There are 50, maybe. There should be 500, or 5,000; people should be flooding the lawns of the Fairfax County Government Center -- but they're clearly not:
That's okay, though. The important part is that they're there, and that Republicans United for Tax Relief holds this rally every year in advance of the Fairfax County government budget meeting that has consistently expanded the scope and size of their operations.
These people gave up time during the familial witching hour - you know, the evening weekday time period where kids need to be picked up from day care, dinner needs to be made, and all you really want to do is put your feet up at the end of a long day. These citizens instead came out to a location that couldn't have been convenient, in the cold, and stood up for limited government and lower taxes.
RUTU President James Parmelee said the turnout was pretty good for Fairfax County, and that he was happy with the results.
"We try to set the stage. We try to draw people from other areas, because if other people see the efforts we're making, maybe they'll make efforts, too," he said. "We're trying to show that taxes are too high, and for the past several years taxes have been too high."
It's a good message in advance of the national tax day tea parties that are being held across the country. Republicans are notoriously difficult to organize into protests, but that's no reason not to try.