No more taxes! (well, except…)

April 15, 2009 – PEORIA, Ill.  –  Populism was back in style. “Over 500″ gathered in downtown Peoria for a rally against taxes. Well, against government spending to be more exact… but you could find a hundred different reasons why people were missing a few hours of work on a brilliant spring day. The signs said it all: “What would Jefferson do?,” “Bailouts tea me off,” “Save trees, stop printing money,” and the somewhat off-message “Liberty says NO to Big Brother.” It was a cornucopia of dissent, with the financially worried walking hand in hand with the anti-Federalists. A tax day tea party.

The multitude gathered near the public library, with the leader addressing the crowd about their intent. A message was decided, although this splintered once marching commenced into chants of “U.S.A.!” and “No more taxes!” This was obviously incorrect, and a small portion of the group noticed and chuckled, trying to correct the error with their own: “No more spending!” Anti-Obama messages were few, surprisingly, with “Obamunism” being the most common.

Peaking in front of the Peoria County Courthouse, the leader bellowed through a megaphone: “The answer to 2009… is 1776!” Fists pumped in the air, Courthouse security stood by nervously, and it was officially a block party.

There was plenty to look at, but I kept looking at one unique sign, carried by a middle-aged man who didn’t stay around long to talk with me. “Atlas will shrug,” said the lettering on his foam board sign. In competition with such beautiful weather (and a hunger for lunch), it seems like Peoria was doing the same.

* I say “over 500″ because the accounts varied widely. Police said several hundred, while the Journal Star thought there a few more. Event organizers and attendees were optimistic at “several thousand.”

The Journal Star article
“Here Come the Plastic Pitchforks” by Thomas Frank at the WSJ

April 17, 2009

Posted in cogitations.