Area contingent joins tax protest; DC hears big spending howl.

Byline: Jessica Leving

WASHINGTON - Pat Leroux, 67, of Barre left home at 4:30 a.m. Friday to catch the bus to Washington from Worcester for Saturday's taxpayers march on the Capitol.

Bright-eyed and chipper as she rode the subway to the march the next morning, Ms. Leroux said the journey was worth it.

"We're here because we're frustrated," she said. "No one is listening to us."

Ms. Leroux, and her brothers, Jack Haley, 65, of Leominster and Mike Haley, 68, of Lunenburg, were among three busloads of New England protesters who participated in the march, joining tens of thousands of people in a rally against big government and what the group's Web site calls "massive government spending."

The Worcester Tea Party delegation made its presence known at the march by chanting "Massachusetts, believe it or not!" and "Dump Barney Frank!" Some members of the group carried Massachusetts and American flags and wore red T-shirts that read "Silent No More!"

"We are trying to encourage smaller government and more transparent government," said Ken Mandile, 50, of Webster, one of the main organizers of the Worcester Tea Party group. "We do this through recruiting, training, informing and activating people. That's what these rallies are about."

Mandile added that the group is nonpartisan, and tries not to align with any one party's agenda.

"We have lots of people who are independents and libertarians, and we have a lot of Republicans and some Democrats, too," he said.

"It's not just Obama," said Erica Damico, 38, of Oxford. "It's all of them. I'm pretty fed up."

Ms. Damico said she hoped the strong turnout at the rally would send a powerful message to Congress and the media.

"I hope everyone will look and see that enough is enough," she said. "People in this country are not going to stand for this. Just because we don't have an eight-year doctorate degree doesn't mean we're stupid. I'm hoping people see this is not a Republican convention; it's Americans united as one group for one cause."

Ms. Leroux echoed Ms. Damico's sentiments, and said she was tired of the government acting like "they're the good parent and we're the stupid children ... We got this far on our own."

Coming three days after President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress on proposed health care reforms, the event held extra meaning for those who, like Ms. Leroux and her brothers, oppose the public option.

"Health care is gonna be a horror show," said Jack Haley. "I don't want government to have anything to do with it."

"I'd like to see Medicare and Social Security stop being given to illegal immigrants," Ms. Leroux said. "That's why they've gone broke."

"If Obamacare passes, our country is bankrupt," said Bill King of West Brookfield. "Someone has got to say no, and that's why we're here."

In addition to the buses from Worcester, other Central Massachusetts residents came to Washington on their own. Matt Runkle, 20, and Jason Codding, 21, both computer science majors at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, flew in Friday night.

"We recently started the College Republicans group at WPI," Mr. Runkle said.

"We went to the Tea Party protest in Worcester last spring, and had a blast," he said. "We're here because of out-of-control spending. We're the ones that will have to pay for it in a few years."

The event was sponsored by the FreedomWorks Foundation, a conservative action group led by former House majority leader Dick Armey, along with the National Taxpayers Union and Grassfire.org.

Other sponsors included organizations ranging from the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, which promotes a laissez-faire capitalist government, to the National Association of Rural Landowners, whose Web site says, "Unless we come together in a cohesive, fighting unit, our freedoms and liberties shall fade into the dark chasm of socialism and radical environmentalism," and encourages members to act on their right to bear arms.

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Members of the Worcester Tea Party delegation join tens of thousands of people in Washington yesterday during a rally protesting "massive government spending." (2) WPI students Matt Runkle, left, and Jason Codding were part of the Worcester Tea Party delegation marching yesterday in Washington in a rally against big government. (3) Below, some members of the Worcester group were wearing T-shirts that read "Silent No More!"

PHOTOG: Photos/JESSICA LEVING