I am pleased to offer this Guest Commentary from longtime FR reader Alyse Fulbright. Fulbright (pictured to the right holding the sign) was one of over 10,000 activists who rallied in Fullerton on Saturday to protest the recent passage of the largest tax increase in California history, as well as to decry the legislature’s placing Proposition 1A on the ballot which, if passed, would extend those taxes additional years…
Yesterday afternoon, I joined thousands of other Californians at the Tax Revolt in downtown Fullerton. The turnout shocked me, with estimates from 8,000 to 15,000 in attendance, depending on who you ask. It was a diverse crowd—college students, old folks, families with children—and everybody there was angry about the recently passed budget and the tax increases that came with it.
I saw many creative signs and getups. There were people dressed as pirates and wearing Guy Fawkes masks, those with altered Schwarzenegger campaign signs and t-shirts that read “Recall Arnold” rather than “Join Arnold,” people donning teabags as accessories, and a couple promoting colonics at a local salon (“Sacramento is full of crap; you shouldn’t be” said their sandwich boards). There were folks with Arnold’s head on a stick, crowdgoers wearing stickers stating how much this tax increase will cost them, a life-sized cardboard cutout of Arnold as the Terminator with the words “Tax Terrorist” across his chest, and signs bearing various messages (“Vote Against Incumbents,” “I Am Not California’s ATM,” “Don’t Tax Me, Bro”).
KFI talk show hosts John & Ken presided over the event from a stage in the Slidebar’s parking lot, leading chants of “Revolt, Recall, Repeal!” and “Heads on a Stick!” People brought their Schwarzenegger memorabilia, destroying movies in the “Shredanator” and chopping off the heads of Arnold action figures. There were also booths where you could sign up for recall efforts or get information from taxpayer groups.
Sadly, this event didn’t get much media coverage; for the staggering amount of people who were there, the reports have been disappointingly scarce. I have a friend who said the event was nothing more than “a well thought out marketing ploy from John & Ken,” but I have to disagree. I have attended numerous live John and Ken events, all with a couple hundred people sitting quietly and watching them do their thing. But this was so much more than that. Sure, the KFI hosts called us to action, but the people there were fired up—and fed up. Not all “Republicans” in Sacramento voted for this budget and these tax increases, but they did allow it to pass and are still supporting the RINOS who voted for it. Those who attended yesterday’s rally see through the political charade and are not going away anytime soon; it’s time we get some real conservative leaders in office.
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