Oh, Arnold.
The problem with a protest on the peninsula, of course, is that without Frank Chu how do you know it really happened? We took some pictures just in case. Since no news station cares about traffic on the 280 near Woodside, we knew something was up when we came out of work and saw four helicopters overhead. Oops! We forgot - Arnold's in town today!
Governor Schwarzenegger was in Menlo Park at the swank Stanford Park Hotel at a fundraiser. We're not sure how many dollars a plate it was but we're certain it was more than our cold cereal dinner is worth. There were probably a couple of hundred people there protesting against the November election and the propositions it will contain. We arrived just as it was ending, but the police and media were certainly out in force, along with many of your ordinary folks speaking out against cuts to health care and education. Traffic on El Camino slowed down and the protesters got plenty of honking support.
The California Nurses Association, one of the groups organizing the protest - we saw lots of SEIU and teacher's associations signs as well - has also launched www.StopArnold.us to keep pressure on the Governor and the corporations bankrolling him. Their tagline "Patient Health not Corporate Wealth" was on a flying banner over the protest.
The best part (possibly the only good part) about having a movie star governor is that there are lots of great puns and catchphrases to use when protesting him, like chanting "We'll be back!" or signs that read "True Lies, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger". It takes the stress out of making protest signs at least.
Next up: Anarchists in Palo Alto on Saturday!