Live-blogging Tax Day Tea Party rallies from the National Mall in Washington

UPDATE: 8:40PM

Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann, a Republican representative from Minnesota, took to the stage on the national mall shortly after dark, riling the crowd up by saying President Obama will be a one term president and that his recently passed health-care bill will be repealed. “Barack Obama will be a one term president,” Bachmann said.

Here’s a photo of the Minnesota congresswoman giving her speech.

In Feburary 2013, she said, Obama will be out of office. And despite those who say repeal of the health-care legislation is impossible, it will happen, she argued.

Other Republicans who showed up to rally Thursday night were Rep. Tom Price and Rep. Steve King.

Conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart, along with editor-in-chief of The Daily Caller, Tucker Carlson, are taking the stage before the event closes down at about 9:30 p.m.

UPDATE: 6:50PM

I ran into Dick Armey — clad in a flannel shirt and donning a cowboy hat — backstage at the Tax Day event. Armey, the former GOP leader who is now the chairman of FreedomWorks, said now that the health-care debate is over, Tea Partiers are completely focused on winning elections in November.

“The purpose of today is to basically tell all officeholders and officeseekers, ‘we’re here, we’re real, we’re gonna make a difference in your election and you have better pay attention to the things that are important to us because you very likely might not get your job back,’ ” Armey said.

He was also quick to point out that while there are thousands on the mall here in Washington, there are also 752 other Tax Day events taking place across the country today.

FreedomWorks organizer Brendan Steinhauser tells me there’s probably between 5 and 8 thousand protesters on the mall. The event is scheduled to really heat up at about 7 p.m. and last until after 9:30 p.m.

Steinhauser took the stage, riling up the crowd by saying President Obama is probably looking through the curtains out onto the mall at the protests. “I got a message for the President,” Steinhauser said. “We’re back.”

Others spotted backstage Thursday afternoon include Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Tea Party favorite who quickly addressed the crowd, and Greta Van Susteren of Fox News, who was walking around with a camera in her hand while greeting organizers.
UPDATE 5:50 PM

Tea Partiers in Washington are making their way now to the national mall, as FreedomWork’s Tax Day protest is about to get going. Rep. Ron Paul and Rep. Tom Price, both Republicans, are set to address the crowd along with other conservative speakers on the stage facing the Washington Monument. Protesters facing the stage see the White House in the background.

Here’s a photo I took of the gathering crowd.

I also just ran into Ryan Hecker, who will take the stage to officially unveil the Contract from America. Sen. Jim DeMint, former Rep. Dick Armey and former Speaker Newt Gingrich are expected to sign on to the document. Rep. Mike Pence has also said he supports the contract, Hecker said, and other members will be encouraged to sign onto the document in the coming weeks and months.

“I’m happy he’s listening,” said Hecker of GOP House leader John Boehner’s public support announced today of the document.

Some of our reader-submitted photos below: