Immediately grassroots organizations and conservative talk hosts jumped on the issue. Brave legislators like Marsha Blackburn, Mae Beavers, and Donna Rowland went against their own Republican Party chief the Governor by opposing his plans and keeping the public aware of developments. Whenever something was cooking, they and others would alert the talk hosts who would let their listeners know. Those listeners then hit the Internet at sites like FR to inform other Tennesseans. It worked just like the Minutemen of Revolutionary days.
The horn honking started the first year when the Legislature decided to meet on a Friday night after everyone had gone home to pass the income tax. Through the above setup, the talk hosts hit the air and suggested that protestors circle the Capitol and blows their horns to express taxpayer outrage. It worked beautifully. The Legislature cowered in the face of the public and backed down.
For 3 years this went on at various times. The pro-taxers would develop a new plan to push an income tax and the people would return to protest. All that Governor Sundquist ever got was a sales tax increase this past July after shutting down governmnet for a week. Most were not happy with any tax increase but at least it beat the income tax.
Our work is far from done. The Republican candidate for Governor in 2002 is a staunch conservative Van Hilleary. Sundquist loathes Hilleary because Hilleary also came out against the income tax. Hilleary has sworn and will sign in blood if necessary that there will never be an income tax in his administration. He has further taken the stand that he will push a repeal of this July's sales tax increase. His solution is to cut government spending. Sundquist by the way, has apparently been asked NOT to attend any of the Statewide Republican Unity Rallies.
The Democrats are running the former Mayor of Nashville, Phil Bredesen. He is a multi-millionaire, from New York, with a Harvard lineage. Despite the fact that he raised property taxes 3 times in 8 years while Mayor, he is using weasel words and politicalese to fool the people. A typical Bredesen response is "I do not think an income tax is the solution at this time." That leaves a lot of room for future changes. A large part of Nashville detests the man as we pay our property taxes to fund his insider deals and monuments (Football Stadium, Arena, New Library, and deals with the likes of Dell Computers, Gaylord Entertainment, and HCA). Bredesen by the way made his millions off of the health care industry.
The Democrats are trying to sell Bredesen as the "new" Democrat who is business friendly and that he is a great manager. Of course they look past the fact that he left Nashville $900 million in debt by some accounts or that his only proposals so far have been on yet more new spending! Just this week, Bredesen who earlier said that he opposed the July sales tax increase, attacked Van Hilleary's ideal of repealing the increase as "irresponsible."
So, our fight continues. Bredesen is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He is rumored to have already promised cabinet positions to many pro-income tax legislators. He has the support of some RINO big business elites who don't mind a government handout at the expense of the average taxpayer. Of course, the media portray Bredesen as some type of "super genius" while poiting out that Van Hilleary is a current Congressman just like Don Sundquist was at one time. They insinuate that if you could not trust Sundquist then somehow you cannot trust Hilleary. What tripe! The Democrats are trying a replay of the 2000 Presidential election where their candidate (Gore/Bredesen) is painted as the philosopher king while the Republican candidate (Bush/Hilleary) is portrayed as a bumpkin and son of a successful father. Did not work in 2000 and will not work in TN in 2002.
People can make a difference by forming these loose networks. It helps to have some local conservative talk hosts (Nashville: Phil Valentine, Steve Gill, and before leaving, Darryl Ankarlo, Knoxville: Halloran Hill, Memphis: Mike Fleming). They do simulcasts and setup remote broadcasts in front of the Capitol as place for all to rally. It helps to have some principled lawmakers inside the machine. Marsha Blackburn has become such a hero that she is now headed to the US Congress in Washington. It is the folks like Gail who get in the trenches and like Paul Revere, spread the alerts and warnings. It is sites like FR that allow those messages to spread across the State. We are to the point that when an alert goes out, protestors can be at the Capitol within 10 minutes. With advanced warning, really dedicated folks like Gail can make the drive from Memphis and other areas to man the lines and express the voice of the people. The liberal media will always label us as rabble rousers but then that is what King George called our founding patriots!