One of your April 23 letter writers requested to hear from an attendee of the TEA Party on Tax Day to answer his questions and address his allegations.

Well, here I am.

His question: Where were we during the Bush years?

My answer: We were protesting with our vote. Republicans acting like Democrats lost their seats in Congress. They weren't doing their jobs and rightly deserved to be fired. Bush's fiscal policies raised concerns and did increase our nation's debt, but they were not alarming enough to support a protest.

Obama's stimulus package alone quadrupled this debt and is alarming enough to cause a tea party-style protest. My question to you: If the Bush debt upset you so, why were you not at the TEA Party, protesting that very debt growing fourfold?

Another of his allegations labeled TEA parties as "wellfunded endeavors" and "stunts." My rebuttal: This uprising was a grass-roots endeavor, funded only by concerned U.S. citizens with homemade signs. I don't care if you call it a "stunt" as long as we got your attention. Guess that worked.

Another of his statements was, "Obama is actually cutting taxes" for most of us. I'm middle class and have done my own taxes for years, and I didn't see any tax cut. Where is it? Numbers don't lie.

Finally, when backed into a corner and unable to make their case with facts, anti-TEA Party types resorted to name-calling. The opinion writer, along with another opinion writer from the same issue, called protesters "lemmings," "ridiculous," "silly" and, my favorite, "teabaggers." Nice!

While attending the local TEA party here in Thousand Oaks, I witnessed many a passerby honking in agreement and giving thumbs-up gestures. Those in opposition resorted to middle finger salutes with an occasional "f-you!" Again, nice!

TEA party protesters were out there to lower taxes for everyone, even those who think we're "silly."

Yes, you can thank us later. Charlene Olexiewicz Newbury Park