Fort Smith tax day protest one of 500-plus nationwide

About a month ago, Greg White noticed there was not a “Tea Party” demonstration scheduled for Fort Smith. He immediately decided that wouldn’t do.

“I decided we are too big of a community not to be doing this,” White said.

The Fort Smith tea party, like the more than 500 around the country, is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m., April 15 (tax day) at the Pendergraft Park in downtown Fort Smith. White thinks more than 100 will attend, but would not be surprised “if we get closer to 1,000.” White said the event cost less than $400, with all that coming from donations.

THE FIRST STEP
The quasi-organized revolt against increased government spending and increased government intervention has taken different forms. Some of the first efforts saw people mailing tea bags to Congress and the White House as a form of protest. This was followed by hastily planned protests around the country.

What followed was the creation of several Tea Party organizations and associated Web sites.

But the main group pushing the April 15 gatherings is the Tax Day Tea Party. It’s a Chicago-based volunteer organization funded by “average Americans” and not corporations or political interests, said spokeswoman Julie Johnson.

Johnson said they are in contact with about 500 organizers, but are confident more than 500 protests will be held.

“That is the number we have confirmed because we are dealing with 500 of them (organizers), but we have a lot of people out doing their own thing,” Johnson explained.

And tax day is just the first step, Johnson said, with “new projects” to be launched after April 15 to keep the momentum going.

“A lot of those will take place at the local level,” she said.

In Fort Smith, White said the 3-hour protest will include about 10 speakers, music and people carrying signs with messages for passersby. White would not name the speakers because the list remains tentative, but said politicians will not be among the speakers. Also, petition letters for U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, and U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark., will be available for attendees to sign.

AVOIDING EXTREMISTS
How does White and co-organizer Larry Willis prevent such protests from being taken over by liberal or conservative extremists?

“The people I talk to aren’t extremists. They are just average people like me who got tired of talking about a tax-and-spend approach up there (Washington, D.C.),” White responded. “These people are excited about having this outlet. They are tired of this, and it doesn’t matter who they voted for. They just wanted to do something to give an outlet to their frustrations.”

White is hearing from people from all political parties, races and religions who plan to attend the downtown Fort Smith event.

There is some concern the movement will be used for partisan political purposes.

“No party or politicians launched this movement, but now that it’s arrived some will try to take control and use it for their own purposes – gaining and keeping power,” noted Jack McHugh, a blogger posted frequently at the Tax Day Tea Party Web site. “If they succeed it will be the end of the Tea Party movement, because there’s an inherent contradiction between a protest against the political class being led by members of the political class.”

Link here for a list of schedule tax day tea party events in Arkansas.