For a second year in a row, Tax Day has become Tea Party Day both across the country and here in the Bay Area.
The ring-wing political group emerged exactly one-year ago. Depending on your point of view the movement is filled with a bunch of extremists, or the only real patriots left in these United States. Movement members say "TEA" stands for "taxed enough already."
There will be "tea party" events in Pleasanton, San Francisco and San Jose today. The main one is at the Alameda County fairgrounds and has senate candidate Carly Fiorina as a keynote speaker.
The organizer of the Pleasanton event Bridget Melson says she expects a peaceful protest.
"I believe the Tea Party Movement should maintain a level of integrity," she told Bay City News. "Yes, people are angry and fed up with new taxes, the health care bill, the economy and many members within the current administration, but to display that anger with disrespectful signs and inappropriate language - that is not the answer."
Organizers are calling the gathering outside the Capitol in Sacramento the largest of its kind on the west coast.
Radio personalities Eric Hogue along with the duo Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty will host the 4 p.m. event.
On a national level, Tea party protesters opened their tour nearly three weeks ago with a Nevada rally that drew at least 9,000. The crowd heard from Sarah Palin, one of the few politicians embraced by the conservative, anti-tax movement. Palin, a former Republican vice-presidential candidate and ex-governor of Alaska, also starred at a tea party gathering of 5,000 on Wednesday in Boston.
The movement is taking credit for the election of Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts and the impending retirement of Michigan congressman Bart Stupak.
Now organizer say they are taking aim at eight senate Democrats as well as Majority Leader Harry Reid.
