Jason Lewis headlined the annual Tax Cut Coalition Rally at the State Capitol on Saturday, calling for smaller, more responsible government and lower taxes with an estimated crowd of over 8,000 people.
In the early part of the program, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann fired up the crowd with a rousing speech and then Governor Pawlenty arrived, promising to veto any tax hike that crossed his desk.
KTLK’s Chris Baker emceed the event, interviewing exhibitors during the break between speaking programs.
Measuring attendance at events like the Tax Cut Rally can be a bit tricky and results vary widely depending on the estimator’s political ideology. Where one TV news channel or newspaper may report “a crowd of hundreds,” another may say “thousands of protestors,” and yet another may use a police estimate like “8,000 – 10,000.”
Minnesota Majority had a plan to more accurately count attendees this year, up to a point: We had 5,000 copies of a Pocket Constitution booklet to hand out to attendees. All 5,000 were given away, so all that tells us is there were over 5,000 attendees.
With the event spread out over 5 hours, exhibitor tents all over the mall and people coming and going, it’s pretty hard to measure total attendance with a snapshot, too. There may have been 10,000 people or more. At the rally’s peak, experienced crowd estimators guessed around 8,000 in the gathering.
By any measure, a lot of Minnesotans showed up to protest high taxes and ever-growing state spending. There were over 30 exhibitors and all reported great response and turnout.
This year’s rally added some new features, like a conservative bookstore and food vendors. There were non-stop lines down the block to get a burger or some BBQ pork and the Borders employees running the bookstore didn’t get any breaks in transactions. Next year, one or two more food vendors might be in order to help cut down on the lines.
Prizes were awarded for best signs and costumes at the rally, as well as a prize for pre-rally entries of promotional videos. “Chicken Little” was awarded $50 for best costume. “I’m Two Years old and My Debt is already $31,000,” won another $50 for best sign. Mike Wilson produced the winning promotional video and was awarded a $100 cash prize at the rally.
Now that the 2009 Tax Cut Rally is over, preliminary planning for the 2010 rally is already getting underway. Evaluating what worked, what didn’t, what we need more or less of and what can be done to make next year’s rally even bigger and better is already under discussion. Suggestions and comments are being solicited at TaxCutRally.com. Add your two cents while it’s still fresh on your mind.
What’s Next?
At the Tax Cut Rally, many people asked what the next event for Minnesota Majority would be. The answer is: AM 1280 The Patriot’s Obama – The First 100 Days at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Tuesday, May 12th. Bill Bennett, Denis Prager and Hugh Hewitt will discuss President Obama’s presidency to date in the context of the traditional first presidential milestone. Tickets start at just $12.80.