18,000 people estimated attended the April 15th Tea Party in the Dallas area. Of course all are labelled "racists" by the mere nature of their attending.

With signs, American flags and yellow "Don't Tread on Me" banners by the hundreds, Tea Party activists packed QuikTrip Park for a tax day rally Thursday night.

Participants said they were protesting against a government that spends too much and reaches too far into Americans' lives.

"I don't like the way the Congress is spending our money," Vincent Bustamante of Dallas said. "We need to get people in office who are fiscally conservative. I'm trying to educate people. That's why I'm here."

Similar rallies across the country also attracted thousands of Tea Party supporters with conservatives speaking. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich addressed an event in Austin.

Republican candidates and officials touted the tea parties, billed as a resurrection of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, as a sign their party will see a surge of support in the November midterm elections.

Although the Tea Party movement, which is not its own political party, is strongly conservative, many organizers have stressed unhappiness with Democratic and Republican incumbents alike.

At the Grand Prairie event, organizers estimated attendance at 18,000, though no count from police was available. The ballpark has a seating capacity of about 5,400, but thousands more crowded the outfield.