According to America’s Truth Detector, the de facto leader of the Republican Tea Party (GOTP), Rush Limbaugh, “There were 800 tea parties, and I think some outfit has calculated based on the estimates from law enforcement officials and others on all the sites, something like 189,000 Americans showed up yesterday total for all the tea parties.” 

Let’s do a little math. Rush claims to have 20 million listeners; so, 189,000 divided by 20 million = 0.009 multiplied by 100 = 0.945 percent of his so-called listening audience.

According to most media outlets, Rush is heard on 600 radio stations nation wide with some 14 million listeners. So, 189,000 divided by 14 million = 0.013 multiplied by 100 = 1.35 percent of his listeners.

In 2004 there were 55 million registered Republicans; 189,000 divided by 55 million = 0.003 multiplied by 100 = 0.34 percent of total Republicans.

According to Talkers Magazine, Sean Hannity has about 13 million listeners. 189,000 divided by 13 million = 0.014 multiplied by 100 = 1.45 percent of his listeners.

Laura Ingraham is estimated to have around 5 million listeners. 189,000 divided by 5 million = 0.037 multiplied by 100 = 3.78 percent of her total listeners.

Michael Savage has approximately 8 million listeners. 189,000 divided by 8 million = 0.023 multiplied by 100 = 2.36 percent of total listeners.

Glenn Beck has approximately 4 million listeners. 189,000 divided by 4 million = 0.047 multiplied by 100 = 4.72 percent of total listeners.

So, what does this mean?

It means that Rush, Hannity, Beck, O’Reilly, FOX PAC, Ingraham, Boortz, Savage, Crowley, et al., do not have near the amount of political power, nor political clout that they, or the Democrats think they have. This was the best they could do? This is all they could muster? Best case 4.72 percent of Glenn Beck’s total listeners? The GOTP couldn’t get more then 0.34 percent of its total numbers to come out? 189,000 disgruntled voters out of 169 million registered voters in the United States? 0.11 percent of all the registered voters in the whole country turned out?

If this is the best they can do, then the conservative movement in America and especially the Republican Tea Party has had its day. It appears that Ronald Reagan truly was the GOP’s high water mark. If I were a member of the Democratic Party leadership I would simply smile every time Rush, or Hannity, or any other member of the conservative media attacked me, and then I would turn to them and say, as Glenda said to the Witch of the West, “You have no power here, now be gone before someone drops a house on you too.”