Colorado "Tea Party" Draws an Estimated 2,000

Conservatives and liberals might find common ground in some of the arguments raised at today's "tea parties." Conservatives largely organized and attended the events, but the anger about bailouts and skyrocketing debt spans the political spectrum.

An estimated 2,000 people gathered in Fort Collins, Colorado, today to push for social and political change. The rally and march was one of hundreds of "tea parties" across the nation on tax day. The Boston Tea Party, a 1774 colonial protest against the British government, inspired the name. Participants said the modern version is a protest against domestic government policies and leaders.

"We've been seeing our liberties slowly crushed and taken away," Jeremy Rhoads said.

Fort Collins tea party marchers said the expansion of government has been building for 50 years under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

"It's not a partisan thing. It's a spending thing," Stacy Slinkard said.

To be sure, plenty of signs had slogans directly and indirectly opposing President Obama including "NObama" and "I'll keep my money. You keep the change." Other slogans lauded Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin.

Dane Slinkard said both parties are guilty of exerting control over the lives of U.S. citizens, and is particularly incensed by the recent financial bailouts.

"The government believes they are the solution to all our problems," he said. "I'm here to support people who are fed up government growth and the march toward socialism ... People have lost grasp of how dangerous socialism is."

Organizers estimated the crowd at 2,000, including plenty of children. The rally and march were noisy and peaceful, with minimal police presence.

The Fort Collins population was about 118,000 according to the 2000 census. It is in Larimer County, which Barack Obama won by roughly 10 points in the November election. In 2004, Bush won the county, which is considered a swing county and a bellwether for Colorado. There are about 15,000 more registered Republicans in the county than Democrats, but more registered independents than members of either party.

Fort Collins real estate agent Tom Tucker said he hopes to change the minds of these independent voters.

"There's a lot of people in the middle who say, 'Maybe this is something I ought to look at,'" he said. "I think if people are aware of it, I think we'll get some changes."

Tucker said citizens also deserve blame for their actions. He said he consistently sees his clients buy houses they may not be able to afford, despite tighter lending rules.

"Too many people don't take responsibility for their own actions and the government wants to bail them out," Tom Tucker said. "... It's a social problem that the government's helping along."

Rhoads is convinced he's among a large group he considers part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

"There's more of us out there than people realize," he said.