Tens of thousands rally at tax day 'tea parties'

ATLANTA – Whipped up by conservative commentators and bloggers, tens of thousands of protesters staged "tea parties" around the country Wednesday to tap into the collective angst stirred up by a bad economy, government spending and bailouts.

The rallies were directed at President Barack Obama's new administration on a symbolic day: the deadline to file income taxes. Protesters even threw what appeared to be a box of tea bags toward the White House, causing a brief lockdown at the compound.

Shouts rang out from Kentucky, which just passed tax increases on cigarettes and alcohol, to Salt Lake City, where many in the crowd booed Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman for accepting about $1.5 billion in stimulus money. Even in Alaska, where there is no statewide income tax or sales tax, hundreds of people held signs and chanted "No more spending."

"Frankly, I'm mad as hell," said businessman Doug Burnett at a rally at the Iowa Capitol, where many of the about 1,000 people wore red shirts declaring "revolution is brewing." Burnett added: "This country has been on a spending spree for decades, a spending spree we can't afford."

In Boston, a few hundred protesters gathered on the Boston Common — a short distance from the original Tea Party — some dressed in Revolutionary garb and carrying signs that said "Barney Frank, Bernie Madoff: And the Difference Is?" and "D.C.: District of Communism."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry fired up a tea party at Austin City Hall with his stance against the federal government, as some in his U.S. flag-waving audience shouted, "Secede!"

But unlike many events around the country, politicians were not allowed to speak at a separate rally in San Antonio.

"They are welcome to come and listen to us, for a change," organizers said in a statement.

In Atlanta, thousands of people gathered outside the Capitol, where Fox News Channel conservative pundit Sean Hannity broadcast his show Wednesday night. One protester's sign read: "Hey Obama you can keep the change."

One of his guests was Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, who made news during the presidential campaign when he asked Barack Obama about taxes. The crowd cheered many of Hannity's stances against higher taxes and moves by the Obama administration so far.

Julie Reeves, of Covington, brought her Chihuahua, Arnie, who wore a tiny anti-IRS T-shirt. "I want the government to get its hand the hell out of my wallet," Reeves said.

The tea parties were promoted by FreedomWorks, a conservative nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington and led by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, who is now a lobbyist.

Organizers said the movement developed organically through online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and through exposure on Fox News.

While FreedomWorks insisted the rallies were nonpartisan, they have been seized on by many prominent Republicans who view them as a promising way for the party to reclaim its momentum.

"All you have to be is a mildly awake Republican candidate for office to get in front of that parade," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

The movement attracted some Republicans considering 2012 presidential bids.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich took the podium in front of New York's City Hall while the crowd of about 2,000 chanted, "We are America!"

He urged people to tell their lawmakers to vote against big spending or else "we're going to fire you."

As the former House speaker left after his 11-minute speech, passers-by yelled, "2012, Newt!" and "Run for president!" But when asked about a run, Gingrich shook his head emphatically and said, "I'm just part of a citizen movement."

Another possible candidate, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, sent an e-mail to his supporters, letting them know about tea parties throughout the state. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford attended two tea parties.

In Missouri, Karla Waite, 28, brought her four young children to a rally in Kansas City because she said "it was time to stand up."

"The way we've been going, with the bailouts and the entitlements, we're heading toward socialism," Waite said. "That's not the kind of world I want my children to live in."

There were several small counter-protests, including one that drew about a dozen people at Fountain Square in Cincinnati. A counter-protester held a sign that read, "Where were you when Bush was spending billions a month 'liberating' Iraq?" The anti-tax demonstration there, meanwhile, drew about 4,000 people.

In Lansing, Mich., outside the state Capitol, another 4,000 people waved signs exclaiming "Stop the Fiscal Madness," "Read My Lipstick! No More Bailouts" and "The Pirates Are in D.C." Children held makeshift signs complaining about the rising debt.

In Hawaii, several of the state's eight GOP legislators attended a Capitol rally. But the state's top two Republican officeholders — Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona — stayed away even though they oppose tax hikes to help close the state's significant budget deficit.

More than 1,000 protesters gathered outside a downtown federal building in Salt Lake City despite the rain and snow. Kate Maloney held a cardboard sign that read "Pin the tail on the jacka$$" with a picture of Obama on a Democratic donkey.

Other protesters also took direct aim at Obama. One sign in the crowd in Madison, Wis., compared him to the Antichrist. At a rally in Montgomery, Ala., where Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" blared from loudspeakers, Jim Adams of Selma carried a sign that showed the president with Hitler-style hair and mustache and said, "Sieg Heil Herr Obama."

Still others talked of their children's futures. In Washington, D.C., Joe Hollinger said he took the day off to attend the protest with his 11-year-old daughter.

"I'm concerned about the incredible amount of debt Congress is going to put on our children," Hollinger said, pointing to his daughter's sign, which read, "Congress get your hand off my piggy bank."

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Associated Press writers who contributed to this report include Joe Biesk in Frankfort, Ky.; Mike Glover in Des Moines, Iowa; Beth Fouhy in New York; Kelsey Abbruzzese in Boston; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis.; Terry Kinney in Cincinnati; David Eggert in Lansing, Mich.; Phillip Rawls in Montgomery, Ala.; Seanna Adcox in Columbia, S.C.; Brock Vergakis in Salt Lake City; Kamala Lane in Washington, D.C; Kelley Shannon in Austin, Texas; Virginia Byrne in New York; Mary Pemberton in Anchorage, Alaska; and Herbert A. Sample in Honolulu.

Obamas report $2.7 million in income for 2008

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, millionaires from his best-selling books, made $2.7 million last year and paid just under one-third of their adjusted income in federal taxes. While the income, mostly his, was far more than the U.S. median household income of about $50,000, it was quite a decrease from the $4.2 million the Obamas made in 2007.

Both years, nearly all of the earnings came from Obama's best-selling books. "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope" — brought in about $2.5 million in royalties last year, according to copies of the returns released by the White House on Wednesday, the federal filing deadline.

Obama earned $139,204 as a Democratic senator from Illinois last year before leaving his seat after winning the November election. Michelle Obama received a salary of $62,709 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she was an executive.

The couple's total federal tax came to $855,323. That was 32 percent of their adjusted gross income of $2,656,902.

The Obamas overpaid by $26,014, and elected to apply that amount to their 2009 taxes.

The couple's federal tax deductions included about $50,000 in home mortgage interest. Their expenses also included $47,488 to send their two daughters to the University of Chicago's elementary school.

They reported contributing $172,050 to charity last year, including $25,000 each to the CARE international relief agency and the United Negro College Fund. That $172,050 represented about 6.5 percent of the family's adjusted gross income. That percentage is roughly two to three times the national average for household donations to charity, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

The Obamas gave a total of $1,400 to five churches. In contrast to 2007, they gave nothing to the Trinity United Church of Christ. Barack Obama was a longtime member of the church, and gave it $26,270 in 2007, but resigned from it and cut ties with its pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, after Wright made incendiary comments that became a campaign issue.

The Obamas' total Illinois income tax was $78,765, their state return showed.

The White House also released Vice President Joe Biden's tax returns. Biden and his wife, Jill, earned $269,256 last year.

The Bidens' main sources of income were salaries from the Senate, Widener University, Delaware Technical & Community College and royalties from the audio rights to the vice president's memoir, "Promises to Keep."

According to tax returns released by the vice president's office, the Bidens paid $46,952 in federal income taxes and $11,164 in Delaware state income taxes. They donated $1,885 to charity.

"The charitable donations claimed by the Bidens on their tax returns are not the sum of their annual contributions to charity," a White House statement said. "They donate to their church, and they contribute to their favorite causes with their time, as well as their checkbooks."

Biden served in the Senate from 1973 until Jan. 15 of this year.