The budget proposed in the Republican House of Representatives is not Christine Gates’ cup of tea.
“It’s pathetic the attempt they’ve put forward,” she said. “I am really disappointed in Paul Ryan’s (budget plan).”
Her complaint – it does too little to curb government spending.
Gates was among dozens to gather Saturday afternoon at the Old Courthouse for the third annual local Tax Day Tea Party Rally.
Jack Simms told the crowd he joined the local Tea Party because he was tired of the direction political leaders were taking.
He recalled the patriotic zeal he felt as he watched the moon landing when he was 8.
As the years progressed and his faith in government diminished, his national pride faded.
“I was really disillusioned,” Simms said. “Then I went to a Tea Party rally.”
That experience reinvigorated his love of America and Simms got involved in the 2010 election.
“The Tea Party made the difference,” he said.
N.C. Sen. Warren Daniel also boasted about Republicans’ sweeping both houses of the General Assembly in last year’s election.
“The stranglehold of liberal ideology has been broken,” he said.
The rally was among hundreds of events around the nation thrown by Tea Party activists during the weekend in protest of tax day. Speakers came from a number of conservative organizations around the state, but also included a number of local faces.
The speakers all underscored the same two themes: government is too big and taxes are too high.
The turnout at Saturday’s rally was not the 200 to 300 people they had hoped would come, according to Eddie Jolly, a member of the Caldwell County Tea Party.
The low turnout wasn’t a lack of enthusiasm, he said, but poor weather.
A steady drizzle fell across Burke County for much of the morning, with several strong downpours. The skies cleared before noon.
Many people assumed the event was cancelled or postponed, Jolly said.
“I thank the Lord for the turnout we have,” he said.
Jolly says “the loss of individual freedom” in modern America drew him to the Tea Party and he hopes the grassroots effort can oust President Barack Obama.
He wouldn’t name a favorite Republican candidate for president, but said he hopes the party doesn’t nominate Mitt Romney.
Jolly added that everyone he’s talked to likes Florida Republican Rep. Allen West.
Deficit spending is a top concern for Jolly, who feels the nation overspends and is too indebted to other nations.
“China owns us right now,” he said.
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