U.S. Diplomats: tea partiers?

That would be a special kind of funny, considering where those diplomats are:

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Foreign Office named the United States embassy Monday as the worst offender among diplomatic missions that have racked up 36 million pounds ($54 million) in disputed traffic congestion charges.

Foreign Secretary William Hague published figures that show the U.S. owes 3.8 million pounds ($5.75 million) after declining to pay a London traffic levy 35,602 times between the introduction of the charge in February 2003 and this January.

Now, realize: this isn’t like U.N. diplomats refusing to pay their parking tickets. Several years ago, the Brits enacted a new tax for anybody who drives into London. They were trying to reduce congestion. The tax is about twelve bucks per day.

So:

Diplomats claim they shouldn’t need to pay the charge as it is a local tax. Under diplomatic rules, embassy officials are exempt from local taxes.

Taxation without representation! And it’s not like our guys are flouting the law:

“The U.S. Embassy in London conscientiously abides by all U.K. laws, including paying fines for all traffic violations, such as parking and speeding violations,” the embassy said in a statement.

I say we drive all our damn cars into…um…well, they don’t have a bay or anything in London, right? But they’ve got a river. We could drive all our cars into the river in protest. Or into the English Channel, maybe.

That would be a little expensive, though. I guess we could stick with tea.