The 13 protesters looked unimposing in front of Rep. Tim Johnson’s constituent office, 2004 Fox Drive, in Champaign on Tuesday, but they didn’t let their size get them down.

“This is how grassroot movements get started,” said protester Homer Green.

People of all ages, including children still in elementary school and retired senior citizens, gathered to protest Johnson’s economic policies and call for new leadership in Washington that would represent the middle and working classes.

Johnson voted against the debt ceiling bill that is being hailed as a compromise between Democrats and Republicans.

Although the protesters focused on Republican leadership, they also turned their attention to Democrats.

“Obama needs to stand up for Americans,” protester Lois Kain said.

“Obama’s not doing anything he said he was going to do. … He doesn’t stand up for anything, it seems like.”

The protesters also questioned the government’s economic policies.

“Now isn’t the time to reduce federal spending,” protester Sarah McEvoy said.

“Now is the time to make a federal stimulus package to make new jobs.”

Another protester, John Kenneth Young, said $4 billion is wasted on private health care administration, while Medicare provides the same services for less.

Many protesters said the debt ceiling package would be unnecessary if the government had better revamped the health care system. A recurring theme of the protest was in support of raising taxes on the rich and increasing deficit spending. Protester Michael Weissman said the top 1 percent of the population receives 20 percent of the income and they have gotten richer both absolutely and in comparison with other classes.

Weissman also said Johnson is unwilling to raise taxes on the rich, which he said are at historically low levels, to help fund programs like Medicare. Protesters said a major problem is that Americans generally do not realize what is happening in Washington or with their tax dollars.

Green said people are uninformed and are not standing up for their rights. Protester Margaret O’Brien, who graduated from the University with a degree in chemical engineering, but was forced to retire early due to disability, said she does not know what she will do if Medicare is cut, as she has used up all her savings and is only barely paying the bills. She said she does not know how people in worse off situations will manage.

O’Brien also spoke the last words at the protest emphasizing how she thinks the government treats the middle and working classes.

“You feel like you’re being thrown under a bus,” she said.