At Terry's Coffee Trader in Old Town Murrieta on Friday, the drinks arrived in sturdy glass mugs while the outrage poured out by the bucketful.
Fueled by passage of a state budget with billions in new taxes, the anger in this caffeinated salon of conservatism had reached fever pitch.
"The Republicans should have stood their ground," fumed 70-year-old Tony Dragonetti. "Abel Maldonado is sick, and so are the other Republicans who voted for this. They give the you-owe-me crowd everything they need, but the poor slob who is working day after day paying taxes gets nothing."
The others at his table nodded.
"Hey, Tony, tell us what you really think!" cracked Jerry Nugent, 73.
Dragonetti paused for effect, then declared: "I think they are all crooks who have sold us all down the river."
Here in the Republican stronghold of Murrieta, home to Dennis Hollingsworth, the new state Senate GOP leader, the budget fiasco on top of the stimulus package was all too much to take.
No one faulted Republicans for holding up budget negotiations. They saved the blame for Democrats and the three Senate Republicans who crossed the aisle to break the impasse.
"I think they could have held out. There are a lot more cuts they could have made," said Steve Pyle, 61, who said he was so unhappy with the country's direction that he seriously was considering moving to Australia. "They could start by getting rid of all the illegal immigrants and the teachers unions."
Up and down the quaint streets of Old Town, the sentiment was the same -- driven partly by political ideology but perhaps even more by fear that new taxes might edge residents even closer to the financial abyss.
Southwest Riverside County has one of the highest foreclosure rates in California. Unemployment in the Inland Empire has topped 10%. Construction jobs have dried up, workers are getting laid off or furloughed and businesses have shut down.
Debi Feeney runs Simply Friends, a small antique store in Old Town, with her sister and says she's barely scraping by.
"I agree with how the Republicans handled it," she said as she sat behind the cash register. "I don't think any working person wants to pay more taxes."
Feeney, 56, spent 32 years as a flight attendant for U.S. Airways. When it went bankrupt, she said, her retirement benefits shrank from $1,900 a month to $600. Her husband, a retired firefighter, now works two jobs to help make ends meet.
