The rally cry of a frustrated public weary of more taxes and larger government arose across the nation Wednesday, all the way from Lancaster, Calif., to Lancaster, Pa.

More than 400 people braved a steady downpour of cold rain Wednesday afternoon to attend the Lancaster Tea Party in Musser Park — one of thousands of demonstrations on Tax Day.

'Tea party' rally here draws 400
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Signs reading "Give me liberty — not debt" and "Taxes tea me off" filled the muddy lawn as the program of speakers talked about a wide array of issues, from abolishing the federal income tax to problems with the two-party political system.

State Rep. Sam Rohrer of Berks County said the issue today has little to do with tea — referring to the Boston Tea Party in 1773 — and everything to do with personal freedoms, saying the United States is "standing on the precipice of losing our freedom."

Rohrer asked why the crowd braved the weather to come to the rally, and a cheer of "freedom" and "liberty" belted out from the masses huddled under umbrellas and hats adorned with tea bags.

"Our fathers and our mothers have sacrificed too much," Rohrer said, "and God has blessed us too much in this nation for us to sit idly by and watch our liberty and our children's futures squandered on the altar of the immediate."

Rohrer, a fiscal conservative, said the cause of today's financial problems stems from a blatant disregard of what the government has the right to do or not to do and unconstitutional and out of control spending by the federal government.

He criticized President Barack Obama for saying Tuesday that cutting back on spending is the last thing to do in a recession as the nation is going into debt at $60,000 a second.

However, Rohrer said it is not just Obama and the Democrats that are to blame for the economy. He also criticized former President George W. Bush and the Republicans in Congress.

"Our freedom is not for sale," Rohrer said. "Our Constitution is not out of date."

Much of the focus from speakers and audience members centered on condemnation of the Federal Reserve System — the central banking system of the United States.

One protester held a sign reading "Crush the creature from Jekyll Island," in reference to the location in Georgia where the establishment of the Federal Reserve was debated by leading financiers in 1910.

Lisa Armellino, a co-organizer of the rally, said a common goal among the Founding Fathers was to protect future generations from government abuse because they knew the consequences of a large bureaucracy.

Armellino said a cursory look at the Federal Reserve shows a banking monopoly that dictates monetary policy with little government oversight. She said the Fed's printing of exorbitant amounts of money allows for government expansion and at the same time devalues the dollar and causes inflation.

"No matter what the vantage points that we all come from, it is reassuring to know that we are in the land of the free and the home of the brave, and we have one excellent Constitution to work with," Armellino said.

Mark Smith of Downingtown was in the audience holding a large papier-mâché rat he constructed with the phrase "FED — KING RAT" painted on the side, holding bloody dollar bills.

Smith said he is a personal contractor and is having a hard time succeeding as a small businessman, working more hours for less money.

"Most people don't understand the money system," Smith said. "If they did, there would be a revolution tomorrow. It's just a fraud."

E-mail: myoder@lnpnews.com