ORLANDO -- Thousands gathered around the Lake Eola amphitheater to send a message to the government that they are not going to tolerate anymore of what they called "wasteful Washington spending."
The group Floridians United staged a Boston Tea Party-style protest, hoping to make it loud and clear to politicians that they were tired of bailouts and what they called a push toward the socialization of America.
"There are millions among us who have taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," a speaker at the rally told the crowd. "Find the leaders among them who took that oath as a sacred oath, and promote them wholesale into positions of leadership and government and stewardship of the ideals of our founding fathers."
People among the thousands on hand said they want to decide where their hard-earned money goes instead of the "elitist politicians" in Washington using it to buy votes, doling it out to special interest groups and pork barrel projects.
Police originally estimated the crowd at Lake Eola to be around 3,000, but Floridians United reported on its Web site that city said the number was between 5,000 and 6,000.
Police said there were no problems at the event.
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