Yesterday, MoveOn.org and several like-minded local groups held a protest at the statehouse. According to Philip Marcelo of the Projo, the theme was opposition to the debt-ceiling deal signed into law last week.
Immediately following the Tax Day Tea Party rally this past April, commentary was offered, in this and other forums, that not enough people had attended for the event or its message to be considered significant. (The commentary was usually offered from people who wouldn’t agree with the Tea Party’s message no matter how many people attended, but I digress.)
For purposes of comparison, I stopped by yesterday’s protest, to compare crowd sizes. Here’s the debt ceiling protest…

The photograph above was taken at roughly the same angle as this photo from this year’s April 15 rally…

But back to yesterday (both literally as well as metaphorically, in terms of policies being advocated). Let’s move in a little closer…

…and a little closer still…

…to get a more detailed picture of the “crowd”.

So what do the people who have confidently claimed that the Tea Party rally was too small to be considered as a reflection of a movement of mainstream importance have to say about the debt-ceiling protest?
One other note: At the time I arrived, one of the protesters was reading a message from First District Congressman David Cicilline, written specifically for this event. As the 2012 campaign progresses, it will be interesting to see if comparable (or larger) size events receive similar personal attention from Congressman Cicilline, or if organizations arguing against major Federal spending reforms hold a special place in the Congressman’s heart.