Three days before the election, hundreds of puppets and people -- toddlers included -- gathered in D.C. to support public television and radio. The idea for the Million Puppet March, as it was called, was born after Mitt Romney spoke of his plans to end government funding for PBS.
"I like PBS. I love Big Bird... But I am not going to keep spending money on things [we have] to borrow money from China to pay for," Romney famously said during the first presidential debate.
And so, on Saturday, November 3rd, adults dressed in "Sesame Street" costumes, toddlers rallied and according to the Washington Post, a puppet-themed wedding even took place. The mission was to "increase awareness of the importance of federal funding to our public broadcasting system and to promote broad based support for its continuation."
While the message was political and certainly important, the protesters' chants were perhaps some of the most endearing that Washington has ever heard. The Washington Post reports that the battle cries included:
“Power to the puppets! We can save the Muppets!”
“Whose street? Sesame Street!”
“What do we want? Cookies! When do we want them? Now!”
“EL-MO! We won’t go!”
Some supporters couldn't make it to the march, but still wanted to participate. For example, Vanessa who is a mother of one toddler, created this video testimonial. She explained how essential "Sesame Street" was to her childhood, and added, "I just want it to be there for my son."
It's a sentiment that many parents had already shared immediately following Romney's public "attack" on Big Bird.
"As a mother of two young girls (5 and 7) raised on PBS, my jaw dropped when Romney made that statement," Liz Gumbinner, who blogs at Mom 101, told The Huffington Post.
The concept for the Million Puppet March was created by two strangers -- Michael Bellavia, 43, an animation executive from Los Angeles, and Chris Mecham, 46, a student in Idaho, Reuters reported. Before the first debate had even ended, Bellavia purchased the domain, www.millionmuppetmarch.com, and then realized that Mecham had coincidentally launched a Facebook page using the same name. The two connected shortly after the debate and began to plan the event. In addition to Saturday's rally, they have also started a petition to encouragement government to continue to fund public broadcasting.
LOOK: The Million Puppet March takes Washington
Related
Before You Go
