Commentary: Coming soon to a theater near you

In only a hundred days and change, President Barack Obama has committed $6.5 trillion to waste, fraud, and abuse. That's $6,500,000,000,000.00, which is more than all the costs of World War I and World War II combined.

And you think it can't get worse? Believe me, IT CAN.

Things have gotten so bad, that even in my home state of California a Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is urging support for a massive $16 billion tax hike which is deceptively masquerading as a measure to put a lid on out-of-control government spending.

You read that right: A massive tax-hike " Proposition 1A " is being peddled to the people as a measure to control spending.

But what else is new? After all, during the presidential campaign Obama sold the people on wealth redistribution and the expansion of the welfare state by deceptively calling for tax cuts for 95 percent of all working Americans.

And he got away with it because, unfortunately, most people didn't realize that approximately 40 percent of the people in America already have a zero (or negative) tax liability, and it stands to reason that many more have a negligible tax liability. Isn't giving people a rebate on something they don't pay in the first place a hand-out ... isn't that WELFARE?

So, if Obama could get away with that little bit of spin, then why not call a massive tax increase a measure to control government spending? And if politicians in California can get away with this little tax-and-spend subterfuge ... then what does that mean for YOU?

Now you may not have heard about Proposition 1A, but rest assured, liberals in Washington like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama and Harry Reid are watching Proposition 1A closely.

Speaker Pelosi, who is even stumping for the passage of Proposition 1A, recently said, "Proposition 1A is right on time..."

The people of California will vote on Proposition 1A on May 19 " just days from now " and liberals are already getting a loud-and-clear message. If the people of California can be deceived into buying this obscene perversion of language, designed to fool trusting people into voting for a massive tax hike... YOU CAN TOO!

No matter where you may live, you owe it to yourself to get the facts on Proposition 1A because it may be coming, very soon, to a "theater" near you.

Our elected officials need to know right now that no matter what may happen to Proposition 1A on Tuesday, the American people want lower taxes and less government. They need to know now that you don't want a repeat of Proposition 1A on the national level.

That is why I am promising that my fight against tax increases in Sacramento, Calif. is only the first of many battles to be waged against tax increases and undisciplined spending habits. Standing next to each of you, I am preparing to take this fight to state capitols across our nation " and finally end our campaign on the steps of our nation's Capitol in Washington, D.C.

We've just seen one the biggest grass-roots tax revolts in history. Patriotic, hard-working Americans gathered in small towns and major cities all over the country, even in Nancy Pelosi's hometown of San Francisco. I personally addressed a crowd of more than 5,000 patriotic Americans (Republicans, Democrats and Independents) at a Sacramento TEA Party that roared when I sent a message to Governor Schwarzenegger.

My message: "Arnold, you are no Ronald Reagan."

My father also used to say that government budgeting should be like family budgeting; that you should only spend the money you have. My father spoke of government often being the problem and not the solution.

And there is a parallel between what is happening right now with Proposition 1A in California, the TEA Party movement, and what transpired in the past.

There's something that many people don't know about my father. Approximately 30 years ago, Californians struck a blow against higher taxes through another ballot initiative called Proposition 13. My father was one of the champions of the Proposition 13 tax revolt and many believe that this skirmish was the opening salvo in what became known as the Reagan Revolution. Amazingly, the Reagan Revolution started with an initiative to cut taxes in one state, and my father rode that wave all the way to the Oval Office.

And my father's first order of business was to cut taxes across the board. Almost immediately, government revenues increased and the American people reaped the benefits of economic prosperity.

History can repeat itself. We did it before and we can do it again. It is time for Republicans to start working together to launch a new revolution " a 21st Century Reagan Revolution.

- Mike Reagan, the elder son of the late President Ronald Reagan, is chairman and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation. E-mail comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com.