By Laura Smitherman and Jonathan Pitts , laura.smitherman@baltsun.com and jonathan.pitts@baltsun.com|April 16, 2009
British expatriate Andrew Summers saw no irony in joining hundreds of rain-soaked protesters Wednesday in Annapolis for an anti-tax tea party modeled after 18th-century Colonial revolts.
"Justice is justice no matter where you're from," said Summers, who moved to Baltimore 17 years ago. "I'm tired of the government using us as an ATM machine."
Protesters filled the Annapolis City Dock - one of hundreds of tea parties held across Maryland and the nation - to toss tea bags into the water, sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and listen to fiery speeches against the economic policies of President Barack Obama and Gov. Martin O'Malley. The protests were timed to coincide with the annual tax-filing deadline.
Organizers said the tea parties, promoted by conservative news media outlets, reflect burgeoning discontent with what they characterized as big government and out-of-control spending by Obama's administration, which enacted a $787 billion stimulus package of tax cuts and funding for infrastructure and other projects designed to reverse a downward economic spiral.
In Maryland, protesters also decried fiscal policies under O'Malley, who pushed through tax increases two years ago to end persistent budget shortfalls that reappeared as the economy slid.
Not to be outdone, liberal groups held rallies in several states Wednesday promoting Obama's budget plan and characterizing the tea parties as being orchestrated by special interests seeking to maintain tax breaks for corporations and the rich. Tom McMahon of Americans United for Change, a Democratic-aligned group, called the tea parties "cheap political theater" aimed at helping multimillionaires like Paris Hilton.
Obama took the opportunity Wednesday to call for a simpler tax code and defend the stimulus plan, which he says cuts taxes for 95 percent of families and saves jobs.
O'Malley was on a family vacation and unavailable for comment. Spokesman Rick Abbruzzese noted that state spending has been reduced by $3.5 billion since O'Malley took office. He added that while the Democratic governor backed a $1.3 billion tax increase in the 2007 special session, he also worked to make the income tax structure more progressive.
The angry sentiment at tea parties "comes from a general anxiety about the economy and misinformation from conservative talk radio," Abbruzzese said.
