“Have you had enough of four dollar a gallon gas?” asked former governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty to a large crowd of Bostonians. “Have you had enough of a federal government that’s out of control? Have you had enough of this coalition of big government, big unions and big bailout businesses?”
Pawlenty, who is a prospective contender for the Republican presidential nomination, spoke alongside other politicians at a Tea Party Tax Day Rally at the Boston Common on Friday.
The rally, organized by the Greater Boston Tea Party, featured various speakers including Master of Ceremonies Michael Graham, a Boston-based conservative talk radio host.
In his 15-minute speech, Pawlenty, who has launched an exploratory committee in preparation to run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, criticized Obama.
“If we are going to restore America’s promise we are going to need a president that keeps his or her promise to America,” he said. “Unfortunately that’s not the case with the current president.”
Pawlenty and other speakers emphasized in their speeches the Tea Party goals of lowering taxes, decreasing government spending and bringing down the federal budget deficit.
“They see it as their right to take our money and distribute it as they see fit,” said Barry Hinckley, a Senate candidate from Rhode Island. “Our founding fathers did not envision a nation where the fruits of one’s labor were seized by the government in advance of one’s receipt. Our national income tax is un-American, unsuccessful and unproductive.”
“I want you to know that I worked very hard to bring you this very special show before us. I wanted you to see the government union hacks whose salaries you’re paying,” added Graham.
“I want you to know that they are happy to show up right here and show their high level of intellect and their brilliant economic theory,” he said. “And they are only charging us time-and-a-half.”
Some people in the crowd expressed support for Pawlenty in the Republican presidential nomination race, but many people said they were still unsure of who they would vote for in the campaign for the Republican nomination.
Justin Braga, a resident of New Bedford, was pulled up on stage by Graham to join in attacking Obama’s fiscal policy and said he was excited to call himself a member of the Tea Party.
“I stand by what the Tea Party believes” Braga said. “I believe in cutting taxes. I believe in less debt in America. I think Tim Pawlenty shows the characteristics of true Tea Party values and I think he would be a good candidate.”
Phebe Eckfeldt, a 57-year-old representative from Somerville of the Women’s Fightback Network , did not agree with the recent budget passed by the federal government and felt that the Tea Party was trying to attack many different groups in America.
Eckfeldt, who had come to support the anti-Tea Party group, accused the Republican plan for reducing the federal deficit of attacking women’s health care.
“The Tea Party doesn’t want rights for anybody at all,” she said.
Helga, a resident of Hingham who declined to give her last name or age, said that she was unhappy with both the Republican and Democratic leadership in Washington D.C., and was leaning towards supporting former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination.
“I think it’s a disaster,” Helga said. “I think the whole government is a disaster.”
About 20 anti-Tea Party protestors stood in front of the Parkman Bandstand where the speakers addressed the crowd and attempted to block the crowd from seeing the rally’s speakers by hoisting up large signs. Although the two groups remained nonviolent, the police stood between the two groups to ease tensions.
The Greater Boston Tea Party and the Boston Police were unable to provide an estimate for the size of the crowd.
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