The 'flagship' event of America's much-publicized Tea Party Tax Day protests was held this afternoon, in the pouring rain, on the fertile (read: soaking wet and obnoxiously muddy) groups of Lafayette Park, across from the White House.
Anchors and reporters from Fox News were there to cover the event in its entirety, supportively, because they now consider protesting a very important and admirable populist weapon.
This is a change from Fox's Bush-era protest coverage, which was just to condemn 300,000-person antiwar marches as treasonous nonsense from a bunch of dirty hippies and stoners.
This NBC Washington contributor had the opportunity to attend the Lafayette Square protest for a couple of hours, and, well... let's put it like this: might it be a bit embarrassing for Fox News to treat a 500-person get-together with vague sloganeering and a few inaudible speakers in a municipal park with such world-historical importance?
Is there anything special about a group of like-minded folk simply milling about public property for a few hours, people who were so disorganized that they didn't even secure a permit to throw a few tea bags at the steps of a federal building?
These things happen probably three or four times a day at various locations in Washington D.C., and usually they only merit a bulletin post on a local blog, not a blocked-out schedule on America's most-watched cable news channel.
But if you think that "simply milling about public property" was a trivializing description, watch our brief video here and decide for yourself.
Jim Newell writes for Wonkette and IvyGate.
