PORT ANGELES — Waving signs and American flags, protesters filled Veterans Memorial Park and the nearby sidewalk Wednesday afternoon to deliver one message — they are “Taxed Enough Already.”
The “TEA” protest along Lincoln Street in Port Angeles — which involved between 300 and 400 people who gathered from all across the North Olympic Peninsula — targeted federal bailouts of failed companies and overspending by both state and federal governments.
It was one of about 2,000 similar demonstrations across the United States on Wednesday, the deadline for filing income tax returns, according to TeaPartyDay.com.
In Olympia, a crowd of about 5,000 anti-tax protesters gathered at noon Wednesday, The AssociatedPressreported — in contrast to a Lake City protest at the same time that drew two dozen, The Seattle Times said.
Boxes of tea bags
In the spirit of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, protesters in Port Angeles tossed boxes of tea bags into a wooden trailer covered in a blue tarp meant to symbolize Boston Harbor.
After the protest, the tea bags were donated to the Port Angeles Food Bank, said Dick Pilling, protest organizer and chairman of the Clallam County Republican Party.
Pilling, wearing a headband holding plastic feathers, dressed to resemble the anti-tax protesters in the Boston Tea Party.
During the historic protest in Boston, colonists tired of British tax policies disguised themselves as members of the Mohawk tribe and dumped crates of tea from ships into the harbor.
Pilling said he was delighted with the turnout but wasn’t surprised that there were so many people upset with taxes and government spending.
He said finding people who dislike taxes is like “walking into a crowd and saying who wants ice cream — who wants more taxes? No one.”
But in case people thought they haven’t given enough, there was a “Tax Everything Again” jar. Any money dropped in the jar would have been donated to the food bank, but Pilling said it remained empty at the end of the demonstration.
There wasn’t a shortage of signs in the crowd. They displayed such messages as: “Obama, you have run out of our money,” “Don’t inflate away my 401k,” and “‘Cut’ taxes, ‘paste’ freedom.”
Holding a sign saying “Save trees, print less money” and “Repeal the pork” was Carol Kehm of Sequim.
“I think the stimulus bill is ridiculous,” said the first-time protester.
“I have grandchildren, and I’m very concerned about their future.”
Don’t spend
Kehm, who said she is also concerned about how government debt will affect retirees, gave some advice for lawmakers: “If you don’t have the money, then you don’t spend it.”
Standing next to her was Richard Labrecque, also of Sequim, who made a his own tea bag — a large plastic bag filled with some pine needles — for Olympia.
Labrecque believes there are no excuses for the $9 billion budget shortfall facing the state over the next two years.
The problem, he said, is that the state overspent when there was a surplus.
“When you have seven good years, you save it for the seven bad years,” Labrecque said.
Said Peggy Reed of Port Townsend: “They shouldn’t have gotten in that mess in the first place.”
Clallam County Republican Party Vice Chairwoman Lyn Lawson-Wheeler, like many of the protesters, said taxpayers can’t afford recent government bailouts of failed financial institutions and other companies.
“We don’t have” the money, she said. “People can’t afford it.”
Many protesters also expressed opposition on spending for what they consider unnecessary social programs.
Tom La Rosa of Port Angeles said people should be free to spend their money to help others in need.
“If they leave money in our pockets, we are the ones that know how to spend it . . . to help those who need it, who we feel need it,” said the former Clallam County Public Utility District Commission candidate.
When it comes to military spending, Lawson-Wheeler said she doesn’t think there is enough.
“We need to give more,” she said. “They are doing the country a great service.”
Also harnessing the spirit of the American Revolution was Ken Wilson of Port Angeles, who was dressed in colonial-era clothing and played “Yankee Doodle Dandy”on violin.
“There is overspending in the state Legislature and the White House,” said Wilson, 60, wearing a tri-corner hat with a tea bag hanging from it.
“Tax bailouts are a great example.”
Asked if there is anything he would like to say, Wilson looked around and said: “No, I think this says it all.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
