by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, Esq.
When I watched the online coverage of the “No Kings” rally this weekend, I had one of those déjà vu moments — and no, it wasn’t the kind brought on by any sort of “creative enhancer.”
I sat there thinking, where have I seen this before? Was it this spring’s property tax rally? The abortion protests? RFRA? Right-to-work? Nope. If we’re being honest, this movie started a long time ago — on a Sunday afternoon on Monument Circle back in 2007.
More than a thousand people gathered on the Circle that day, all dressed in black on a hot summer afternoon, a sweltering human wave of frustration. And here’s the kicker: there was no Facebook event, no Instagram Story, no livestream. This wasn’t astroturfed. It was powered by a couple of blogs, some radio chatter, word of mouth, and a nucleus of thoroughly pissed-off Hoosiers who had just gotten clobbered by property tax bills.
The then–establishment dismissed it. Just like the new establishment is dismissing the “No Kings” rallies now.
Meet the new establishment — same as the old establishment.
Fast forward nearly 20 years later, and history has a funny way of repeating itself.
The First Wave
Back in 2007, Hoosiers weren’t just mad about their tax bills. The anger had layers. Scandals were brewing at Indianapolis City Hall, property tax assessments were skyrocketing, and local officials decided a 65-percent income tax hike was a brilliant idea. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.
The political class — comfortable, confident, and absolutely convinced of its own permanence — waved it all off. “It’ll pass.” “Just a few loud activists.” “People don’t vote on this stuff.”
Right. And I’m the Pope.
(Which, for the record, I actually was for one night at the annual Gridiron Dinner — cassock, miter, and all — belting out The Vatican Rag by Tom Lehrer. So yes, I’ve got actual papal authority when I say: the establishment was full of it then, and it’s full of it now.)
What followed wasn’t just a rally. It was a spark. That black-clad Sunday crowd helped drive property tax caps into state law and eventually into the Indiana Constitution. It also helped launch the Tea Party movement here in Indiana before the national press even knew what it was.
And it didn’t stop there. That wave helped elect a former active-duty Marine with three campaign workers and $50,000 in the bank, who beat an incumbent sitting on $3 million and approval ratings softer than a baby’s bottom. That wasn’t supposed to happen. But that’s what happens when populist energy runs head-on into the establishment.
The Echo
Now it’s 2025. Different issues, same script.
Scandals are bubbling again — this time not at City Hall, but at the Statehouse. From Diego Morales to Micah Beckwith, political drama is once again oozing from the marble halls. Add to that rising assessments, inflation, and — yes — an unpopular incumbent chief executive.
And what’s the establishment reaction? The same as it was 18 years ago: dismissive, mocking, and tone-deaf. Eye rolls. Memes. “This will blow over.”
On cue, some folks online started claiming the rally was really Antifa. Others swore it was funded by “paid protesters.” It was like a political Face on Mars test — people seeing everything except what was actually there: a lot of Hoosiers, from a lot of different backgrounds, fed up and wanting to be heard.
They said that in 2007 too. And we all know how that turned out.
Populism Doesn’t Knock, It Kicks the Door In
Populism isn’t a partisan creature. Donald Trump tapped into it. Bernie Sanders tapped into it. Indiana just got there first.
This energy doesn’t care whether power has an “R” or a “D” next to it. It cares whether people feel heard — or ignored. When they feel ignored, they don’t file white papers. They grab signs. And lawn chairs. And bullhorns. And eventually, they grab the ballot box.
The Warning Label
What started on Monument Circle in 2007 turned into a political earthquake in 2010. A rally that the establishment laughed at became the launchpad for two decades of Republican dominance.
And now? Meet the new establishment — same as the old establishment.
Populist energy is patient. It simmers. It waits. And when it finally moves, it doesn’t just knock. It kicks the door in.
And to all the insiders still rolling their eyes, posting memes, and pretending this will “blow over” — I’ve got bad news. Indiana has seen this movie before, and spoiler alert: the establishment doesn’t get the happy ending.
Or, to borrow from Barenaked Ladies…
“It’s all been done.”
(But hey, if they want to ignore the signs again, I’m happy to watch the sequel — it should be even more fun with a couple of creative enhancers.)
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz is the editor and publisher of Indy Politics, an attorney licensed in Indiana and Illinois, and a longtime political commentator. And yes — he took a break from his defamation litigation to watch some of this, which says quite a bit.
