Earl Grey, Anyone? A California Capitol Tea Party

Fox News and other conservative media outlets heavily promoted the "American Tea Parties" today.

Before a crowd that organizers claimed was 15,000 to 20,000, but these experienced ex-advance man's eyes saw as about 3,000, a parade of right-wing personalities used tax day to decry taxation, government, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and President Barack Obama with a rally outside California's state Capitol in Sacramento.

The event, like other so-called tea parties around the country, was heavily promoted by the Fox News channel, right-wing talk radio hosts, and the right-wing blogosphere.

Far right blogger Michelle Malkin denounced conservative Republican presidential candidate John McCain as a closet Democrat last year during the primaries.

Fox News personality Neil Cavuto, who does an ostensibly business-oriented show for the channel, was on hand, as was radio host and Ronald Reagan son Michael Reagan (I've been on his increasingly hysterical show a few times) and hystrionic blogger Michelle Malkin, along with California personalities like Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association chief Jon Coupal and state Republican Party chairman Ron Nehring, who walked alone back to his office.

Barack Obama, sworn in as president of the United States on January 20th, is Public Enemy Number One of the small but virulent American Tea Party movement.

The message? Well, if you're paying attention, you know the message. America is going socialist and surrenderist. Obama is a Manchurian candidate. Schwarzenegger is a closet socialist. The federal government is both totalitarian and weak - a tough combination to pull off - and the end is nigh.

Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto promotes the American Tea Parties. He headlined the event outside California's state Capitol.

If you are wondering what Fox News is doing organizing anti-administration rallies around the country, its obvious strategy is to aggregate all the already existing opponents of Obama into one audience. An audience for Fox News. And to incite that audience into paroxysms of believed illegitimacy regarding the Obama presidency.

As I mentioned to a top Republican consultant with whom I had an early lunch before checking out the Capitol tea party, this is a time-limited strategy, as half the audience will be dead in the next 10 years. A proposition with which he rather ruefully agreed.

What's wrong with Obama? Let us count the ways. Or, actually, let's not. Every cliche trotted out against him was on evidence at this event.

Suffice it to say that he is a Manchurian candidate who is out to destroy America. Nothwithstanding his military moves, which have much of the Pentagon cheering, and his sympathy for Wall Street bankers, which has much of the left jeering. He's running up a big deficit with his stimulus of the economy. Not that these folks were all that upset when George W. Bush and Dick Cheney inherited Bill Clinton's record budget surplus and turned it into a record deficit.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger praised a hard-won state budget compromise in February. For which the far right excoriates him, as it includes temporary tax hikes as well as budget cuts.

And what's wrong with Schwarzenegger? Well, he can count.

Which means that he sees that you can't balance the California budget by cuts alone. Which California's reality-eschewing far right never, ever spells out, because even many of their base voters would blanch at what a cuts-alone budget means.

As California's governor, Ronald Reagan instituted what was then the state's biggest tax increase to balance the budget. Nobody mentioned that in this tea party.

Is this a new movement?

Not really.

What it is is an aggregation and further inciting of an existing minority of a minority.

Hasta la bye bye ...

You can check things during the day on my site, New West Notes ... www.newwestnotes.com.

Comments

[nee]

Willy - have you "extensively" reported on the 15,000 who attended John & Ken's tax revolt rally?

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Actually, it was 7,000, on a weekend, in Orange County.

[nee]

You didn't answer my question. Did you report on this?

[fedupwiththis]

It was hilarious when I read this morning's Sacramento Bee. They claimed 5,000 misguided souls in attendance. I have no idea how that many people could surround the Capitol and not totally screw up traffic. But what do I know? The first protester interviewed was a "firefighter" from Auburn, CA. He was whining about the wasted money. I guess his salary was generated by totally voluntary contributions. I'd wager a good proportion of those in attendance were also public employees. If you think California's public employees are liberal, you don't know them. I was one and left because I couldn't stand being around so much self-loathing. Remember, Limbaugh got his start in radio on KFBK in good old Sacramento. The home of the truely clueless.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

There weren't 5,000 people there. I've done a lot of events in the past and have seen many rallies in that space.

[vesaversa1]

I seen a bunch of small town bitter old conservative that were left over from the McCain /Plain rallies who had all of these mix messages charging president Obama as being a socialist, communist, fascist . I think these peoples are very confuse because Obama can't be all these thing at once .what ever happen to the millions of supporters that were to attend these rallies i think the hold tea bag thing were a failure just dam pathetic .

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

It had much of the look and feel of a Sarah Palin crowd.

[VMA]

My thought exactly.

[eden4barack08]

Did we just miss an opportunity to make a few bucks by buying up tea stock this week?
Oh well...

[Oldchef]

The irony of course, is that most of the folks protesting about taxes are paying less taxes than they ever did. The only ones being affected by any proposed tax changes are the top 2% of the nation, among them of course, are the overpaid talking heads who have been promoting this farce. Limbaugh makes millions for his talk show, that extra 3-4% he probably won't feel that much, he'll still have plenty of money to buy his pills. Beck, Malkin, Hannity, etc. are all making millions so it affects them. I seriously doubt if most of those folks out there make more than $250K except for those organizing and promoting these spurious "protests".

[BottomLine2008]

Teabaggers are sheep.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Considering that very few people make over $250,000 a year it's likely there were only a few, if any, in attendance.

[JScott]

I thought they were gonna dump tea in water, instead they go to the state capitol steps, I guess they didn't want to walk thru the homeless tent camps along the American River to dump their tea-----horrors they'd have to see what 8 years of GWB hath wrought.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

The homeless are being moved to the state fair location.

[AZPatriot1]

Maybe the homeless lost their jobs because there are so many illegals in California.. Maybe you should interview them.. I am sure it would be a good story.. Just make sure you follow thru.. They say the got layed of from such and such company.. Then go to the company, Check out who they employ.. Are they still in business? I agree times have sucked for quite some time now.. Unemployment doesnt happen overnite.. Congress making bad decisions, People not following the law, Hiring Illegals to pay cheaper wages, It almost seems that the government Past Present and Future want us to keep feeding off the governent so they can have control over us Just like they want control over GM, the BANKS, etc.. I believe the Tea Partiers were just wanting to express (Individually) their thoughts Some, for taxes, some with congress, (Why sign a bill you have not read?) What if they took away your right to blog? or what ever else you do in your spare time..Maybe you would get some friends together and say.. Hey, Ive written congress, the President dozens of times, Never get a reply.. IS ANYONE OUT THERE LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE??? then your friends would say YEAH! Whats going on?? and maybe start a protest. understand Some People like to be controlled.. or are to busy, Or maybe, they get paid to go Protest like ACORN.. I believe, People just wanna say - WERE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

No, the homeless are not homeless because of illegal immigrants.

Maybe you should learn something about homelessness before rattling on.

[nee]

I believe in paying taxes but I don't want to sign my pay check over to the government. I am voting NO on Prop 1A - 1F. California has enough of my money they need to make changes in what they are paying for and how many people they employ. California needs to do what the rest of us are doing - making a budget, with the money they have already been given, and sticking to it.

NO ON 1A - 1F!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!

[BottomLine2008]

You're a broken record.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

And your alternative is what?

[nee]

I gave you my alternative. Cut programs - cut jobs - cut pensions- cut cut cut!

[bellabeach]

They were attended by a very small minority and that says it all....these people have small minds also...we have been left to pick up the task of the last 8 years of W and I for one applaud our President for keeping his head about him, when all others are losing theirs...he is to be commended for a great start and for picking up the pieces of a job that was left to him.....

[AZPatriot1]

What was the last protest that you attended? Can you recall the last small minority protest? Was it Pink? Peta? Lets be shy about the amount of attendees, lets say, 2000 cities across the US had Tea Party's which there were more but work with me here.. JUST on April 15th, and if at a minimum there was 200 people, which is EXTREMELY LOW, that would be 40,000 just a couple seat shy of filling Wrigley Stadium.. But I attended one in Phoenix AZ, where the police counted the group, to which there was 5000+ people.. now take that time 2000 citys You have a MILLION.. Your right thats a very small minority.. and thats ONLY the people that decided to take off from work to go.. lets say.. 1 out of every 3 people actually wanted to go but couldnt make it.. you know.. they actually work.. to pay for the homeless, welfare, Illegals, and unemployment, etc.. Maybe that would be big enough for you to say.. Wow, maybe I otta think twice about what I say..

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Well, you certainly work yourself up, don't you.

There was nowhere near a million people at these things.

The one I reported on was one of the very biggest.

[Tinkerbellee]

"I like paying taxes. With them, I buy civilization"
Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes

[amadorjon]

my mom had a meeting at the caoital yesterday, but I saw the itinerary on the counter and today was listed as well, she saws well theyre having a dang tea party lol

I said you mean theres gonna be alot of teabagging at the capital mom

she didnt get it............

[DogLeg]

Cool!

[noleftturns]

CA and NY almost bankrupt because of spending. they must have balanced budgets. gov. arnold is a girly man for not controlling spending.

barry and the prince and princesses of dc have 6 trillion in new spending. america is beyond bankrupt as these deficits continue.

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

you're right - we'd better tax the HELL out of the rich!

screw 39%...

I WANT IT BACK AT 90% SO WE DON'T GO BANKRUPT!

(oh and psst... there's this little thing called GDP - ours yearly GDP is more than twice that new spending figure... want to try to balloon it some more so that it includes projections that are completely irrelevant or have you already done that? just curious)

[BottomLine2008]

Obama INHERITED the biggest deficits in history from Bush who inherited the biggest surplus in history from Clinton.

California is in trouble from the Bush/Cheney recession.

[Richard Terk]

I was at the Sacramento rally today for a few reasons. Morbid curiosity and i only lived a few blocks away and had the day off. The scariest part for me was during the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, the crowd shouted out, "under God!" louder than the rest of it. When I looked around, everyone seemed quite pleased with themselves, almost giddy.

[MarionWatts]

The 'under God' addition, I found out, has only been a fairly recent addition to the Pledge. How DID we ever get along without it before, as a nation? I wonder, tongue firmly planted in cheek.

[Oldchef]

I don't remember what year "under god" was added to the pledge of allegiance, but I started school in 1949 and it was some years later that it was added. i remember everyone stumbling over it at first because we'd been saying it without that phrase for years. Might have been after the Korean War.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

I believe it was added during the red scare days of the early Cold War.

[Richard Terk]

Flag Day in 1954

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

yeah, apparently any who believes or thinks differently from them is a threat to their personal beliefs that they hold so strongly... go figure.

[AZPatriot1]

Im sorry you dont have a GOD.. ooops.. Thats right your GOD is Obama.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Somehow, America got along just fine until 1954 without being required to recognize God in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The separation of Church and State is at the core of the American system and is the intent of the Founders.

[Richard Terk]

I choose to keep religion at home. Religion should not be a requirement to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag and republic. It is a violation of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Also it is interesting that the only people using the terms "God," "Savior," and "Messiah," in connection with President Obama have been from the right.

[Libertyfan]

I'm sorry, I don't get it. If any state in the union deserves some tax relief it's California. Angelenos will be paying over 10 percent sales tax if I'm not mistaken. State income tax is among the highest. Why should we pay more then, say, Nevada (zero state income tax) or Arizona. You know, those states where all our businesses are fleeing to.

Can we admit those states are better run? Not only do we pay more in California, we get less. Horrible schools, decaying infrastructure. Maybe we have to bail out Sacramento this time, but let it be the last...

[drweh2]

Here in Nevada the local economy is circling the drain. Our governor is one of those who put ideology ahead of everything else - won't raise taxes regardless of the awful consequences. If we Nevadans aren't careful we're going to lose at least one community college. We have one of the worst high school drop out rates in the country. And anyone with a college degree leaves because there's no work for them here.

[amadorjon]

I was going to attend University of Nevada in 2010, but it seemed like because the governor refused to do anything about the archaic tax system, that they were going to make cuts to higher ed, and thus cut away my incentives.....

I live in a nevada border county (which gives you almost Nevada resident tuition, good neighbor policy), and then with a 3.9 gpa in my 2 year college, they were giving out alot of incentives to go there, I doubt they will survive though, love the school but I will be staying in cali

[Tiyers]

Why don't people like Mr. Limbaugh, Mr. Beck, Ms. Malkin ect. run for office if they have such good ideas? I mean they seem to think they know more than the current people in office, why don't they try to change the country to the way they want it? I'm not being sarcastic or anything, I'm just really curious about it.

[RonGallion]

They don't want to take a pay cut, and besides they are over qualified. We only need a Community Organizer.

[Rogan]

Gee: neither Beck nor Limbaugh (those are the two I know for sure in the above post) has the proper qualifications to step up to fast-food management as an entry-level position, while the Community Organizer you mention has degrees from more than one prestigious college.

But let me guess: you're not the kind of person, who's ever impressed with someone's educational background, are you?

[reininop]

Because they get millions of dollars for spewing their ignorance. They care about the people of this country only as much as those people can help them maintain their lifestyles.

[Oldchef]

Exactly!

[IllinoisTexan43]

Saw a "teaparty" firsthand here in Arlington, Tx. The rhetoric and the signage were all over the place. We stayed about 90 minutes and they never put together a cohesive argument on a single subject. It was either socialism, fascism, marxism- take your pick.

[ConnorMarc]

In other words Obama is a Socialist, because he's a Fascist, and he's a Fascist because he's a Marxist, and he's a Marxist, because he's a Socialist.

Right?

These people are so effing stupid its not funny.

It's mind-boggling that they don't see the harm they are doing to themselves.