A local California newscast panned the empty sidewalk where a massive Tea Party rally was supposed to have occurred in Stockton, California. "Organizers were hoping for 1,000 people to join the protest," according to the news anchor, and their on-the-spot reporter said "they're also hoping to stretch completely down that sidewalk over there.
"As you can see, that sidewalk over there is empty."
In the end barely 150 people showed up, and the the turnout was even more disappointing 50 miles away in Sacramento. But did the Tea Party also manage to preempt pro-government protesters from getting their own message out?
Even for "the biggest rally on the west coast," only around 2,000 people showed up at the Sacramento state capitol. And they were all clustered around one side of the capitol building. Besides the question of whether such a small rally deserves this much news attention: it actually stopped other pro-government rallies from being held!
As this article explains, the Tea Party insisted on a permit reserving all four sides of the capitol building, and reserving it for the entire day. This prevented any pro-government protesters from appearing anywhere on the capitol grounds. (On Facebook, a Tea Party member even threatened "You may be escorted off the premises," adding "the police have been put on notice.")
In the end, a rival group called "the Coffee Party" stood their ground, and still staged their pro-government services rally on a nearby street on April 15. And they also arranged a second rally on April 16 (which apparently is still going on until 5:00 at 4th and Capitol Mall) to show that their support lasts more than one year!