Green Party of Monroe County
Monday, March 10, 2008
Greens win bid to remove Robert E. Lee quote from Arlington, Va. tax decal
The Arlington Greens
*Press Release: Greens Victorious in Campaign to Remove Robert E. Lee Quote from Tax Decal*
Arlington, VA (March 7) — The Arlington Green Party expressed satisfaction today that its campaign to remove a quote from Confederate General Robert E. Lee from the 2008-2009 Arlington County tax decal proved successful.
The initial design of the tax decal featured a picture of the Pentagon superimposed over a U.S. flag with the following quote from Robert E. Lee:”Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.”
Members of the Arlington Green Party criticized the tax decal as a manifestation of racism, sexism, and militarism which had no place on the windshields of Arlington County car owners.
Josh Ruebner, a two-time Green Party candidate for Arlington County Board who helped lead the campaign against the tax decal, stated: “The Arlington Green Party is enormously pleased that the County has seen fit to remove the Robert E. Lee quote from the 2008-2009 tax decal in the wake of our protest. Lee was a racist slave-owner
who rebelled against the government of the United States in order to perpetuate slavery. There is no way that we should honor his memory by putting a quote of his on our cars.”
The Green Party also expressed satisfaction that Arlington County Treasurer Frank O’Leary affirmed publicly that Arlington residents may cut out the offending image of the Pentagon on their tax decal or request a temporary permit without the offending image. O’Leary made these comments in a March 4 Arlington Sun Gazette article
.
At its March 5 monthly meeting, members of the Arlington Green Party vowed to take up the Treasurer’s invitation to serve on the committee which selects the finalists in the tax decal competition. “Members of the Arlington Green Party are definitely interested in serving on the committee to select the finalists for the tax decal so that in the future Arlington County residents will not have to be embarrassed to stick racist, sexist, and militaristic tax decals on their cars,” stated Ruebner.