Teabaggers Descend On The California State Capitol

Sacramento Bee's 'Capitol Alert' alerted me just before noon:

It's tea time.

At least that's what conservatives organizing tax day tea parties across the country are hoping, as they've promised droves of anti-tax advocates at rallies from Eureka to El Centro, California.

Here on the West Steps of the Capitol will be one of the signature rallies, with Fox News' Neil Cavuto broadcasting live, and talking heads Michael Reagan and Michelle Malkin rallying the crowd.

The goings on get started at noon. Among those slated to speak are Rep. Tom McClintock and Sen. George Runner

SALAZAR AND SCHWARZENGGER: One target of the anti-tax movement's ire in California is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- and he won't be anywhere near the tea party on the Capitol steps.

Schwarzenegger will be a part of a press conference with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about federal stimulus dollars headed toward California water projects. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, and Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, and Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Santa Fe Springs, will also be in attendance.

Dang! Time's-a-wastin'! Gotta go down and check it out!

Left: I wasn't able to get to the middle of the crowd (I arrived a little late, at 12:20 p.m.) So, I explored the periphery of the crowd, and gently probed the soft under-belly of California conservatism today for tea bags and whatever else I could find.

The crowd size was maybe slightly larger than for the big gay rally last November. It was a little hard to tell, though, because, for whatever reason, the speakers were not placed on the highest level of the steps on the Capitol's west side, but one level down, which shifted the distribution of the crowd.

Another way of looking at it. If gays are 3% of the population and conservatives are about 30%, they both put on comparable demonstrations - so maybe the gays are ten times as P.O.'d?

The demographic of the crowd was older than average, very white, and definitely suburban. There were some families (lots of kids too young to pay taxes carrying 'No More Taxes' signs), but it looked mostly like people in their 40's, 50's and 60's. Many well-fed guys sported well-trimmed salt-and-pepper beards: so many, in fact, that it's almost like a modern conservative fashion statement. From now on, whenever I see one of these beards coming down the sidewalk, I'll break wide!

At one point, talk show radio DJs Armstrong & Getty said something like 'Our opponents characterize you as 'fat cats'. You don't look like fat cats to me!' Looking around at all the sleek beer bulges and stumpy legs, I was tempted to think that the 'fat cats' label isn't far off the mark....

Left: Most people in the crowd could not see the speakers - big tents hemmed in the visual lines (unlike the less-organized, more-spontaneous big gay rally last November 23rd). So, people had to watch the Jumbotron to see what was going on. Here, 4th District Congressman Tom McClintock addresses the crowd.

According to the Sacramento Bee (and to McClintock's conservative credit), he has requested no earmarks for his district this year. But as former Congressman John Doolittle understood, the 4th District thrived on earmarks, and so we'll see what this new-found propriety portends. Conservative activist Lew Uhler also addressed the crowd.

Left: A clever sign.

As in all crowds, no one could always quite hear the speakers. One fellow started laughing when he understood someone to say 'Vote Out The Pope!' I heard the same thing - sound was a bit muffled in that corner there....

Left: More signs.

The most-popular chant was "We're ready for a tax revolt!" I thought that was a curiously-passive formulation: something like 'I'll follow if someone leads.' Also popular was "Vote Them Out!" which at least is more pro-active.

Still, just like for the gays last November, the election is past. All of this current activity is to build momentum for the future, not the present, but it's unclear what kind of future it will be. The speakers praised the crowd for their readiness to revolt, as well as for their law-abiding natures. Can't have both!

Basically, everyone today seemed to be in a pretty good mood, unlike the gays last November, who at least seemed genuinely mildly-peeved that Proposition Eight passed.

Left: Trying a bit of honesty with the persuasion. Rush would stomp on this dissonance in an instant.

Left: History lessons on a stick.

Somebody from the Coca-Cola Company was handing out free, chilled cans of Coke Zero. I suppose it's good marketing, and I drank the Kool-Aid willingly, so to speak, but the close connection to this political event made yearn for a Pepsi instead.

Left: Misreading the moment, I think.

Left: Posing for photos for an obscure cause. After all, singles get taxed at a higher rate than married people do.

Left: Plus, a big shout-out to Neal Cavuto and the astroturf masters at FOX News!