Thousands of people gathered in Albany - and across the country - to protest what they said is government interference in their lives, a movement away from the Constitution, and spending that's out of control. It's not your typical Republican vs. Democrat debate - this was a call for fundamental change. Our Steve Ference reports.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- "If the legislators have no respect for the Constitution," said Albany resident John Vukus, speaking to a crowd of thousands, "then we don't need to respect legislators."

It began on a Wednesday, at 11 a.m. - a time when most people have to work. Still, thousands of people from across the region - men, women, blacks, whites, hispanics, senior citizens, children, people from all walks of life except for politicians - attended the event meant to evoke the spirit of the Boston Tea Party, a seminal event in the history of the founding of the United States.

Business owner Mike Eggleston also spoke to the crowd waving American flags, "Don't Tread on Me" flags, and signs like "Read My TelePrompTer: Stop Spending My Money." Children also held signs saying they're already in debt thousands of dollars.

"Both sides of the aisle, Republicans and Democrats alike, all of them are to blame equally," said Eggleston.

"What 'teas' me off is the special interests," said Deborah Fellows, who held a sign with a quote from a state Republican leader that she said shows the leader ignores her constituents.

Five-year-old Winnie Schorpp said she was angry about taxes.

Her father, Ron Schorpp, who brought all three of his children, said, "It seems the harder the middle class works, the more we get soaked. We have a government right now that is punishing success and rewarding failure."

Everyone but politicians attended - all of them calling themselves patriots.

Bill Riley, who traveled from Clifton Park, said he came "to exercise my first amendment right to tell my government loud and clear and my public servants that they've crossed the line."

Riley was happy to share his take on the current world, national, and state situation like so many of the others who gathered at the Corning Preserve on tax day - one of hundreds such protests going on across the country.

Eggleston and others spoke of a number of concerns they have - most stemming from what they said is the continued deviation from the Constitution, whether it be gun control, or minimizing state's rights.

Eggleston listed off some of those concerns: "The Real ID Act where they want us to have a national ID card to replace our state driver license. And H.R. 1388 - the GIVE Act: a national service act which would promote mandatory volunteering. That's an oxymoron," he told the crowd to loud applause.

Event speakers and those in the crowd seemed to agree. They're tired of restrictions on personal freedoms in the name of safety and, again, tired of a government they said has diverged from the Constitution.

"We are the ones we've been waiting for to make real change in this country. To put aside the Left versus Right, the Democrat versus Republican bickering once again and look to the Constitution as the rule of law," Eggleston said.

But there's not just anger over the politicians or even the so-called restrictive laws, but also what they said is the mismanagement of the American financial system. They said they're simply looking for a better way - fed up with the status quo and fed up with the Federal Reserve system which they said prints money out of thin air creating more debt, and more problems for society.

Riley paraphrased Thomas Jefferson: "It was said, give me the power to print the money and I care not who makes the laws. And that's exactly what's happening now. Our government is really subservient to these international banks."

Even 12-year-old Anneliese Schorpp-Dettmann had a take on that assertion, telling us, "I'm going to be the generation that's paying off the debt."

It is a grassroots movement organizers hope is just the beginning, a movement spurred by anger - but inspiring those who came.

Organizers said they hope to continue the momentum of the protest rallies by looking to hold more events perhaps as soon as July 4th, Independence Day.