Million Puppet March -- Puppets Invade DC ... Don't Cut Our Strings!!!

DON'T MESS WITH PUPPETS ... was the battle cry at the Million Puppet March, where a thousand furry creatures got fisted and stormed Capitol Hill yesterday -- all to save PBS from government annihilation.

The event was organized after Mitt Romney infamously put Big Bird, "Sesame Street" and PBS on the chopping block in the first presidential debate ... claiming it wasn't worth the dough.

Adam Jones -- a puppet master who co-created a puppet show called "STUFT" -- spoke at the event and told TMZ, "The politicians don't understand how BIG an effect 'Sesame Street' and PBS has on the world. It inspires kids in 150 countries ... and destroying it would be devastating. Something had to be done."

Jones says the timing of the march -- mere days before Romney and Obama square off -- was crucial, saying, "Even though the puppets can't vote (yet) -- they might just sway the election."