Metro Birmingham, Ala. - They didn't throw barrels of tea off a ship.

But they did hope to send a powerful message to the people in charge.

Across Alabama, thousands turned out at separate "tax day tea parties" to protest the spending and taxation policies of the federal government.

"Stop rewarding failure," said one sign held up during a tea party in Trussville.

"Your mortgage, not my problem," another sign read.

"Let them go bankrupt," said Bobbie Argo about big businesses that have received massive government bailouts.  "If they can't handle their own business, they sure can't handle our tax money."

Argo held a sign reading, "Socialism smells like B.O."

"My great-grandson, he's going to be paying for this the rest of his life, and probably his children," Argo said.

"You could get into a situation where it takes a wheelbarrow of cash to buy bread, just like we saw in the Soviet Union," warned Ken McKibben, a business owner who helped organize Trussville's event.  "What we're trying to do is let people know you're not alone.  We're out here, and it's time to come forward and actually get involved and do something."

McKibben said the general feeling among organizers is that politicians, especially on the national level, have lost sight of their constitutional duties.

"I think they've lost touch with the people," participant Alli DeArman said.  "I think they've lost touch with the bottom of the pyramid."

Nearby, another sign was spotted asking, "What would Reagan do?"

But those in attendance will tell you this is not an issue that is specific to one party or another.

"It's not a Democrat or Republican (issue)," Thomas Stanford said while attending a tea party in Hueytown.  "It's just that both parties have forgot about the working man, the middle class."

"It's about the government getting so big that we the people don't feel like we have a voice," said Hollyn Davis, who also attended the Hueytown event.

While those in attendance were encouraged by the turnout and the unity among participants, some were concerned Washington would never pay attention to the message from the people.

Mike Vanderboegh said the tea parties were not aggressive enough.

"This is not a tea party as we understand the Boston Tea Party," Vanderboegh said.  "This is a tea and cakes party.  Tea and cakes don't scare these people (politicians).  A tea party that involves civil disobedience, targeted defiance of the federal government, they'll pay attention to, just like King George III did."

Organizers, however, said the tea parties sent a strong message, and they vowed to continue spreading that message in the coming weeks and months.

McKibben said the success of working men and women depends on the success of these demonstrations.

"They need the government to back off and do what the Constitution says the government is supposed to do," McKibben said.

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