Pocono News Section

Tea Party for Tax Day

Tea Party for Tax Day - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 3:54PM EST

STROUDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY - In 1773 patriots protested the king's tea tax by dumping tea into Boston Harbor. Wednesday, Americans protested government spending with demonstrations called "tea parties."
Hundreds of people poured a hot cup of protest into Stroudsburg's Courthouse Square. They said American families have taken too much heat from taxes, government bailouts and the national debt. They're whistling that it's time for the government to take them off the stove.

Organizer Steve Miller said, "We're living beyond our means. We're taking over private industries by the government."

Many people brought their children. The kids might not know much about economics now, but parents worry the little ones will have to pay for government mistakes in the future. Michelle Rutherford said, "Everything that's going on with our government is so wrong and now she's going to be the one paying for it," as she pointed to her seven month old daughter.

More than 150 people joined the tea party in Courthouse Square. Across the street, about a dozen protesters had a different message. Lois Heckman said, "To think that in these few short months that Obama can turn around 8 years of this hole we've been dug into is absurd and incredibly unpatriotic on their part."

The tea party organizer said it wasn't about the President. He explained, "This is principles first. This is against anyone who wants to redistribute our wealth."

He hopes lawmakers drink in the strong message the protesters delivered.