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The big debate around the tax day tea party protests has been over what they really represent: An organic movement built on genuine anger, or a more cynical and partisan effort by the Republican Party to score points against the Obama administration.

Based on Wednesday evening’s protest in New York City, a strong case can be made for the former. Though mainstream Republicans, GOP lobbying firms and Fox News have embraced the protests – Newt Gingrich was the featured speaker here – many of those who attended were not offering anything akin to Republican talking points.

“I think Newt Gingrich is – I think he’s a slime ball,” said Roy Delduco, a self-described Constitutionalist with tattoos up his arm and a shaved head. “I don’t like Republicans. I don’t like liberals either. I don’t like the whole bipartisan system. I think it’s part of the problem.”

Delduco said he wants the Federal Reserve disbanded, the IRS “put in jail” and his taxes lowered. He complained about government spending under both Presidents Obama and Bush.

“We’ve basically bankrupted the dollar, and I’m scared,” he said.

That’s not to say there weren’t plenty of complaints about Mr. Obama and his administration at the demonstration: protesters interviewed by CBSNews.com mentioned the president’s alleged bow to the Saudi leader, the recent Homeland Security report on right-wing extremists and unsubstantiated rumors about Mr. Obama’s birthplace, among other complaints.

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Agnes Bernstein, above, knows how well socialism works, or more precisely, doesn't work.

The eight-year resident of the San Francisco bay area grew up in Poland under socialist rule, and told a crowd of hundreds at a tax day rally here on Wednesday that she fears the United States is now heading in that direction.

"The government is growing too big," Bernstein said in an interview with CBS News after her speech. "And I grew up in socialism and I've seen it. And this is reminding me more and more of what Poland used to be. I was fortunate to see the transfer from socialism to a free market economy in Poland and i'm very sad to see that the opposite is happening here."

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EconWatch will be covering the San Francisco and New York City "tea party" protests in person – click here for background on the protests – but in the meantime we wanted to get you up to date on some of the protests that have already gone on or are going on now.


In Cumberland, Md., "peaceful protesters braved a steady early-afternoon drizzle out of their concern for current governmental policies and the well-being of future generations," according to the Times-News. The protesters reportedly carried signs proclaiming “Do Away With the IRS” and “Stop Spending Our Kids Money."

In Lafayette, Ind., "a large box of tea bags was dumped from a Lafayette bridge into the Wabash River" as hundreds of protesters cheered.

In Champaign, Illinois, about 400 people watched keynote speaker Randall Stufflebeam say "We don't need a flat tax or a fair tax. We need no tax, the way it was in 1913," according to the News-Gazette.

In Madison, Wis., "Speakers at a sometimes angry rally Wednesday accused Gov. Jim Doyle and lawmakers of smoking crack cocaine, said government spending was ruining the country and called for the ouster of all elected Democrats. One sign in the crowd compared President Barack Obama to the anti-Christ."

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