For all the grievances against the king of England so eloquently stated in our Declaration of Independence, here's the one that likely will draw a crowd in downtown Davenport today: "Imposing taxes on us without our consent."

An anti-tax sentiment pervades through the groups called by QCA Superliberty for today's tea party demonstration.

Way back in 1776, the tax charge stuck because fledgling Americans had no options to give or deny consent. The king levied a tea tax, dispatched soldiers against Americans and inflicted countless other affronts from afar, and the colonists had no choice but to take it.

Americans today still have tons of choices and we are thrilled to see Quad-City Tea Party organizers demonstrate one of them at 1 p.m. today at River Drive and Main streets. Today is the perfect day to celebrate the American ability to organize peacefully and publicly on almost any issue, including this important one. Organizers of today's Tea Party, QCA Superliberty Group, counts 56 activists on its Web site organized by one-time Scott County auditor candidate Michael Elliott.

The tea party group has drawn many more to periodic curbside demonstrations, sharing their libertarian message across traditional party lines.

Among the groups QCA Superliberty lists as supporters: The John Birch Society, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Campaign For Liberty, and the Opt4Better group formed in opposition to the Davenport Promise.

We trust Davenport officials learned a lesson the last time a non-traditional party showed up at a downtown festival. The city and DavenportOne face a lawsuit for allegedly restricting the petitioning activities of Green Party members at last year's Bix Street Fest. The suit claims D1 organizers intervened in the Green's effort to get a candidate on the Iowa ballot. We see no harm, and, indeed, a benefit, when activists choose to peaceably and respectfully encourage involvement in political processes.

And that's what these tea party organizers seem to be doing. They are enlisting questioners for Rep. Bruce Braley's health-care forum 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Genesis Health System's East Campus. They've approached Scott County Sheriff Dennis Conard to listen to the libertarian gospel of Richard Mack, the former Arizona county sheriff who preaches for gun ownership rights and against the war on drugs.

We don't agree with every tenet of the QCA Superliberty group. But agree or disagree, these folks are moving across party lines from curbside protests to front-line involvement. Our community gets better when committed individuals effectively participate in congressmen's forums, city council and school board meetings and the dozens of other weekly gatherings where we, the people, direct the representative form of government launched 233 years ago.