Tea Partiers Rally Against Bailouts

Events underscore outrage over Obama’s economic policies

RALEIGH (Carolina Journal Online) — It began in February when cable news pundit Rick Santelli suggested a Chicago “tea party” to protest the Obama administration’s economic policies. Since then, Americans in hundreds of cities have joined forces to organize tea parties of their own, all in the name of cutting wasteful government spending.

“People are fed up,” said Melodye Aben, coordinator for a tea party scheduled Wednesday on the east side of the State Capitol in Raleigh. “I get calls from people from every walk of life. People feel like they are either alone or no one is listening.”

Modeled after the famous Boston Tea Party in which American colonists protested a British-imposed tax on imported tea, the rallies have gained swift support across the state and country. North Carolina residents have scheduled rallies on Tax Day in more than 20 Tar Heel cities, ranging from Franklin in the mountains to Kill Devil Hills on the coast. Similar rallies are planned in all 50 states, according to a map compiled by FreedomWorks.