"Tax day tea party" to protest excess spending in state, federal government

Call it an homage to the 1773 Boston Tea Party — with a twist.

Demonstrators are planning to hold a "tax day tea party" of their own at noon Wednesday on the steps of the state Capitol in protest of what they call excess state and federal government spending.

About two dozen rallies are planned statewide, including two in Seattle, with hundreds of others scheduled across the country on the day federal income-tax returns are due. A six-figure turnout is expected nationwide, said event organizer Eric Odom.

But instead of dumping tea into a harbor, one local group wants to dump tea bags onto the desks of Olympia lawmakers deemed to be spending the most.

Little labels reading "T.E.A. Taxed Enough Already" will be attached to the bags, said Jane Milhans, a longtime Republican activist leading the operation.

"Now's the time to look at wasteful, nonessential spending," said Milhans, who plans to arrive at the Tacoma Mall parking lot near Krispy Kreme at 5 a.m. to decorate cars and collect tea bags. From there, Milhans and company will lead a caravan of cars full of sign-wielding protesters to Olympia.

In late February, the first wave of "tea party" rallies took place in more than 40 American cities, apparently spurred on by a rant from CNBC's on-air editor Rick Santelli, according to Odom.

Wednesday's protests are being billed as bipartisan, with grievances ranging from the state's projected $9 billion deficit to the federal government's bailout and stimulus package.

But according to the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 70 percent of adults said they have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in President Obama to fix the economy.

And two-thirds of Americans say they are optimistic that Obama's policies will improve economic conditions, while a majority (54 percent) also thinks his policies will reduce the budget deficit over the long term, according to the survey.

Meredith Daniels, who'll be using one of her vacation days to make it to Olympia from Kitsap County for the protest, doesn't share those sentiments.

"[George W.] Bush was bad enough, but what the current president and Democratic congress is doing, it's going to bankrupt us," she said.

The organizers of the Olympia protest say they don't want to blame any one person but focus on key issues, said Amber Gunn, director of economic policy at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

Take government spending on social services. Gunn thinks it has become "one of the biggest problems in our society. People expect the government to take care of everything. Neighbors need to be taking care of neighbors."

Last week, state House Speaker Frank Chopp said the odds are "better than 50-50" that voters will be asked to approve a small statewide sales-tax increase to reduce cuts to health and human services.

Still, Gunn says she doesn't hate the government — she's just wary of its size and spending patterns. "We're not just saying 'down with governments.' That's not our message," she said.

Maks Goldenshteyn: 206-464-2374 or mgoldenshteyn@seattletimes.com