CHAPTER FOUR - BRIGHT SUN SHINY DAYS

 Sometime in 1999, I can't remember the actual date, Don Sunquist sided with the Democratic legislature and proposed a state income tax. I voted for Sunquist in 1994 and 98 because I thought he was a conservative and he was against a state income tax. Shortly after he was sworn in he betrayed the people who elected him and came out in favor of the tax. I was livid at the betrayal, along with the majority of Tennesseans. Overnight Sunquist and the Democratic Party in Tennessee had committed political suicide. 

 When I am angry about something politically, on a state or national level, my options are few. I can call my congressmen, state legislators, or the governor, and vote when the opportunity arises. In this case I thought I had voted for the right person but he stabbed the voters in the back. Then something unusual happened. Radio talk show hosts Phil Valentine and Steve Gill were on 1510 A.M. at the time. Daryll Ankarlo and Dave Ramsey were on 99.7 F.M. This was when Dave Ramsey was just starting out with his financial advice show that is now syndicated nationwide. The two stations became the Paul Revere's and William Dawe's of our time. This was the start of what would become known as the Tennessee Tax Revolt.

 On numerous occasions the Democrats tried to sneak the income tax in on us but were thwarted every time. The aforementioned talk show hosts used their microphones to warn us before every meeting of the legislature. Whether it was on a weekend, at night, during the day or late in the afternoon, after most people had left their jobs to go home for the day. When we were notified of a session on the tax, thousands of anti-tax protesters would converge on the capital. Large crowds would assemble on Legislative Plaza and around Capital Hill while hundreds more of us continually circled the Capital blowing our horns. I broke the horn in my Ford Ranger pick up truck and was there for every protest except the very first one. If I had known about it I would have been there for that one too. I even did shift swaps at work in order to be at the protests. 

 The protests opened my eyes firsthand to news media bias. People protesting the tax were everyday people. Men in business suits, blue collar workers like myself, and housewives pushing baby strollers. There were also various ethnicities represented. The press always tried to portray us as a bunch of rowdies and they would also downplay the size of our crowds. There was always a very small group of counter protesters that stood on the south side of the capital near Sixth Avenue. The news media never failed to show them and make their group look larger than it was. We were having a major impact, however. The Dems would have the votes to pass the tax measure on occasion but we would show up and many of the legislators got cold feet at the last moment. One day paramedics carried out several whose blood pressure had spiked because of the noisy protesters outside. The radio stations were broadcasting live from Legislative Plaza and when the news that the vote had been postponed was broadcast, a huge cheer would go up from the protesters.

 Our finest hour came on July 11, 2000. I was finishing up my two day break at Bridgestone. It was late in the afternoon and I found out from Steve Gill that the state legislature was trying to pull a fast one on us. Everyone had gone home for the day and they figured that we wouldn't show up to protest. I was tired and dreading my 12 hour shift the next day at work. The last thing that I wanted to do was go downtown. As I began my drive to Nashville from Murfreesboro I was wondering if it would be a wasted effort. I imagined that I would be only one of a handful of die hard protesters that would show up. My hopes began to grow as I passed convoy after convoy of smiling, waving, sign carrying protesters. Tears filled my eyes when I came upon a traffic jam of horn blowing protesters long before I even came in sight of the capital. This was what a republican form of Democracy was all about. Hundreds of angry protesters were surrounding and beating on the doors of the capital demanding entrance. Somehow a rock was thrown through an office window and the press depicted us as a bunch of rioters. As far as I know that was the only damage done that day but we rejoiced at the news that the Dems had backed down again. 

 State Troopers in riot gear surrounded the capital the next time we protested but our efforts were not in vain. I was even surprised to see my Democrat voting Aunt Freddie supporting us at the protest that day, along with my cousin Rowena. Later in the year the Dem's admitted defeat and never tried to pass the income tax again. As a result of their foolishness in trying to pass an income tax the Democrats lost both houses of the state legislature. We now have a super majority of Republicans and the state income tax issue has been dead ever since. When Sunquist left office he wouldn't have been able to be elected dog catcher in the state of Tennessee. In addition he was under a cloud of suspicion for corruption. Tennessee is one of the few states without a state income tax and not having one is a big draw for people and businesses to move here. I will always be proud of my involvement in the Tennessee tax protests.