- FAST FACTS:
- Tea Party held at Audobon Park
- More than 1,000 people attended
- Many carried signs
(MEMPHIS April 15, 2009) -- The crowd grew from a couple hundred to more than a thousand during the Memphis Tea Party at Audobon Park Wednesday.
Modern day Boston Tea Parties were held all over the country by protestors who wanted the government to know they're upset with what they call out of control spending.
"Put more money into our pocket," organizer Stephanie Brown said from a stage set up in the middle of the park. "Let us stimulate the economy the way we want."
Brown says the event was a non-partisan way to show frustration over big government. "It's absolutely not anti- Obama. You could trace it back to people before Obama. It certainly hasn't started in the last 70 days," she said.
As the crowd grew though, so did the number of anti-Obama signs. One read, "Obama is a Somali Pirate." Another referred to pork barrel spending, and pictured Obama with a pig nose.
Others tried to distance themselves from any partisanship and simply said they're fed up with the way most politicians are spending tax dollars. "This is what it's about, the freedom to come out and say, we're tired of this. We're paying you people to do your jobs in Washington, listen to us," said Sara Parsons who attended a tea party in Brownsville before driving to Memphis.
