A Secessionist Brew at a Texas Tea Party
by Charles Lemos, Thu Apr 16, 2009 at 03:16:29 AM EDT
Down in Austin, the local Tea Party yesterday was brewing talk of secession. Perhaps that's not terribly newsworthy but it is the who was brewing that dangerous elixir that is, well, hard to believe. Here's Governor, yes, Governor Rick Perry of Texas talking about Texas' right to secede. It's worth a listen:
"Texas is a unique place. When we came into the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that," Perry said. "My hope is that America and Washington in particular pays attention. We'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, who knows what may come of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."
I miss Molly Ivins at moments like this. Lord, what would she have made of this Texas-size demagogue? Is there a virus going around that has caused conservatives to go insane? It is one thing for a clown like Glenn Beck or a fool like Chuck Norris who wants to run for President of Texas to stoke the embers of secessionist rebellion but a sitting Governor?
While a number of liberal blogs are covering this latest bout of conservative insanity (John Amato at Crooks and Liars and very eloquent Joe Cutbirth over at the Huffington Post who calls on Governor Perry to "to retract the remarks publicly or resign."), I thought I'd take a gander on how conservatives blogs were covering this nonsense. Lo and behold, it's not nonsense.
Here's Hogan of Red State who thinks Governor Perry's remarks are neither "too strong" nor "unpatriotic." Instead, Hogan commends Governor Perry for standing up for the citizens of the Lone Star State:
Governor Perry is putting Washington on notice: "Stop messing with Texas." That is his job. It is his job to protect the citizens of Texas from an overbearing, wasteful and largely incompetent national government. The only thing that should come as a surprise is that a governor is finally stepping up and saying "no."Right now - Governor Perry has to calculate what is best for his 23 million constituents. He has to ask himself the following questions, among many:
- Will America's national defense be adequate enough to protect Texans after the numerous budget cuts and re-prioritizations of the Obama administration?;
- Will America, and thus Texas, be safe with massive cuts in missile defense even as North Korea and other rogue states seek nuclear weapons and missile capability?;
- Will Social Security and Medicare - currently barreling toward total collapse and massive unfunded liabilities - be solvent and viable for the millions of Texas baby-boomers heading toward retirement?;
- Will Americans, and thus Texans, be forced not just to tolerate abortion on demand but be forced to pay for it around the world with their hard earned tax dollars?;
- Will charities be capable of taking care of those in need (recall how much Texans stepped to the plate during Katrina to help those victims from Louisiana, even as Rita inflicted damage on Texas) given cuts in charitable tax deductions and the efforts to nationalize charities recently enacted into law (for which TX Senator Hutchison voted - and for which she should be held to account);
- Will activist judges force Texas to recognize gay marriages instituted in Vermont, New Hampshire, or any other state?;
- Will the massive spending by the national government create an unmanageable debt and cause massive inflation and dramatically damage the buying power and financial well being of Texans?;
- Will Americans, and thus Texans, have sufficient access to domestic exploration of oil, oil shale, clean coal and natural gas - so that the citizens won't face $4.00 + gasoline again, this time in a weaker economy?;
- Will the national government continue to prevent construction of nuclear power plants, and thus access to clean, American-produced, energy?;
- Will Americans, and thus Texans, be forced to buy only cars the size of "Smart Cars" in the name of protecting the planet and making the roads safer?"
- Will Americans, and thus Texans, be forced to go through government-run agencies or other entities to gain access to healthcare - placing a bureaucrat between them and their doctor?;
- Will Americans, and thus Texans, be forced to live with dangerous terrorists release from Guantanamo Bay?;
- Will American workers, and thus Texans, be allowed to work in an environment where private ballots for unions are allowed and supported?;
- Will American, and thus Texan, children be allowed to pray in school, enjoy Christmas assemblies or recognize God at all, or will activist judges continue to bastardize the First Amendment en route to a European style secular state?;
- Will American, and thus Texan, borders be protected from illegal entry or will our borders be protected?;
- Will the United States tax code continue to be incomprehensible and overly focused on social engineering such that it becomes increasingly difficult to manage tax preparation for the decreasing few who continue to carry the tax burden for America?
The list of questions is apparently not a complete one but I think it fair to say that Hogan is completely deranged.
Update [2009-4-16 9:11:35 by Charles Lemos]: Just how insane are these conservatives? Well, Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah, a Republican, was booed in Salt Lake City for accepting about $1.5 billion in federal stimulus money.Tags: Governor Rick Perry, Tea Parties, texas, us constitution (all tags)
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