Thousands of taxpayers gathered in “tea parties” across the nation Wednesday to protest the Obama administration’s tax and spending plans, which they feel will stall economic growth and put huge debts onto the shoulders of the next generation.
Styled on the famous 1773 Boston Tea Party revolt against British colonial taxes, the demonstrations came as Americans rushed to meet the annual deadline for filing income tax returns.
The grass-roots movement behind the protests is called Taxed Enough Already, or TEA, giving name to the Tax Day Tea Parties. Crowds of 5,000 to 10,000 are expected in various cities like New York, Atlanta and Sacramento, according to Mike Leahy, co-founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter, one of the three conservative groups helping to coordinate the protests on a national scale.
A major D.C. rally scheduled to take place outside the Treasury Department was canceled when the U.S. Secret Service prevented protesters from gathering outside for lacking a proper permit, Fox News reported.
Protests were to feature dumping of teabags, iced tea, and other tea-related stunts. Organizers promised hundreds of protests across the country against Obama's big-spending budget proposals, according to Agence France-Press.
Organizer Eric Odom told AFP that the protests would take place in almost 800 cities. Calling it "a new day for the freedom movement," he estimated that tens of thousands — "easily in the six figures" — would take to the streets.
In Lansing, Mich., hundreds gathered outside the state capitol for a noon rally. It was a festive atmosphere with some in the crowd carrying American flags as they listened to country music, according to The Detroit News.
Some of the signs in the crowd read, "If everyone paid taxes we would all be equal," and, "Cut taxes not deals. You have run out of our money." Another one read, "Obama Yo Mama. No Socialism."
Protesters mobbed the star of the rally, "Joe the Plumber" — aka Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher. Some yelled, "Thanks, Joe," and "Great job, Joe." Beaming at the attention, Wurzelbacher thanked the mobs that surrounded him and signed copies of his book, "Joe the Plumber — Fighting for the American Dream," with the message: "Action, Not Words."
In Morristown, New Jersey, protesters gathered around tents set up for the event, according to DailyRecord.com. Many were carrying signs protesting the stimulus package and other tax-heavy programs.
Jim Garofalo, traveled from Bergen County to take part in the tea party, said he had misgivings about the economic stimulus plan and other programs.
"I don't think it's very effective," he said. "I don't think it's stimulating the economy."
Though similar protests had taken place in previous years, this year’s Tea Party movement took off in February, when CNBC reporter Rick Santelli railed against the $787 billion stimulus package on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
On CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Wednesday, co-host Joe Kernen asked Santelli what he thought of being a “cultural phenomenon.” It was on that show that Santelli famously called out President Barack Obama for the unfairness of his housing bailout proposal on Feb. 19.
“A lot of articles about these tea parties,” Kernen said. “They all have your name in them, like you caused it. Are you actually attending any or are you just sort of got the idea going initially? What do you think? I mean, you’re like a cultural phenomenon at this point.”
Santelli called the rallies American and said he was proud of what he inspired.
“I don’t know about cultural phenomenon, but I’ll tell you what,” Santelli said. “I think that this tea party phenomenon is steeped in American culture and steeped in American notion to get involved with what’s going on with our government. I haven’t organized. I’m going to have to work to pay my taxes, so I’m not going to be able to get away today. But, I have to tell you — I’m pretty proud of this.”
Fox News reported that some anti-tax activists believed that ACORN, which has been under scrutiny for accusations of voter fraud, is preparing to crash some of the tea parties. But ACORN told Fox that it is only helping to organize dozens of rallies on the same day in support of President Obama's first budget.
"This is the first we've heard of these so-called 'tea parties.' And, frankly, a bunch of small get-togethers by fringe conservative activists dedicated to simply saying 'no' is of little interest to us," said ACORN spokesman Brian Kettenring.
Tea party organizers, meanwhile, say they're not worried at all about possible disruption.
"If ACORN wants to send some of their paid, pretend activists to show up, that's fine," John O'Hara, who is holding a tea party in Chicago, told Fox News. "They don't have a message that resonates with the American people or resonates with this broad coalition that's upset with the spending that's going on in Washington."
"We don't take them seriously," said Mark Mekler, who is organizing a tea party in Sacramento. "We expect people to attempt to infiltrate, we expect people to attempt to disturb what we're doing.
"But the reality is this is a very broad-based grassroots movement," he told Fox. "There is no leader at the top. There is no individual event that they can disturb that would cause us a problem nationwide."
Dick Armey, chairman of the conservative Freedom Works group, described the tea parties as "the shot across the bow as taxpayers defend themselves against out of control government spending."
Armey, a former Texas congressman and leading fiscal hawk, was among the few GOP leaders who seemed ready to embrace the event. Politico and other news agencies noted that few Republican leaders were taking the day to show up at the rallies in their districts.
“The conservative grass roots are into them — thanks in part to Fox and talk radio — but the enthusiasm has not spread throughout the party to the point that these events are command performances for Republican officials,” noted Politico’s Ben Smith.
Among the GOP leading lights that Smith polled, 2012 presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said he was not attending any tea party events. And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour all said they were either traveling, or were not planning to attend a tea party.
But House Minority leader John Boehner said he would be attending a tea party in Bakersfield, Calif., with Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
"They've had enough of Democrats forcing taxpayers to pick up the tab for more wasteful spending instead of working together to make the tough fiscal decisions Americans are forced to make each and every day. They've had enough of seeing their hard-earned tax dollars wasted on pork-barrel spending that won't create jobs, rebuild their savings, or get our economy moving again. And they've had enough of Congress and the White House mortgaging our children and grandchildren's future by saddling them with mountains of debt destined to bankrupt our country," Boehner told reporters.
Republican lawmakers like Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and other well-known conservatives, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, are lined up to speak at some of the demonstrations. Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he’ll be attending protests in San Antonio, Fort Worth, and Austin, Texas.
"These are moms and dads, teachers and students, businessmen and women who are concerned for their country," DeMint of South Carolina told Fox News. "They are worried that our nation is quickly being taken in the wrong direction by politicians who are more concerned about the next election instead of the next generation."
"This cuts across party lines and demographic divides. It's not about Republican or Democrat, its about citizens who believe America can only survive if we protect the principles of liberty from a federal government that is out of control and must be reformed now. And that's a real message of hope," he said.
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