SEQUIM — A throng of some 200 sign- and flag-waving protesters gathered at the intersection of Sequim Avenue and Washington Street on Thursday to decry a lot of things: the Obama administration, socialism, the national debt, too much government, too much spending and, most of all, too much taxation.
Marking April 15, the day most Americans face the Internal Revenue Service, the Concerned Citizens of Clallam County — aka FourC — organized an anti-taxes rally from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sequim’s busiest crossroads.
Larry Carter came to the event from Port Ludlow. He told the Peninsula Daily News that during the final five minutes he climbed onto a bench near the table where FourC T-shirts were being sold and announced his candidacy for the state House of Representatives.
Vowing to run as a Republican, the retired Navy command master chief will seek position 2 of the 24th district, which includes the North Olympic Peninsula.
Carter, 62, said he feels a strong connection with the Tea Party movement for fiscal conservatism, of which FourC is a part. Yet “I’m not into partisan politics,” he said.
The House seat Carter seeks currently belongs to Democratic Rep. Lynn Kessler, who announced Tuesday that she won’t seek re-election in November to the position she’s held for 18 years.
Around him at Thursday’s rally, the mood was one of disgust — with elected officials in Washington, D.C., especially President Barack Obama — and the signs reflected as much.
‘I want my country back’
“I want my country back. Does that make me racist?” asked one placard.
“It doesn’t matter what this sign says. They’ll say it’s racist anyway,” declared another.
Then there were “Capitalism works / government doesn’t,” “Give me liberty, not debt,” “Limited government under God,” “Taxed Enough Already,” “Socialism kills initiative” and “Got money? Don’t tell the government.”
Frank Keith, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe who lives in Sequim, wore a feathered headdress to the rally.
“I’m sick of the joke in Washington,” he said. “I had no idea [Obama] was going to change everything for the worse.
“I have been dealt a terrible fear,” Keith added, “that my children and grandchildren will have to live under socialism.”
Then, in the midst of the noontime crowd, came an individual who held high a message that didn’t fit with the rest.
“Republicans take responsibility: $9 trillion debt / a ruined economy / millions unemployed you left us,” Will Parsinen’s sign read.
As he stood on the corner, other protesters clustered around while one man who wouldn’t give his name raised an arrow-shaped sign above Parsinen’s head. On one side it read “Infiltrator,” and on the other “Not one of us.”
‘Not one of you’
“I’m not one of you, that’s for sure,” said Parsinen, who lives in Port Angeles.
He told a reporter that he’d gotten “no respect” from the others at the rally. “They’ve pushed me, told me I shouldn’t be here,” and tried to cover his sign.
Eyeing the thicket of placards, Parsinen gave his summary of the rally: “They don’t want to pay taxes. The Republicans just spend. They don’t tax … and they’re great believers in ‘Somebody else did it.'”
Judy Larimore of Sequim, meanwhile, waved a balloon she’d received for her 70th birthday and declared herself proud to be out protesting what she sees as too much government.
She worries that “our children are going to have to pay for the policies being put into place today,” and predicts “a big change in November.”
That, Larimore believes, is when the Democratic majority in Congress will be replaced by a raft of Republicans.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
