My group, Americans for Limited Government, is working with local activists in eight states to put spending cap initiatives on the 2006 ballot. Our measures would give taxpayers some control over state spending and stop out-of-control budget binges. This terrifies groups which have a lot to lose from serious spending reforms.
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A showdown is brewing in Nevada, where the AFL-CIO and state teachers unions have put some muscle behind an intimidation campaign against the Tax and Spending Control campaign. Reportedly paid by the hour, these “blockers” physically surrounded petitioners while shouting, screaming, and chasing away potential signers. The situation escalated last week, with petitioners reduced to pleading for a restraining order from a Nevada judge, who promptly ordered preschool-style rules — “no touching, no yelling” — to return order to the streets.“Say you’re an elderly woman and you want to sign a petition — you don’t have a chance,” says Bob Adney, who is leading the spending-cap campaign. “And if you’re a guy who’s 6’4’’ and 300 pounds, quite frankly, you might not have a chance either. These guys are surrounding petitioners eight to one at times, and they’re not pulling punches.”
What happens in Vegas, alas, doesn’t always stay there. Our partners in Missouri, Montana, Michigan, and Oklahoma have faced similar intimidation tactics, often at the hands of local unions and, in particular, public-education unions. The goal is often to get petitioners kicked out of malls and other high-traffic areas, or even arrested — which is an interesting civics lesson indeed.
Lest you get too impressed with what local liberals can cook up at the coffee shop, however, you should know that these efforts are often well-organized, well-networked, and well-funded — sometimes on a national level. The Oregon Education Association, for instance, recently declared war on the state’s spending cap initiative.
I've been involved in some petitioning, and this sort of thing rings a bit too true for me. If you read Hammer of Truth regularly you know what I mean.
