Tax protest brews at tea parties

Thousands of Minnesotans angry over Wall Street bailouts and federal stimulus packages -- some dressed as Revolutionary War soldiers and others wearing T-shirts reading "Party Like It's 1773" -- fanned out Wednesday in front of the State Capitol to join a nationwide Tea Party that promoted lower taxes and smaller government.

In 16 cities across Minnesota and as many as 750 other locations nationally, the events were timed to use the April 15 tax deadline to jump-start what organizers said is an emerging grass-roots movement targeting everything from President Obama to the policies of the Federal Reserve and even the disputed U.S. Senate race in Minnesota.

Although many in the crowd of around 2,000 in St. Paul said the event was the beginning of a more vocal anti-tax groundswell, detractors dismissed the gathering as little more than a rehash of resentments fanned by talk radio and TV pundits.

"Are you sick of earmarks? Are you sick of pork? Are you sick of deficits?" Sue Jeffers, a former gubernatorial candidate, shouted at the St. Paul rally. Some held large American flags in the late afternoon sun, and a sign with the words "Don't Tax Me, Bro" stuck out from the crowd. With each question from Jeffers, the crowd roared "Yes."

"This is the start of something big," she said.

Although the focus was on high taxes and big government -- one sign said simply, "I Am Not An ATM" -- the rally drew a large array of causes, ranging from criticism of the media to a call for a U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations.

Similar sentiments resounded at rallies elsewhere in the nation. In Boston, a few hundred protesters gathered on the Boston Common -- a short distance from the original Boston Tea Party -- some dressed in Revolutionary garb and carrying signs that said "Barney Frank, Bernie Madoff: And the Difference Is?" and "D.C.: District of Communism."

In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry fired up a tea party at Austin City Hall with his stance against the federal government, as some in his U.S. flag-waving audience shouted, "Secede!"

In St. Paul, one of the people on hand was Bryan Bjornson, a 6-foot-4 resident of Hopkins with a Fu Manchu mustache. Bjornson is the founder of the A1S8 Society, an anti-big government group. In many ways, Bjornson said, the group's name encapsulated a core principle of the new movement: If any activity is not specifically authorized by Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, he said, then "our government should not be doing it."

Among other things, Bjornson said, that includes Social Security payments. "If you can find in there anywhere where it says the United States Government is supposed to provide for anybody's retirement, I'll give you a hundred bucks," said Bjornson, whose uncle was a longtime Minnesota state treasurer.

Stung by last fall's election defeat, conservatives who organized the rallies said they hope they have found an issue that resonates with the broad middle ground of voters who they suspect might be growing uneasy with the Obama administration's ambitious spending policies.

And they said they succeeded. After Barb Davis White, a former congressional candidate spoke, a woman came up to her and gushed: "I pray for you and Michele Bachmann," a Republican congresswoman from Minnesota.

But tax day brought out defenders of taxes as well. At a noon news conference at the Capitol, one group, the Alliance For A Better Minnesota, announced an "It's Patriotic to Pay Fair Taxes" campaign. The purpose: to remind taxpayers of roads and teachers funded by their taxes.

Tea Party detractors said powerful national conservatives had tried to confer upon tax protests that often erupt at the filing deadline the kind of patriotic cachet of the Boston Tea Party, a pivotal event before the American Revolution. "It's [just] a different wrapper. It's the same bitter group," said John Van Hecke, executive director of Minnesota 2020, one of several self-described progressive groups that were dubious of the rallies.

Tea Party organizers said that wasn't the case at all. One press statement, in the days leading up to the event, scoffed at charges that the rallies were engineered by Republicans angry at Obama's policies. "The [Republican National Committee] has been about as effective as a lead balloon in actually engaging the free-market-minded grass roots," said Eric Odom, the founder of the DontGo Movement in Chicago, a libertarian-leaning group and one of the national organizers of the Tea Party.

Minnesota organizers said the events were aimed at putting average citizens angry at the country's direction in the spotlight.

In Fairmont, a rally was led by Neal Breitbarth, who sells agricultural pressure washers and recreational vehicles.

Chuck Bradford, a first-time City Council member in tiny Mantorville, found himself handling media relations for the Rochester rally. "Decision makers on both sides have really made some bad decisions," said Bradford, 44, a computer programmer and local Lions Club member.

At the State Capitol rally, one of the speakers was Jim Schottmuller, a former candidate for Ramsey County commissioner. Before taking his turn to address the crowd, he said: "This is pretty impressive."

Though the events shied away from notable political names, there were familiar faces behind the scenes. Pat Anderson, the former Republican state auditor, was a key organizer of the tea parties in Minnesota. Bachmann also lent her name to the effort. Breitbarth, the tea party organizer in Fairmont, said his daughter worked for Bachmann in her Washington, D.C., office.

Among some legislators, the Tea Party event was greeted cautiously. "I'm just thinking what I should say because it can be used against me in a court of law," joked Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, who drew the ire of conservatives last year as one of the few GOP legislators to vote for a state gas tax increase.

At the St. Paul rally, one man held a sign that criticized former President Bush, calling him a "Liar, Murderer, Terrorist." As a group of crowd members nudged him away from the podium, another man yelled out to the sign holder: "Go get jobs."

Mike Kaszuba • 651-222-1673 The Associated Press contributed to this report.