Several bristled at suggestions that tea parties are right-wing displays. "Look at us; we're a regular grandpa and a working mom," said Anne Marie Fitzpatrick of Felton, Pa., who attended a Harford County tea party with her father and hundreds of protesters. "Is it radical to be concerned about the future of your country?"
"I'm scared about the debt burden these politicians are placing on the coming generations," she said, carrying a sign that read "Keep Your Hands Off My Kids' Piggy Banks," with photos of her two young daughters.
Homemade signs were a staple of the events. One declared that the bearer trusted Tony Soprano more than Obama and Democratic congressional leaders. Another suggested sending Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner to Guantanamo Bay. Pasadena resident Alex Yarema's poster board read: "Obama, O'Malley, Oh no."
"I'm terrified for what's happened to my country," Yarema said, explaining that he's worried about a rise of socialism. He was one of many who said that regardless of whether they are paying lower taxes now, they fear future tax increases will be sought to pay for today's spending.
Though there appeared to be few Obama supporters in the crowds, some insisted that the tea parties were nonpartisan critiques of politicians who don't answer to the people. Tony Passaro of Bel Air, who said he sent out more than a thousand e-mails to help organize the rally, also blamed former President George W. Bush for excessive spending.
"He was somnolent for eight years; he betrayed the people," said Passaro, a businessman who owns fitness clubs. He said he doesn't object to paying for vital services such as the highway system or a military that keeps the nation safe.
"But you shouldn't pay for what you're not getting," he said, calling federal energy and education agencies "useless institutions."
