Published: April 15, 2009 04:01 pm      

Protesters rail against taxes at Frankfort 'Tea Party'

FRANKFORT — More than 250 gathered on the steps of the state capitol to rail against taxation, corporate bailouts and the power of the federal government during a Tax Day Tea Party rally.

It was one of an estimated 750 or so such rallies across the country by what organizers say is a grass-roots effort, coordinated through a national Web site administered by Eric Odom. Many of those attending in Frankfort carried signs – some seemed directed at President Barack Obama as much as at high taxes – and at least one man dressed in revolutionary era clothing and wore a tri-corner hat.

“As my father said, I was born free and taxed to death,” said Col. Frank Haynes of Frankfort, one of the speakers at the rally. “We have to restore responsibility, accountability, and efficiency to the way they use our tax dollars.”

Beverly Roe, a 67-year-old retiree from Somerset, said she and her husband, Tommy, 69, have been married for 49 years and “Right now is the worst time of our lives.”

“With taxes and all the prices going so high, you can’t afford everything you need as a family,” she said, saying there’s too little money for groceries, utilities, gasoline, clothing and taxes. “Living on social security with everything else so high, it’s just very difficult.”

The “Tea Parties” have been cropping up lately in several states and localities. There were 18 scheduled in Kentucky on Wednesday, the federal deadline for filing federal income tax returns, including rallies in Corbin, London, Flatwoods, Bowling Green, Louisville and two in Lexington. “TEA” stands for Taxed Enough Already, a slogan printed on several of the signs carried by protesters in Frankfort.

Speakers railed against taxes, Obama’s economic stimulus package, his proposed changes in tax rates for the highest income groups, and federal bailouts – including apparently those passed during the administration of George W. Bush.

There were signs which indicated some were as unhappy with the results of last November’s presidential election as they are about taxes and bailouts of corporate financial giants such as AIG. One had a likeness of Obama with “Get a Birth Certificate” underneath, alluding to undocumented allegations by some that Obama was not born in the United States. Another read, “We Don’t Want No Stinking Socialism.”

Even state Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, who spoke at Wednesday’s rally, said Obama “is not qualified” and at one point remarking on a sign in the crowd that called Obama “Commander in Thief.” Thayer called for across the board tax cuts. In this year’s General Assembly, Thayer voted against a package of cigarette and alcohol tax increases, although he voted to freeze the gas tax which would have fallen by 4 cents without the measure.

Another speaker, Lexington attorney Kent Masterson Brown, recalled for the crowd passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts during the administration of President John Adams, the country’s second president, and the Nullification Acts passed in Kentucky at the same time which said state governments could disregard acts of the federal Congress if they thought them unconstitutional.

Kimberly Moore of Lawrenceburg, the District Coordinator for Smart Girls in Politics, called for repeal of the constitutional amendment allowing the federal income tax. She suggested instead a national sales tax which she termed the “Fair Tax” to replace income taxes and payroll taxes which fund social security and Medicare.

Judy Licato, 68, runs a boarding kennel for dogs and cats in Georgetown. Business is bad in a bad economy, she said.

“Since we’ve had this big money crisis, we’ve had a big drop off because people can’t afford to go anywhere,” she said. “We’ve had about enough of Obama’s tax and spend policies.”

Asked if she blamed Obama for the country’s economic woes – given the financial crisis last October before he was elected and the initial passage of the Troubled Assets Recovery Program or TARP passed while Bush was president – she said, “He certainly has not made it any better. With that stimulus package, he’s ruined people and he has no intention of stopping.”

Brown, the Lexington attorney, said while Obama’s policies are wrong-headed, the problem lies with both parties – and he had a solution.

“We ought to throw out of office every one of them – Democrat and Republican – who voted for bills like that (stimulus package),” he said to cheers from the crowd.

RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com.