester was flipped inside out. I call these particular protesters Patriotic Protesters because they love this country, they love the Constitution, they work hard and pay their taxes, they contribute to their communities without needing a federal mandate to do so, they believe in the entrepreneurial spirit of our nation and the limitless productivity of American exceptionalism.

Our elected officials need to start paying attention to their constituents. They need to be reminded that they have been sent to Washington to represent us, that they work for us, and they are held accountable by us. Accountability does not just arise in an election year.

When our government is out of control with its increased taxing, massive spending and irresponsible printing of money, we must speak up.
When unaccountable czars have an unprecedented role in policy-making, we must speak up.
When politicians begin mandating the type of light bulbs we can and can’t use,
when they try to take control of our health care system,
when they think they can pick winners and losers in the financial sector,
when they think they can get away with not paying their taxes and the penalties and fees of paying them late,
when they think they can tell us one thing is in a bill when we’ve read it and the exact opposite is true,
when they think they have been sent to Washington to exert control over the American people,
we must speak up.

The print and TV media, liberal Democrats and moderate Republicans would love to ignore us. If they can’t, they will try to make fun of us. Media outlets will find the handful of extreme people who actually embarrass us and pretend the sentiment of the person represents the majority (i.e. conspiracy theorists and birthers). If they even covered the tax day tea parties, they demeaned us and called us derogatory terms. When we attended our local town hall meetings to express our concerns about government-run health care (because we had actually read HR 3200), they called us an angry mob and un-American. If we disagree with the radical policies of this Administration, they call us racists. That’s why this sign is one of my favorites (via @CrabbyCon):

Sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words. I’ll let the following pictures and video tell the rest of the story. (These pictures were retweeted so frequently on Twitter they may not be credited to the original contributor. I used the information from Twitpic. Shoot me an email or DM and I’ll be more than glad to update this post and give you the full credit you deserve.)

(via livecam)

(via @mkhammer)

(via @CrabbyCon)

(via @theGOPAlliance)

(via @CrabbyCon)

(via @mzhemingway)

(via @onthelawn)

Added this one as a shout-out to my inlaws in Michigan.

(via @ThatsRight)

I originally got wind of this video highlight from Ed Frank (of Frank Strategies LLC) via Twitter:

DC Protesters have plenty of “advice” for CNN.
I was excited to see HotAir post this video with a reminder to its readers of former CNN employee Susan Roesgen. Remember her? She’s the beat reporter that got into an argument with tax day tea party protesters in Chicago. Once a bystander’s home video of the event went viral, she suddenly went on a “scheduled” vacation. Oddly enough, her contract wasn’t recently renewed. I wonder if her inability to report had anything to do with it. Unlike those at the CNN anchor desks, this particular reporter doesn’t seem to overtly ridicule those surrounding her.

UPDATE: The official tally is not yet known. You *have* to see these videos posted by Allahpundit on HotAir. One shows the protesters gathering and filling up the streets and the other is MSNBC admitting their surprise at the turnout.

UPDATE: Fantastic pictures here.