'Roidinator

King of Zembla, Hullabaloo, Swing State Project, and Suburban Guerrilla all note Guvnah Ahnuld had a difficult time in San Francisco yesterday--he was there to schmooze and raise funds for November ballot initiatives:

Protester Juanita Yee, 40, of Brisbane, denounced the governor for failing to support public education in the ways he had promised.

"I can't afford private school," said Yee, who has four kids. "It's not an option with a stay-at-home mom and a father who's a union plumber."

Santa Clara fire Capt. Bill Stone had never attended a protest before but was spurred to do so Tuesday by proposed benefit cuts for public safety employees.

"Firefighters will step up when it's an issue that affects people like teachers," said Stone, who arrived with seven other firefighters from Local 1171 in Santa Clara.

The crowd was largely middle-aged, equipped with signs such as "Grope-n-ator, keep your hands off our retirement" and "Nurses heal, Arnold wheels and deals."

John Bilicska, 46, an unemployed North Beach resident who used to work at UC Irvine, said, "The governor's calling the people who do the work the special interests, while the businesses that are shipping our jobs overseas are just great. I don't trust him. He's a typical Republican politician."

Swing State Project did some live blogging of the event--what's interesting is the sympathetic treatment received at the hands of the police, who generally don't take to protests, although they're certain to be affected by any Gropinator funding cuts.