RICHLAND -- Hundreds gathered in Richland's John Dam Plaza on Wednesday as part of a nationwide protest of what many described as bloated government spending that's sending the country down a road toward socialism.
A sea of American flags and protest signs rose above a crowd -- estimated at more than 1,000 at its peak -- of Mid-Columbia residents who listened to impassioned speakers throughout the three-hour event, which was similar to one held earlier Wednesday in Olympia.
Dozens more lined the outskirts of the park along George Washington Parkway, waving signs that read "Economic Apocalypse," "Stop Socialism Now" and "No More Taxes."
Denise Campagna set up a chair at one corner of the park with several signs sitting in front of her and others dangling from the back of her seat.
"I'm mostly kind of scared and extremely concerned about the deficit and the debt that we're incurring," she said. "You can't spend your way out of debt."
Jerry Martin, a committee member of the group Tea Party or T.E.A. -- Taxed Enough Already -- urged the crowd to vote against incumbents, lobby for congressional term limits and put an end to earmarks.
"They don't hear us when we call or write, but they'll hear us today," he said, arousing cheers.
"It's important for people all across the country to voice their protest against wasteful spending," Martin said after relinquishing the microphone. "Government is out of control; government in general, both Republicans and Democrats."
John Talbott described the T.E.A. Party in Richland as a grassroots effort to give "the silent majority" a mightier voice.
"These are people who run America, right here," he said, motioning to the crowd.
The events in Richland and Olympia were among hundreds of Tax Day Tea Parties held across the nation Wednesday. Organizers said they were a revival of the revolutionary spirit of the Boston Tea Party in 1773, in which colonists chucked British tea into Boston Harbor to protest taxes imposed by a distant government.
Nationally, shouts rang out from Kentucky, which just passed tax increases on cigarettes and alcohol, to Salt Lake City, where many in the crowd booed Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman for accepting about $1.5 billion in stimulus money.
The tea parties were promoted by FreedomWorks, a conservative nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington and led by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, who now is a lobbyist.
Organizers said the movement developed organically through online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and through exposure on Fox News.
In Olympia, the message repeated by speakers was to remind lawmakers they're spending taxpayer dollars and have to answer for failed policies, overspending and growing deficits.
"They've saddled every newborn child in America with $150,000 in debt," said Lynn Harsh, chief executive officer of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a group that promotes free enterprise in Washington state. "What they spend comes from our households, our businesses."
But she reminded citizens that they elected the people making decisions in Washington, D.C., and in Olympia, and that citizens must bear responsibility for speaking out and making a change.
"We're here to remind lawmakers they work for us," Harsh said. "Here in America we don't have a ruling class. ... If we're the bosses, we haven't done a very good job the last few generations."
The crowd of about 5,000, estimated by the Washington State Patrol, gathered in Olympia emphasized its bipartisan nature -- speakers included both Democratic State Auditor Brian Sonntag and Republican Sen. Janea Holmquist of Moses Lake.
But the crowd cheered loudest when speakers criticized Democrats in Olympia and Washington, D.C., including Gov. Chris Gregoire and President Obama.
Holmquist said Democrats in state and federal governments are priming the electorate to reject capitalism and accept socialism, and she thinks that would be a mistake.
"They want us to hold our noses and take a little bit of socialism like a child taking a bitter pill, that while awful is necessary," Holmquist said. "You can't be a little socialist any more than a little bit pregnant. If you get pregnant with a little socialism, sooner or later you give birth to a full-blown Marxist."
Holmquist cited a list of taxes proposed in Olympia during the current legislative session -- from a sales tax to an income tax. The latter prompted shouts of "Throw them out!" and "No more taxes!" from the crowd.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this story.
* Michelle Dupler: 360-753-0862; mdupler@tricityherald.com
