By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
Joplin resident Bob Davidson on Wednesday staged a one-man tax protest outside the main Joplin post office.
He stood on the public sidewalk, urging passers-by to mail the tags and strings from tea bags to the White House to protest the federal deficit that he said the government is worsening with its stimulus plan and bailouts. The tea bags refer to the Boston Tea Party, a 1773 protest by American colonists against a tax increase on tea by the British.
He provided tea bags and envelopes set up on a card table. A yellow legal pad was available for those who wanted to write down grievances.
“I’ve got maybe $9.16 or so invested in this,” Davidson said.
He said he asked those who stopped to talk if they think taxpayer money should be used to cover warranties on General Motors cars.
“There’s a considerable disconnect between taxpayers and the federal government,” Davidson said. “The federal government has overstepped its bounds on the bailouts.”
He repeated a phrase that Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford used on Glenn Beck’s cable television program: that the stimulus spending and the deficits produced for future generations represent “fiscal child abuse.”
“The government is borrowing trillions and trillions of dollars,” Davidson said.
Though he posted the White House address for people to send their tea tags, he was careful to say that his protest was against the federal government in general and not President Obama specifically. He also said his protest wasn’t partisan.
“Neither party represents me,” Davidson said. “It’s not about the Obama administration. It’s a message to all politicians in Washington: ‘Hey, we do care.’”
Conservative talk radio and television hosts, including Beck and Michelle Malkin, are promoting the tax protests nationally, with the president and Democrats as their primary targets.
“Business is slow,” Davidson said after he set up at 9 a.m. at the post office. By 10:30 a.m., he said, only three people had stopped for the tea bags.
One of those was Crystal Kohler, of rural Joplin.
“It’s not the government’s business to get into business,” she said, adding that industries should succeed or fail on their own merits.
“It’s a very dangerous precedent,” she said.
Around 10:30 a.m., three others approached Davidson in quick succession.
“This is a protest of the way our government is spending taxpayer money foolishly,” said William Roy, of Joplin. “The president is out to lunch on what he’s been doing.”
“Hey, I want to send some tea to D.C.,” said Patrick Partridge, of Joplin, as he walked up to Davidson’s table. “We’re taxing our great-great-grandchildren.”
Davidson informed those who were interested that the U.S. Postal Service prohibits mailing the actual tea bags in envelopes.
Richard Watkins, a regional spokesman for the Postal Service, said tea bags have the potential to jam equipment. He said photos of tea bags may be sent.
Joplin protest
Joplin talk radio station KZRG is promoting a taxpayer protest rally at noon Wednesday, April 15, at 303 E. Third St. Details are available at www.1310kzrg.com.
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<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/extra.gif" border=0>Joplin man joins tea-bag protest<font color="#ff0000"> w/ Tax Day Tea Party info</font>
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