Bangor Daily News | BDN

Blaine Richardson, right, of Rockland holds up a Gadsden (cq) flag which has become a symbol of the Tea Party movement. He was joined by Roger Ek (cq) of Lee (wearing a Colonial era-style tricorn hat) and over 400 other concerned citizens during Saturday afternoon's Tea Party informational meeting at Herbert Sargent Community Center in Old Town. BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS Buy Photo

Bangor Daily News | BDN

Over 400 concerned citizens gathered for Saturday's Tea Party informational meeting at Herbert Sargent Community Center in Old Town. BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS Buy Photo

OLD TOWN, Maine — Seven months ago Gene Goodine invited eight people to his home in LaGrange to talk about the “progressive direction” the nation appeared to be taking. On Saturday, more than 400 people concerned about that trend turned out for a meeting at the Herbert Sargent Community Center on Bennoch Road.

“Our purpose is to educate people about the history of this government and the progressive turn it is taking under liberal leadership. We want the masses to learn what’s actually happening in Washington,” Goodine said in an interview.

The event was part of the national “Tea Party” movement that has become prominent over the past year.

Co-organizer David Lincoln of Old Town said before the event got under way that it had already been scheduled about six weeks beforehand and was not planned to coincide with an event featuring former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in Nevada on the same day. He said word about the event spread through e-mails, a group called the Maine Patriots, talk radio and word of mouth.

“We need to get back to our basic freedoms,” Lincoln said. “We’re paying higher taxes than we ever have and we’re losing our freedom to make choices.”

Lincoln cited the recent passage and signing of the health care reform bill as an example of the progressive turn that he and others are concerned about.

“We hope this meeting will inspire others to action,” Lincoln told the crowd in his welcome speech. “We need to wake up our representatives to represent us instead of the special interest groups. We want to support conservative candidates who support the Constitution.”

Goodine warned attendees that amnesty for illegal aliens, cap and trade initiatives and an attack on the 2nd Amendment, which protects a citizen’s right to bear arms, were of concern to organizers.

The Tea Party movement appears to be gaining supporters in Maine. People packed the gym at the community center Saturday. They filled the 250 chairs that had been set up, lined the walls and spilled out the open back door and into the lobby. The parking lot quickly was filled, and cars lined both sides of Bennoch Road for several blocks.

Dale Canning and his wife, Louise Canning, both of Eddington stopped by Saturday’s rally but had to leave early because of prior commitments. Dale Canning said it was the first Tea Party event they had attended.

“I’m tired of us losing our freedom and rights and of our politicians not listening to us,” he said. “We need to put the country back on the right track.”

He cited passage of the health care bill as an example of how America was “encouraging failure.”

“Leaders in this state and country want to make citizens dependent on a social welfare system so they feel empowered,” Dale Canning said. “Everything is becoming an entitlement.”

He also said the deficit under President Barack Obama meant every American family “is carrying $70,000 worth of debt.”

Brenda Arnold of Bangor attended the meeting with two friends, Lisa Kelley of Bangor and Velma Mayhew of Hampden. All three said they were members of the Republican Party.

“We need to put God back into the schools, back in everything,” Mayhew said, as the trio left the rally.

“The most important thing to us,” Arnold added, “is God and we know people here believe what we believe.”

The three core principles of National Tea Party movement are fiscal responsibility, limited government and a free market, according to its Web site. The group took its name from the 1773 incident when colonists in Boston threw cases of tea into the harbor to protest a new tax imposed by the British government.

Last year on April 15, Tax Day, tea parties were held across the country. Organizers of Saturday’s event urged like-minded Mainers to attend a similar event this year on April 15 in Capitol Park in Augusta.

University of Maine political science professor Mark Brewer told the Bangor Daily News in February that there is “a lot of division” among academics on the significance of the Tea Party activity.

“I’m not sure if I’d be ready to qualify it as a movement, but I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it as insignificant, either,” he said, adding that there is evidence of growing sentiment against government in general, whether it’s represented by the Tea Party phenomenon or not.

“There’s a high degree of anger and frustration with government right now,” he said. “The Tea Party is tapping into that. Will it have an impact on electoral outcomes and party movement? It’s too early to tell at this point.”

Rep. Andre Cushing, R-Hampden, attended Saturday’s event in Old Town.

“I’m positively surprised,” he said of the turnout.

“Anytime people have an opportunity to come together and talk about things, it diffuses some of the anger out there. It’s also good when folks can get together with like-minded people. These kinds of feelings are a component of what gets people involved in the political process.”

Cushing said that although he recognized a few people he knew through party politics, a large percentage of those who attended Saturday’s event he did not know.

For information on the Tea Party movement visit www.teapartypatriots.org and www.mainepatriots.com.