Stealing the tax revolt is the worst theft of all
There have been tax revolts as long
as there have been taxes. They go back to Roman times in England, and are part
of the history of every era and place. The tax revolts that we have won gave us
the Magna Carta, The Declaration of Independence, and the independence of
India.
What labor
organizing is to the Left, taxpayer organizing is to us. They are the most
important tool or weapon that we have in making or protecting a free society.
Why is this? The reason is that this mythos, tactic, organizing ground (or
market), has worked well and gloriously and is our heritage. We have never
thought of ourselves as having a revolutionary strategy, as the Marxists and
Left anarchists has. But actually we do. We’re just not aware of it or really
used it. That is until now.
Last year
hundreds of thousands of people gathered several times in hundreds of cities to
protest the bailouts, cap and trade and the nationalization of health care.
This was the largest tax revolt in history. Libertarians and the Ron Paul
movement can be proud of putting this in motion as a vital response for liberty
against the threat against our liberty, fortunes and honor. Through these
efforts millions of people have heard our speakers, read our blogs, and
listened to our videos and podcasts. More importantly we have learned to work
together with many ordinary Americans in person, on line and even in winnable
campaigns.
Now as many,
especially Tom Knapp of Rational Review, have warned us this alliance is being
infiltrated by dangerous elements. These types have long been linked to racist
attacks, fascism and even stealing from their own people. While not all
Republicans are like, this they are large, well funded and dangerous. We
cannot let them continue to do this and
allow this vital movement to be used to get another son of a Bush elected.
But how do we
stop them? As always, our radical
principles and willingness to do outreach can stop them. Many of them are wise
already and few big
spending Republicans can get away from these tea party rallies without getting
booed. But we must educate and dialog with these fine people on a one to one
basis. Here is the plan.
If the tea
party rally excludes libertarians from speaking at the podium, or having a
booth then we must leaflet. Picking the right issues that can already gain much
support from the crowd already is important. This is not a college or bohemian
crowd where we can play philosophical or radical games. Do not come here acting
like an anarchist, as they will think that you are being an obnoxious or
provocateur. There are all types of hysterical warnings about possible
disruptions and we do not want to play a role in the GOP’s paranoid games. We
are here to find allies, so if you find hostility, talk to someone else. So we
should leaflet on any of these three issues and only these:
1. The war on marijuana, especially medical marijuana, should
come to an end. This is a tax
–cutting issue that has the support of a majority of Americans and is something
that the GOP lacks the principle or courage to handle. Quote Bill Buckley,
Milton Friedman and even Glenn Beck on this.
2. The military-industrial complex is like every other
bureaucracy when it comes to wasteful spending. Republican Eisenhower said
this as well as many others and the Pentagon spends close to a trillion dollars
a year.
3. If the corporations don’t pay taxes than why should we? And why do the
big guys get bailouts while we lose our jobs? For those of you
who counsel counter-economics or tax resistance this is a good time to talk
about ways of doing this and you’ll find many friends here.
4. Put out a resource list of good websites, chat rooms, books
and your email address and phone number. Remember that we are an intellectual
powerhouse as well as having impact on culture as well. Include simple books
the Law by Bastiat, and other short classics. When people want to talk to you
about the GOP, ask them who their great thinkers are?
5. Have information on non-violent civil disobedience as a way
of changing society. Thoreau was the inventor of this as well as a great
libertarian. There are at least 198 different forms of this tactic and they
worked in implementing greater opportunities and protections for minorities,
women and the anti-war movement and these tactics can work for us as well.
If the cops or
the GOP organizers try to stop you from leafleting on public property and yet
do not allow you to speak or have a booth you have alternatives. You can
threaten to contact the media who’ll be covering the event and since the media
is usually left and loves controversy they’ll probably leave you alone.
Of course with
videos you can always You Tube all arguments, threats and evictions. You could
go limp and let them arrest you. It all depends on how blatantly GOP the event
is and what point you are making.
Remember, you
should have been working with the more independent people since at least last
year. You can’t just come in at the last minute. You are trying to reach at
least some of these people. So try to blend in, no black flags, and call
yourself a libertarian, or even better, a Ron Paul supporter. There will be
militia types who are openly carrying weapons there, so I doubt that anyone
will bother us, as long as we are seen as pro-tax revolt. Contact your local
LP and Campaign for
Liberty to get an idea of what would work. Remember we have to do outreach in
order to win.
