Approximately 5,000 people gathered at the State Capitol Wednesday in a "Tax Day Tea Party" protest organizers said was aimed at fiscal irresponsibility in the form of Bailouts, the stimulus bill, increased taxation, and government waste. Speaking at the event were a mixture of media figures, politicians, and organizers, including State Representative Tom McClintock, talk radio hosts Mark Williams and Armstrong & Getty and others. The protest officially started at noon, but the crowd began ga... Files FAST 2009-06-28T05:35:41Z 2009-06-28T05:35:41Z

The mistake that many make are evidenced in these Dem vs Rep posts. The problems we face have been brewing in this country for decades as we have drifted further and further from the limited government authored by the Founders of this nation. To try to dismiss the protests as "bitter republicans" is a self-deception that fails to face the reality of historical fact. What the protesters are protesting is VALID. Just because you don't subscribe to all their views doesn't invalidate the message. The Federal Registry is pushing 80,000 pages of federal law that reaches into your bedrooms and bathrooms. The IRS Tax Code is something like 7 times longersthan the Bible. These last bailouts are more expensive than the Louisiana Purchase, NASA program, The New Deal, The Vietnam War, The Korean War, the SNL bailouts COMBINED. President Obama has hoisted more than 30 thousand dollars of national debt onto the backs of every man woman and child in this country - and we haven't even started talking about the Health Care issue! WE ARE OUT OF CONTROL and it has to stop! How is it possible you live in California and don't understand this? How is it possible that in real life, a person has to live in a budget - or live in a cardboard box - but no one in public service seems to recall this basic principle? And just for fun I'll mention that 1 dollar of every 10 in our national debt is held by Communist China. Interesting that America has lost its moral authority to decry the manditory abortions, the slaughter of thousands in the Tienimen Square protests, and many other human rights atrocities committed by a nation that we once faced in battle in the frozen tundra of Korea. Now we turn a blind eye - as long as they keep buying up our debt. We are in trouble, and something has got to change.

FAST 2009-06-28T05:35:41Z thsas 2009-04-24T15:33:31Z 2009-04-24T15:33:31Z

Did they burn images of Obama, like the Democrats did for years of Bush at protest for nearly everything they hate?

thsas 2009-04-24T15:33:31Z John Boyer 2009-04-18T14:24:22Z 2009-04-18T14:24:22Z

John Galt I much prefer my mobscene with answers to our nation/global problems not racially charged reactivism. But to be honest mankind hasnt handled its freedom of assembly very well period so yes I am leary of nationalism or any ism that rabblerouses.

John Boyer 2009-04-18T14:24:22Z Jeff McCrory 2009-04-17T17:38:49Z 2009-04-17T17:38:49Z

"Hard reporting would consist of real interviews with tough questions." It's difficult to pose those sorts of questions in a group of people at a rally. Group interviews are challenging in general. You don't have much control. At a rally, your're not going to get thoughtful answers, and people will likely ignore you if you start arguing with them, and I think you have a duty to your readers to let them hear what people at the rally are talking about. What the above article maybe could have used is a reaction from a counter-protester or someone with a different POV.

Jeff McCrory 2009-04-17T17:38:49Z Zemog Gomez 2009-04-17T17:03:25Z 2009-04-17T17:03:25Z

Hard reporting would consist of real interviews with tough questions. Maybe such as, "Are you aware of the tax cuts proposed by Obama?" How do you feel about the private student loan industry and the battle Obama is taking on to de-privatize that industry? - just for starters?

Zemog Gomez 2009-04-17T17:03:25Z Geoff Samek 2009-04-17T13:39:06Z 2009-04-17T13:39:06Z

What would you consider hard reporting? What could we have done better in reporting this story? We definitely value your feedback.

Geoff Samek 2009-04-17T13:39:06Z Zemog Gomez 2009-04-17T07:10:22Z 2009-04-17T07:10:22Z

my r/s showed none to few if any Democrats - great Youtube video in Philadelphia proved that. Since this event was pushed heavily on FOX 'news' - i bet you 'Diane' got her info from FAUX news too. As the former managing editor at KQCA, I can tell you that Armstrong & Getty registered numerous complaints for their hyper-slanted and conservative agenda. There were days we were glad they were on vacation. I don't see any hard reporting here, just another fluffy story - sorry Kathleen.

Zemog Gomez 2009-04-17T07:10:22Z Kathleen Haley 2009-04-17T05:38:44Z 2009-04-17T05:38:44Z

Good writing!

Kathleen Haley 2009-04-17T05:38:44Z Susan Arroyo 2009-04-17T00:15:22Z 2009-04-17T00:15:22Z

This is such good reporting.

Susan Arroyo 2009-04-17T00:15:22Z Raoul Kleven 2009-04-16T23:45:41Z 2009-04-16T23:45:41Z

It was actually Jon Mendick who took the pictures. He did a good job.

Raoul Kleven 2009-04-16T23:45:41Z Raoul Kleven 2009-04-16T23:43:25Z 2009-04-16T23:43:25Z

Personally, I found that there were both sorts of people at the event, and at different times one person could be both. I was harassed and accused of being a traitor and a disgrace to the US by one guy (this was without having spoken to him at all, he just kept accusing journalists in general) and then I turned around and talked to a woman who owned a business in Lodi, and she was quite polite. But I tend to be suspicious of any crowd that chants nationalistic slogans, just on general principals. Also, there were caricatures, yes, but none of them were offensive, that I saw. Some were pretty harsh, others were cartoonish, and some were just poorly drawn, but there was nothing like the "Barack the magic negro" things that were publicized during the election.

Raoul Kleven 2009-04-16T23:43:25Z Harry Osibin 2009-04-16T23:02:42Z 2009-04-16T23:02:42Z

Rauol, great pix.

Harry Osibin 2009-04-16T23:02:42Z Jeff McCrory 2009-04-16T22:28:40Z 2009-04-16T22:28:40Z

" How many democrats voted to go to war? All but one?" You probably should try fact checking once in a while. 156 Congress members voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. 149 of them were Democrats. But aren't you avoiding my larger point?

Jeff McCrory 2009-04-16T22:28:40Z Jim Knapp 2009-04-16T21:38:00Z 2009-04-16T21:38:00Z

Jeffie, you said "They let Bush start an unnecessary war that ate up all the budget surplus of the 1990s." Hey genius do you recall a little thing called a congressional vote to go to war? Remember that? How many democrats voted to go to war? All but one? oohhh but Bush lied... yeah maybe he did...the congress and senate had the exact same intelligence that Bush had..they reviewed it and voted to go to war. Maybe it was the CIA that got us into this... or maybe just maybe the CIA was fed bad intelligence by opposition leaders in Iraq, or maybe they just got it wrong. In any case, the congress and senate had the same intelligence, most of them are attorneys and reasonably intelligent, they made up their own minds to cast a vote for the war. So go blame your own party for voting to go to war. I hate Bush, but not everything was his fault.

Jim Knapp 2009-04-16T21:38:00Z Jim Knapp 2009-04-16T21:30:55Z 2009-04-16T21:30:55Z

A "dangerous tone" ???? Really now? Did you feel in danger at any time? Or is it that you consider freedom of speech and the right to assembly a danger? I found the crowd exceedingly friendly, engaging and polite... there were many elderly and children there as well... it was a great family event.

Jim Knapp 2009-04-16T21:30:55Z Dale Kooyman 2009-04-16T21:28:59Z 2009-04-16T21:28:59Z

Amen, Jeff!!!! You said it well. Did anyone suggest where the cuts should be made? And in which governments i.e. city, county, state, federal? Or did the signs and yelling say all? Did McClintock (whose been at the public trough how many years now ? and will retire with fat pensions) say what programs or services he wanted to cut? Did any of the signs say that? Did Armstrong or Getty say which ones they want cut? I saw some older folks there--do they want their Medicare and prescription drug benefits cut? I doubt any did. That would require some careful thinking and constructive suggestions--not something any of the talk show blabbers are into.

Dale Kooyman 2009-04-16T21:28:59Z Jim Knapp 2009-04-16T21:26:13Z 2009-04-16T21:26:13Z

If there was ANY ban, it was of Republicans who attempted to use the tea party events. The anger voiced at the event was clearly bi-partisan...

Jim Knapp 2009-04-16T21:26:13Z jrewers 2009-04-16T19:10:45Z 2009-04-16T19:10:45Z

Banning elected officials from speaking? Did I actually read that? What ever happened to First Amendment rights?? I'm pretty sure that right applies to all citizens, elected or not! BTW- Political posturing by coalitions happens all the time...didn't we just experience this after the passage of Prop 8? Just because people don't want to pay exorbitant taxes or may want to know the details into how their tax money is spent, does not mean that they want to kill public/social services. I think everyone should have the opportunity to express their thoughts and beliefs, especially in a political forum.

jrewers 2009-04-16T19:10:45Z Oracle 2009-04-16T18:43:27Z 2009-04-16T18:43:27Z

Good, honest reporting here. Beautifully done. This topic will be the subject of many more stories in the near future. It struck a nerve with the formerly silent majority.

Oracle 2009-04-16T18:43:27Z Jeff McCrory 2009-04-16T17:22:22Z 2009-04-16T17:22:22Z

Galt, turn-out double my estimate. FYI. The conservative blogger cum soon-to-be-NYT columinist Ross Douthat has a pretty good post (http://rossdouthat.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/04/the_tea_parties.php) on the Tea Parties. He compares them to the anti-war protests of Bush's first term and writes: "Still, here we are in the sixth year of the Iraq War, and all those anti-war protests, their excesses and stupidities notwithstanding, look a lot more prescient in hindsight than they did (to me, at least) when they were going on. So if you're inclined to sneer and giggle at the Tea Parties, keep in mind that just because a group of protesters looks ragged, resentful, and naive, that doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong to be alarmed." I'm one of those people Douthat is talking about, who are inclined to sneer and giggle, so I take his point. I'm not all that excited about TARP, either, and we can't be 100% sure or even 75% sure that current stimulus schemes will work the way we want them to. We may end up adding a lot of debt for a jobless recovery like we had after 9/11. However, Douthat overlooks a very important point. The Tea partiers had eight years with the Republicans in power. The Republicans share the same low tax, limited government ideology that the tea partiers espouse. They had their chance to pressure their Republican leaders to bring that vision of government to America. They failed. They let Bush start an unnecessary war that ate up all the budget surplus of the 1990s. They allowed Bush and the Republicans to expand the federal government and start a huge new welfare program (Proscription Drug Benefit). The all stood by idly while Bush installed a domestic spying program, and now they are complaining that Obama is going to use that program against them. I say: you had your chance. You blew it. Now you are just in the way. There are no "do overs" in politics.

Jeff McCrory 2009-04-16T17:22:22Z John Boyer 2009-04-16T14:27:01Z 2009-04-16T14:27:01Z

While I stumbled onto this rabble rouser festival I could'nt help but feel a reactive base around me. One common theme from the picketeers were signs with the words I,me and mine in them. This was in my opinion planned by a very misguided segment of our society that are hanging on to what was and can not continue, a circle the wagons mentality that will eventually consume itself. Oh yes there were plenty of degrading carcatures of Obama that were offensive giving this mob scene a very hatefull and dangerous tone. Murdock and Fox news take yellow journalism to its highest form yet

John Boyer 2009-04-16T14:27:01Z Zemog Gomez 2009-04-16T08:13:21Z 2009-04-16T08:13:21Z

If McClintock cited CA as an example of failure, then he outta get off our payroll. This national event was just an outlet for conservatives to vent about losing the Presidential election. In other states, they banned elected officials from speaking - they should have done that in Sacramento. This was just political posturing. 5,000 people is not a mandate. If the government goes broke, we all lose. Just kill services and let disease and corporate barons run the show?

Zemog Gomez 2009-04-16T08:13:21Z Jim Knapp 2009-04-16T05:56:11Z 2009-04-16T05:56:11Z

Good objective post.

Jim Knapp 2009-04-16T05:56:11Z