Conservatives rally to defense of free market

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By Heather Cobun

The free market is getting a bad rap, say conservative economic activists who plan to gather Friday near the Capitol to protest increasing government interference in the private sector.

The government's $700 billion rescue plan might not be enough to save the nation's financial sector from oblivion, but it looks like it is more than enough to get conservatives off the couch and onto the streets.

More than 1,000 members and friends of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a grass-roots organization that advocates free markets, are expected to attend the rally to defend the free market and protest strict government regulation.

Organizers are hoping to send the message that they do not want the government to use the current financial climate as an excuse to increase regulation, said Annie Patnaude, director of communications at AFP.

The AFP is also opposed to what they see as blame for the economic fallout being placed on the free market. The group thinks it is the government's policies that have lead to the problems, said AFP President Tim Phillips.

"Rather than the free market being the problem, we think it's the government," Mr. Phillips said. After talking to state chapters, he said, "The common thread was their frustration with the obsessive blame game of the free market in general."

Low taxes and decreased government spending are some of the core values of the AFP, which was formed in 2004 and is based in Washington, Ms. Patnaude said.

"We saw the need for...really revving up free-market grass roots," she said. Last year, members protested earmark spending in a rally at the Capitol.

"Conservatives don't do that sort of thing often enough," she said of the protest, where Mr. Phillips will speak and members will be asked to sign a pledge reaffirming their belief in the free market.

Mr. Phillips stressed that the activists in the AFP are middle-class voters who are concerned about future government actions and want their voices heard, by Congress and the future president.