(c)2009 NPT PHOTO BY KATHY HEMSWORTH

Mercedes Powers, at left, and Becky Davidson, at right, voiced their opinions at the Cocke County Tea Party on Wednesday afternoon. Hundreds of people attended the event at Newport City Park.

NEWPORT--The Cocke County Tea Party, which was held Wednesday afternoon at Newport City Park, was attended by hundreds of people, not just from Cocke County, but from surrounding counties as well. Several attendees said they traveled from Dandridge, White Pine, Jefferson City, Morristown, and Russellville to participate in the rally.
Event organizer Beth Boyle explained the non-partisan event, "Tea parties are grassroots, collaborative, volunteer events created by and attended by everyday American citizens who want to be heard."
She thanked attendees and said, "We are here to express a sense of unity, patriotism, and common purpose."
During the event she recognized all veterans, active military, law enforcement, firefighters, paramedics and emergency personnel for their contributions to the country and community.
Various media outlets and Web sites estimate between 750 and 1,000 tea parties were held nationwide on "Tax Day."
Radio personality Jim "Chopper" Phillips led prayer and then spoke about liberty, freedom, and Constitutional rights. He discussed freedom of religion and how prayer has been taken out of schools.
Steve Eldridge, of Cosby, a retired tax attorney and accountant, discussed taxes. During his presentation, Eldridge said, "We want lower taxes. We feel that we pay too much in taxes already. Yet, we don't even know how much we pay for the government 'service' us. The government has hidden the truth from us, because if we truly understood the total amount we were paying for government 'services,' there would be another great American Revolution."
"One great deception was the introduction of income tax withholding. The common person, when asked how much he makes, responds, "I take home about," because most people have no concept of the taxes withheld from their pay. Social security and Medicare taxes are also withheld from your paycheck, and most people are not aware of these taxes," he continued.
He later discussed, "How much of our money should the government spend."
"We must start our inquiry by looking to our Constitution and the Federalist Papers to determine what are the proper duties of our federal government. There we will find, over and over again, the federal government was intended to be very small and have limited impact on our lives. Its role was primarily limited to the conduct of wars and maintenance of peacetime military forces," he continued.
Several attendees held small American flags, while some event-goers held signs about "Pork Barrel spending," "Debt" and "Taxes." Some children carried signs referring to being in debt at a young age.
Rob Mathis, an Army veteran who served in Iraq with the Army National Guard who was scheduled to speak, was unable to attend because his daughter had broken her arm and had a doctor's appointment.