Tea Partyers to IRS: Prepare to Be Flash-Mobbed
In the wake of revelations that IRS officials unduly targeted right-leaning groups, a number of tea party supporters plan to publicly shame the tax man by amassing outside the agency’s headquarters on Tuesday for a lightning-fast gripefest.
The proposed “IRS Flash Rally” — “We will NOT have a permit, so be prepared to keep moving on the sidewalk,” one of the organizers counseled online — is scheduled to go down at the corner of 10th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest from noon to 1 p.m.
Tea Party WDC founder Lisa Miller told HOH she’s been in contact with a slew of sympathetic organizations champing at the bit to vent about IRS abuses, ranging from established political players (Americans for Prosperity) to fellow grass-roots entities (Northern Virginia Tea Party, Alexandria Tea Party).
The national Tea Party Patriots has urged its members to come armed with signs reading (among other things) “Audit the IRS!”, “America deserves better!” and “Protect the 1st Amendment!”
Miller said she recruited Institute for Liberty President Andrew Langer to emcee the demonstration and has promised Erik Telford from the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity a speaking slot. Miller said she hopes to limit speeches to three minutes a pop so that everyone in attendance has an opportunity to share their stories.
“We’ll come and go before we cause any traffic jams,” she said.
On the off chance any IRS officials peek their heads out, Miller, who has worked as a seasonal tax preparer in the past and currently inhabits the financial services world, said she’d be up for a spirited debate.
“If they come out, I would love to do an interview with them on video,” she said.
Prefer to make a day of it?
Once they’re done demeaning the IRS, Northern Virginia Tea Party folks plan to further stoke their disdain for the federal government by adjourning to a sports bar for a dinner discussion with TheBlaze radio host Doc Thompson. Featured topics of conversation include the swirling IRS scandal and the slate of new candidates approved over the weekend at the state convention of the Republican Party of Virginia.