A tax protester from today's event. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Hundreds of people attended a tax-day protest in Las Cruces today. Interestingly, I found the group to be better organized, but the crowd less boisterous, than at last year’s April 15 event.
And though this year’s event was probably about as well attended as last year’s tax-day protest, today’s event fell far short of the 1,200-1,400 who attended a tea party rally in Las Cruces in September.
Better organized and less boisterous. I’m not sure what that says about the group. Regardless, today’s event was peaceful, well-attended, and for the most part a civil demonstration.
Another characteristic of this year’s event was the presence of politicians and political operatives. It’s an election year, and there was a definite sense of support for Republican candidates this year, whereas last year there was general anger at anyone and everyone in Washington and Santa Fe.
A few people I spoke with believe the tea party movement is maturing and will continue to be a strong force. Others told me they were there to support it but also believe it’s fizzling out.
I guess time will tell.
Here are some photos from the event. In the spirit of capitalism (!), remember they’re copyrighted. Click here to learn about purchasing them.
Republican congressional candidate Steve Pearce:
Republican Public Regulation Commission candidate Jamie Estrada:
A worker with Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez’s campaign:
A worker with Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Turner’s campaign:
