Tea partiers rally

The bright white lights of the Desert Sun Stadium pierced the dusk sky against a backdrop of a peach-orange Yuma sunset Thursday night.

The sounds of cheers came from the stands, but it's still a little early for the Scorpions to take the field.

About 2,500 Yumans gathered Thursday evening at the field for the second annual tax day tea party, hosted by tea party members in Yuma County. It was a crowd of old and some young - but everyone shared the opinion that they are unhappy with the current state of America today.

The event in Yuma was one of thousands held around the country Thursday in what is quickly becoming a "tax day" tradition.

Health care and taxes were among the topics, along with the message that

Dr. Constance Uribe, one of the first speakers of the evening, said "they do not have your interest at heart," about the current elected officials.

"This health care plan is a cancer," she said. And the nation as we know it will no longer exist if it spreads in 2014, she said.

Yuma lawyer James Coil spoke about the rights, among which are "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

"We are not entitled to live off the labor of others," he said in his speech to the crowd.

But it wasn't just the speakers who came to talk with Yumans. Ruth McClung, of Tucson, was at the stadium to campaign. McClung is running for Congress to represent the 7th district of Arizona.

She said she came to the tea party Thursday specifically to "hear what concerns people in Yuma have."

Yumans Pat and Don Turnbough said they attended the tea party event last year, when it was at Gateway Park in Yuma.

Since last year, the couple said, there have been a lot of changes.

"Not necessarily good," Don Turnbough said.

Pat Turnbough said they've been "socialist" changes.

Yuma doctor Stephen Replogle asked the crowd "How many people believe the country can continue to spend the way it is and not go broke?"

The crowd didn't budge.

Replogle talked about the inflation of the dollar, what many cite as what could happen because of the current recession.

"It is only faith in the United States dollar that supports the government," he said. "And that faith is collapsing.

Neal Schiele lives in Montana but spends time in Yuma. Schiele attended the event Thursday evening and stood with his American flag upside down.

He said it is a sign of distress - and he does it at every event he attends, whether it's in Montana or Arizona, he said.

"We're losing our freedoms every day," he said.

His biggest concern is "the Republicans, the Democrats and the health care bill," he said. "They're not doing what the people want, they're doing what they want."

For more information about the tea party in Yuma, visit http://colorad riverteaparty.org/.