Yellow Pages
Close to 600 people showed up at one time or another for the six-hour Anacortes Tea Party Protest at the corner of Commercial Avenue and 12th Street on April 15.
“It was very well-attended; much more than we ever expected,” said Mary Stevens, who helped organize the event with her husband Andy Stevens.
The protest was part of the National TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party that occurred in cities throughout the country on Tax Day, the deadline for filing federal income tax returns.
By the end of the local protest, 587 people had signed rosters being passed around during the protest. Mary figures there were about 50 more who showed up but didn’t sign up.
People cycled throughout the day, she said, coming and going and leaving their signs behind for others to use.
Some of those signs referenced taxes — such as one that read “Born Free but taxed to death!” — while another spoke directly to state legislators — “Attn: Washington, you have run out of our money!”
Other signs read “Stimulate Business NOT Government” and “Obama’s the pirate holding your grandkids’ future hostage” in reference to the federal economic stimulus bill. A few people seemed to have slightly different agendas such as one man holding a sign that read “I’ll keep my money and guns, you keep your ‘change.’”
While Andy Stevens said one beef he had with the government was over concessions to the United Nations and foreign powers, Mary complained that many legislators voted for the stimulus bill without reading it and with most citizens against it.
Besides the good turnout, Mary Stevens said the group was getting an overwhelming response from passers-by. Many honked, waved and gave the protesters the thumbs up.
“This is an absolutely nonpartisan effort to get our representatives to represent us,” Mary said.
The Stevenses also organize the “Patriots Corner” demonstrations each Sunday on the northwest corner of the intersection.
For more information on the national movement, go to http://www.teapartyday.com. For more on the Stevens’ organization, go to http://www.go-patriots.com.
Read more local news in the Skagit Valley Herald and the Anacortes American, or read it online in the E-edition
