Clutching signs and chanting slogans, most of the activists swarmed into the Ridge Policy Group, just a block from the Capitol, shortly after 2 p.m. They poured through the unlocked doors and began packing rooms on the first and second floors, demanding that someone from the lobbying firm come speak to them.
With their stomping feet causing the floorboards to creak and groan - and likely breaking fire codes - they finally got the attention of Mark Campbell, a partner in the firm and Ridge's onetime chief of staff. He talked briefly to organizers and promised to tell his clients that activists wanted to speak with them.
"We'll be back," the activists warned as the group finally left about 15 minutes later with chants of "No Free Pass for Oil and Gas." They left a mock invoice for the millions in taxes they say could have been collected from an extraction tax.
The scene at Ridge's firm epitomized the near-instant polarizing effect produced after Gov. Corbett unveiled his $27.3 billion spending plan Tuesday.
In doing so, the governor stuck to his campaign pledge to not raise a single tax - including no new levy or fee on natural gas extraction. At the same time, he called for layoffs, wage freezes, and some of the deepest cuts in memory for public schools and colleges. That prompted Democrats and some interest groups to accuse him of balancing the budget on the backs of students and the middle class.
The legislature now starts the arduous task of sorting through Corbett's 1,184-page budget proposal, and protests like the one Wednesday are expected to become more the norm than the exception in the Capitol.
Despite the noise, Corbett will still have the wind of politics at his back - both legislative chambers are controlled by members of his own party. That bodes well for the new governor as he seeks to implement his agenda.
