MURRIETA: Mosque, illegal immigration, taxes buzzwords during freedom rally
More than 100 people attend event
MURRIETA: Mosque, illegal immigration, taxes buzzwords during freedom rally
By AARON CLAVERIE
Posted: Sunday, September 12, 2010 7:51 pm | (5) Comments

Mosque, illegal immigration and taxes were the buzz words during a "We the People Freedom Rally" on Sunday afternoon at the California Oaks Sports Park in Murrieta.

The rally, attended by more than 100 people, was organized by members of Southwest County tea parties and Republican leaders. It was held on Sunday to show solidarity with the 9/12 Taxpayer March in Washington, D.C., an annual protest march put together by a coalition of national tea party groups.

The speakers at Murrieta's rally included conservative political candidates, activists committed to securing the nation's borders and stopping illegal immigration, and people opposed to plans for the construction of a mosque in New York near ground zero.

There also were people who spoke out against the plans to build a mosque in Temecula's Nicolas Valley, a rural community in the northeast corner of the city.

"Things have to change," said Gina Connor, a Menifee resident who attended the Murrieta rally. "And the only way to do that is getting people out, engaged and ready to vote."

Conner has lived in California for more than 20 years, she said, but she's looking to move to a more economically friendly state.

The problem, she said, is that she and her husband have just started a small business that is struggling to stay on its feet, making any sort of big move cost prohibitive.

"California is so scary now," she said. "We can't make a move. We have to stay."

Like many of the people at the rally, Conner identified herself as a fiscal conservative and she said she was distressed by many of the proposals that have been pushed through by President Barack Obama's administration ---- she mentioned the recent health care legislation as an example ---- and plans that are currently being floated.

For instance, the tax cuts that were enacted during the first term of President George W. Bush are scheduled to expire this year and Obama has proposed extending the cuts only for individuals making less than $200,000 and couples making less than $250,000.

Connor said that course of action will hurt small businesses, the people who do much of the hiring in this country.

"It will always trickle down," she said.

Weighing in on illegal immigration, one of the speakers, Celeste Greig, the state president of the California Republican Assembly, invited her fellow conservatives to join her for a trip next month to Arizona, a show of support for the border state that has been trying to legislatively make the state inhospitable for illegal immigrants.

"We need to show the people we do care, and we're not going to take it anymore," she said, garnering a hearty round of applause.

Another speaker was Shimon Erem, a retired Israeli general who spoke on Islam and the controversy regarding the proposal to build a mosque near ground zero.

Erem urged the people listening to his speech ---- and the entire country ---- to stay committed to opposition of the plans.

"If you fight and fight and fight, you will win," he said.

On mosques, Erem said they are not houses of worship or churches. He called them tools of domination that double as training centers for terrorists.

"They shoot you from a mosque," he said. "They say, 'We are going to rule. We're going to rule you.' This is the message of a erecting a mosque."

Ralph Giugliano, a New Yorker who lives in Menifee, said he came to the rally, in part, to hear what people had to say about the mosque controversy and the imam pushing the plans in New York.

And he said he was impressed by Erem's speech.

"I wanted to learn the truth about the imam," he said, adding that the plan for a mosque near ground zero is a "slap in the face" to the victims of those who were killed in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Giugliano's wife, Valerie, said the question about building a mosque in Temecula is less clear cut because she supports freedom of religion for those who worship "the true God."

"It's a touchy subject," she said, adding that it's also personal as one of her husband's friends was killed in the Sept.11 attacks. "We pray for the Muslims and hope that they get saved."

On the economy, Valerie Giugliano said she is looking forward to the Republicans picking up big gains this November because she said the Democratic party is in the process of running the country over with its tax policies.

www.nctimes.com