Riled up by tea party, Texas Gov. Perry eyes secession

[LittleWyvern]

Speaking with reporters after a tea party rally in Austin today, Gov. Rick Perry said Texas can leave the union if it wants to.

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Sorry Perry, you can't. This kind of attitude is still a bit alarming, though.

[MarginOfError]

I say let them secede. We'll withdraw all of our military support and then declare war. Let's see how well the cowboys can hold the Alamo against the 101st Airborne.

[Guest Godless]

LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC!!!!!

Seriously though, Perry is an idiot.

Edit: MoE, you'd probably find more gang members guarding the Alamo than cowboys. I'm proud to say that South Texas doesn't fit the stereotypical mold that the rest of America tends to place on Texas as whole. If it did, I probably would've killed myself by now.

Edited April 16, 2009 by Godless

[MarginOfError]

LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC!!!!!

Seriously though, Perry is an idiot.

Edit: MoE, you'd probably find more gang members guarding the Alamo than cowboys. I'm proud to say that South Texas doesn't fit the stereotypical mold that the rest of America tends to place on Texas as whole. If it did, I probably would've killed myself by now.

Thanks for the intel...I expect the gangs would last about 5 minutes longer than the cowboys.

[lestertheemt]

Thanks for the intel...I expect the gangs would last about 5 minutes longer than the cowboys.

Hey................be nice to us cowboys (and cowgirls)!!!!

P.S. I am NOT from Texas

[Just_A_Guy]

Wow. Wasn't this guy considered a contender for the Republican 2012 nomination?

[LittleWyvern]

Wow. Wasn't this guy considered a contender for the Republican 2012 nomination?

Perhaps Perry is scrapping that hope and trading it for President of Texas?

[Maxel]

Looking at the reason for secession might shed some light on this.

The reasons Perry would want to secede at all has, at its heart, the same motivation as the reasons for the tea parties. Part of his actual words are: "officials in Washington have abandoned the country's founding principles of limited government... [T]he federal government is strangling Americans with taxation, spending and debt." Perry also says that "[w]e've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot." (Gov. Rick Perry: Texas Couls Secede, Leave Union (The Huntington Post)) I'm not much for the unique pride Texans have in their state, but if we look at the actual issues and not just the sensationalistic side of the story... we learn a lot more about the actual issues instead of just the sensationalistic side of the story.

From Fox News: Politics-

An animated Perry told the crowd at Austin City Hall -- one of three tea parties he was attending across the state -- that officials in Washington have abandoned the country's founding principles of limited government. He said the federal government is strangling Americans with taxation, spending and debt.

Perry repeated his running theme that Texas' economy is in relatively good shape compared with other states and with the "federal budget mess." Many in the crowd held signs deriding President Barack Obama and the $786 billion federal economic stimulus package.

So he doesn't want to secede: he wants to call more attention to Washington's out-of-control behavior. However, he's setting the idea now that, if the federal government tries to force a ruined economy down Texas' throat, secession might become a serious consideration. Frankly, I don't blame him: if current attempts by the people to make politicians (1) listen to the people and (2) be responsible with the country they are in control of- and future attempts fail until all possible peaceful routes have been explored- what is there left to do? Eventually, someone is going to have to break the laws of the now-corrupt land for the sake of their rights, their liberty, and their children. I thank God that we live in a constitutional Republic, so that the only time the people would have to resort to violence would be if the government made a radical shift in its mode of governance- which would show an abandonment of our God-given Constitution, the thing that made this country truly great.

By the way, Texas vs. White- the case that set the precedent that Texas couldn't secede, decided in 1869- held that Texas had never seceded from the United States during the Civil War- despite the fact that it joined the Confederate States of America. "The main rationale for the argument that states could not legally secede was derived from the Articles of Confederation's description of the American Union as perpetual." (Ibid.). I think the ruling wouldn't stand today, or at least would need to find completely different rationale for doing so. In any event, I don't really see this as a rational precedent to judge the legality of Texas seceding in the future over the issue of a corrupt federal government.

Also, Perry was pre-empting something drastic like this before the tea parties- his support of HCR 50- which declares Texas' "sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment... over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States"- points to something like this. The idea that he did this solely because he was "riled up by [the] tea party" is nonsense (I admit I'm reading that fact into your post, LittleWyvern, and I apologize if I'm reading more than is actually there).

[Moksha]

Quote:

Speaking with reporters after a tea party rally in Austin today, Gov. Rick Perry said Texas can leave the union if it wants to.

If we did give it back to Mexico, they could argue whose picante sauce is best.

:)

[Hemidakota]

I say let them secede. We'll withdraw all of our military support and then declare war. Let's see how well the cowboys can hold the Alamo against the 101st Airborne.

This would not be the only state that chose to secede from the union....

[FunkyTown]

This would not be the only state that chose to secede from the union....

That's very true. A sizeable minority in Vermont pushed to join Canada during the Bush years. It wasn't serious, but I could perceive it getting serious if a ruined economy based upon poor current management pushed them, since they've been unhappy with Washington for some time.

Vermont: Secede to Succeed | NowPublic News Coverage

As a very blue state, the election of Obama appeals to many of them. However, given their rebellious nature, I suspect that a ruined economy might push them to revitalize the secession movement in VT.

[NeuroTypical]

Sorry Perry, you can't. This kind of attitude is still a bit alarming, though.

America has enjoyed 144 years of not trying to break itself apart. From that standpoint, LittleWyvern's statement is correct.

The human race is one unending story of rising and falling cultures and civilizations, full of comings and goings, treaties and warfare, unity and secession. From that standpoint, LittleWyvern's statement holds a heck of a lot less water.

The question of the day: is anyone out there willing to start killing and dying to alter this nation? As far as I can tell, the answer is no, (apart from the fringest of the fringe who have always been willing no matter what was going on). All the talk I'm hearing is merely saber rattling. There's no reason to break up this great country, when we can still fight a legitimate fight at the ballot box. Much less bloody.

LM