Photo of the day: February 27, 2009

Hundreds of people stood in the pouring rain outside the Capitol this afternoon to protest the Obama administration’s stimulus package. The “Atlanta Tea Party” was one of many Tea Party events that took place across the nation today. The idea originated from CNBC analyst Rick Santelli’s on-air rants last week for a new “tea party” to protest the stimulus plan from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange while backed by howls and whistles from traders on the floor.  A You Tube clip of the rave has received more then 800,000 views. At the Atlanta event this afternoon people clumped together under an array of umbrellas, many getting soaked to the bone during the rainstorm. The 40-minute demonstration included speeches by a few members of the Georgia Legislature. The crowd whooped and roared as people from the microphone railed about the “socialists running the country,” called for extensive tax cuts, read the Declaration of Independence and defended the sanctity of the Constitution. The event ended with demonstrators dumping tea bags into a bucket. I guess the revolution starts now?

(Photo by Joeff Davis)