“We Hate the United States”: Secessionists rally at Capitol while Perry stays home
August 29th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Perhaps the most notable thing about the “Sovereignty or Secession” rally at the state Capitol today was the absence of any remotely mainstream speakers. That little problem in presentation did not escape the event’s organizers from the Texas Nationalist Movement. In fact, several speakers bitterly complained that neither Gov. Rick Perry nor a single one of the 70-plus supporters of Rep. Brandon Creighton’s HCR 50, a resolution asserting Texas’ “sovereignty” from the federal government, made an appearance.
Back in April, Perry flirted with the idea of secession when he told reporters after a Tax Day tea party event: “There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve [the Union]. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that.”
Even for a governor who frequently plays to the more extreme elements in the Texas GOP, it was a gobsmackingly ‘out there’ remark. But it certainly did wonders for the secession crowd—long a totally marginal and ridiculed group with about as much chance of capturing the mainstream imagination as the LaRouche cult.
The turnout for the rally wasn’t huge—200 would be a generous estimate—but it was enough to show how much Perry has helped galvanize and embolden the right wing “hate America” fringe. After all, the governor of the second most populous state in the nation had suggested that secession was a possible solution to federal over-reach. Republican political leaders have helped bring “death panels” and the Obama birth certificate nonsense into acceptable discourse; Perry’s contribution has been bringing secession into the mix.
Daniel Miller (pictured below, at top), the leader of the Texas Nationalist Movement and the only speaker who had the slightest ability to make secession sound like anything other than just complete lunacy, recounted the April 15 tea party rally in Austin and what it meant to the secessionist movement.
“When [Perry] was giving a speech and the crowd began to shout what? – Secede! Secede! Secede! – that’s what they chanted. So they asked him afterward, What do you think? He said, Well we reserve that right; if things get so bad we reserve the right to leave. And I gotta tell you it’s the first solid thing he’s done in his administration that I can agree with in many, many years.”
So the secession leaders were a little peeved that they couldn’t get their good friends in the Texas GOP to show up today. After all, Fox News is paying attention: Miller was a guest on the Glenn Beck Program on June 23, discussing the possibility of Texas seceding.
Though Perry and the “pro-sovereignty” legislators didn’t show for the rally, Miller said, “I want them to hear this loud and clear: It is time for them to take up that banner and it’s time for them to take the lead and if they do not, if they do not pick up that banner and carry it high, then we will.” Upon which Miller dashed out into the crowd, took hold of a “Come and Take It” flag, and continued his exhortations. Along with other speakers, he called for a special session of the Legislature—next week—to take up the sovereignty-or-secession debate in earnest.
The organizers are trying to set up a time to deliver a petition to Perry demanding that Texas officials either “immediately move for the restoration of the complete and unadulterated Sovereignty of Texas, explicitly adhering to the 10th Amendment wording of the U.S. Constitution,” or “move immediately for complete Secession from the United States of America.”
Instead of Perry or Creighton, the protesters had Larry Kilgore, a “Christian activist” and candidate for governor who has endorsed executions for homosexuals; Debra Medina, a Ron Paul Republican and a slightly-less long-shot candidate for governor; and Melissa Pehle-Hill, yet another fringe candidate and a member of a self-appointed “citizens grand jury” investigating Barack Hussein Obama, aka Barry Soetoro.
The audience of about 200 people included tattoed bikers wearing Confederate memorabilia, Alex Jones conspiracy theorists carrying those Obama-as-Joker signs, lots of older guys in Texas flag shirts and blue jeans, Ron Paul activists, and others.
Kilgore, dressed in starched blue jeans and a cowboy hat, drew some murmurs of disapproval when he launched into a rant against the U.S.
“I hate that flag up there,” Kilgore said pointing to the American flag flying over the Capitol. “I hate the United States government. … They’re an evil, corrupt government. They need to go. Sovereignty is not good enough. Secession is what we need!”
“We hate the United States!,” he said later in the speech. (And they say leftists are America-bashers!)
Medina chipped in: “We are aware that stepping off into secession may in fact be a bloody war. We are aware that the tree of freedom is occasionally watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots.”
For his part, Kilgore assured the crowd that violence wouldn’t be necessary to secede. Instead, the U.S. would just split up like the USSR did in 1991.
After the rally, lingering secessionists clashed with pro-health reformers holding another rally at the Capitol. Kilgore was seen yelling at some pro-health care reform advocates to “Go back to the U.S. where you belong.”
Secession, the speakers argued, was more important than ever because of the Obama administration. Health care reform, the auto industry and Wall Street bailouts, cap-and-trade legislation, etc, etc – all this “change” is driving people already predisposed to mistrust a Democratic administration to new heights of apoplectic rage.
“If either one of them passes [cap-and-trade or health care reform], we have no option but to go for secession,” said Hill. “Texas is not comprised of people willing to allow Barack Obama and his czars to tax us into bankruptcy while Michelle Obama and her 26 aides live it up on our dime.”
Like any movement, the secessionists have their own reading of history and the law. There was much talk about the true and correct reading of the Constitution, implied powers, Thomas Jefferson’s writings on tyranny and government. One guy even started reading from Black’s Law Dictionary. But the references to the Confederacy were the most telling.
At one point, Miller drew the crowd’s attention to the statue of Lady Liberty on top of the Capitol.
“When they raised her to the top of this Capitol they wanted to face her south so she would forever have her back turned to that nation to the north that knew not liberty,” he told the almost entirely white crowd.
And they wonder why Perry and friends didn’t show up. Even for our governor, these people are toxic.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Toxic, yes. And apparently woefully uneducated. The South, including Texas, tried this once before. They got their asses kicked.
But these are the hard core GOP True Believers. And I hope Rick Perry is proud of what he has started. Let’s hope he has the personal courage to lead the charge when they decide to attack Ft. Hood.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
[…] Meet the real America haters. And remember that even though he wants nothing to do with them now, because it would look bad, these are the people Rick Perry was speaking to when he spoke about seceding. You can run from them, Governor Perry, but you can’t hide from what you said. Trail Blazers and Texas Politics has more. […]
August 30th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
[…] we just give these people an island and let them move away? Spotlight No […]
August 30th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
The only way to govern a Third World Shit Hole like the USA is with an ever increasing police state.
Dennis, do you enjoy living under a police state?
Did you see how woefully uneducated your elitist NYT was recently? Nevada is in Arizona!
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/08/23/us/23water_graphic1_ready.html
August 30th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
It’s at times like this that I really miss Molly Ivins. She would have filleted this gang of lunatics in her delicious prose.
August 30th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Oh, let the A holes secede already. Texas and the whole South are nothing but welfare leeches draining the federal treasury and giving nothing back except infinitely corrupt politicians and barking mad religious lunatics.
August 30th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Please go!!
and take all the future “all hat, no cattle” fake cowboy presidents with you.
August 30th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Go for it, Texans. You deserve each other.
August 30th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Secede??? The southern states can take their imaginary friend, their bibles, their guns, their footballs, their 4 hours of watching cars make left hand turns, their country music filled with sappy lyrics and their ignorance and secede - they’ve only stood in the way of progress from day 1 of this republic - let them create their own country and let the rest of the country move forward into the 21st century.
August 30th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
OK, here’s how it’s gonna play out. The smart 70% of us that don’t want to secede will move out and watch from Oklahoma. These TNM yahoos will suddenly find themselves being attacked by the Federal Govt. Just like the NRA letters columns always said they would. Then, the Mexican drug cartels will show up with their assault weapons. A second unexpected front. Then, the Mexican Army, emboldened, will also attack, trying to take back Tejas. And theeeen: the race war that the Turner Diaries spoke of will begin. Obama will unleash millions of Kenyans on the patriots of the newly formed Texas Republic. But, wait! What’s that sound? It’s…the black U.N. helicopters! Stand fast, Patriotic Texans! But, that not all. It’s not even the worse. Because Art Bell was right. The Feds are openning up the underground bunkers at Area 51! The skies are black with the UFOs carrying the alien cannibals. Fall back, fall back! Everybody gather at the Alamo. We’ll show those Feds-Mexican Mafia-Mexican Army-Kenyans-U.N.girlyboys-Cannibal Aliens that they don’t stand a chance! And don’t you cowards in Oklahoma even think that we’ll let you back in!
August 30th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Bye, Texas. See ya later. Too bad your out of oil.
August 30th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Not that these people would let mere facts bother them . . . but the first ignorant speaker in this video doesn’t even know Texas history. Sam Houston opposed secession and resigned as governor rather than swear allegiance to the confederacy.
August 30th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
We need another amendment to the Constitution “if any state should be deemed unworthy of membership in the united states, they may be, by a majority vote of the registered voters of the united states, kicked out the union, saddled with their fair share of the national debt and all federal funding totally withdrawn immediately.”
I nominate Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.
August 30th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Rick Perry has been the Governor of Texas for over 8 years and for those past 8 years I have seen our great state going down hill. What has our great leader Commander Perry done about the number one issue in our state, illegal immigrants? Nothing, except to keep the border wide open and look at the results over the past 8 years. At the pace we are going soon we will be following California right over the cliff.
Secede? Give me a freakin break, until we can run our state correctly we certainly cannot grow up and become our own nation. We need leadership in our elected Texas representatives, from Austin down to our local communities, we need to fire the current group and elect real brave Texans.
August 30th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
[…] was a big rally in Austin of nearly 200 Texas secessionists yesterday. These secessionists are sometimes called tenthers […]
August 30th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Go! Please go! Now! Take all the other stupid crackers with you. Please do it now! It will be fun watching you dumbasses fail miserably. By the way. “Save America-Support Immigration Reform.” Deport Rupert Murdoch, Michelle Malkin, Orly Taitz, and all other non-American right-wingers.
August 30th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I have family in Austin and truly love many things about Texas. However, if this is truly the dominant mindset, I would be willing to let them go it alone. Just understand that the readmittance fee will be exorbitant.
August 30th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Yeah, Texas and the South tried this once before, but before them there was the American Revolution, which was SECESSION from Great Britain. And Dennis, in case you didn’t know it, Fort Hood is named after a famous secessionist, General John Bell Hood of the Confederate Army.
Since the country and its Constitution have long been corrupted and perverted by the statists, most especially under Barack Obama, it is indeed possible that secession may be the only way to preserve the United States.
Let the corrupt Left Coast and eastern seaboard wallow in their socialism; we will leave and take our liberties with us. If Texas ever does secede, I will leave the state I’m in and go and join her.
August 30th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
And as for your Forrest Wilder, I see that you too are named after a famous secessionist — Nathan Bedford Forrest, another Confederate general. And wasn’t Texas once a part of Mexico from whom it SECEDED?
Your piece reads more like an editorial than it does a news item; it is totally biased to a disgusting degree. Apparently your definition of “mainstream” is anyone who agrees with you. Shame on you for such a shoddy, unprofessional example of “journalism.”
August 30th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
These nutjobs who want to secede from the union are ignorant white racists….I know the type because some of my relatives in S.C. fit the profile….got out of that state as quick as I could. Texas does have its share but they are in a tiny minority.
August 30th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Texas please do secede, and take Oklahoma with you!
August 30th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Words have consequences. Appealing to people’s e_motions, prejudices, fears and expectations in an effort to undermine reasonable discourse and weaken support is one thing, it is quite another for politicians including Perry to embrace an ethos of extremism.
During different times in history when Social Security, Medicare and other government-provided safety-net programmes have been introduced the opposition was fierce, but were ultimately overcome. Shortly after their inception those programmes became successful and remain wildly popular with a majority of Americans.
Now decades later, the same unsubstantiated, fact-free arguments and propaganda are front-and-center, day-in and day-out, 24/7. After months of saturating the airwaves and TV ad naseum with misinformation, lies and fabricated scary scenarios it is hardly surprising that people would be confused, anxious and fearful.
However when people are coming to the Town Hall meetings bearing firearms, carrying posters with swastikas, making death threats, comparing Obama to Hitler, and/or calling the Democrats Nazis and our political leaders fail to tone-down their rhetoric muchless condemn that kind of behaviour it becomes a big problem. Working crowds into a frenzy creates an even more dangerous situation.
We have a lot of problems that need solving. To make progress the voice of reasoned logic and truth must prevail over ignorance and fear.
Until Perry and others realize words have consequences, extremism will not disappear; It will grow worse. Silence is unacceptable. Perry has to do a lot more than be a no-show.
August 31st, 2009 at 6:25 am
[…] Kilgore, a Christian activist that the Texas Observer says has advocated execution for homosexuals, “drew some murmurs of disapproval” when he […]
August 31st, 2009 at 6:47 am
Perry didn’t show up. This is very telling. He panders to the tenthers on the one hand while wanting to borrow over $700 million dollars to plug the holes in Texas’ economy. He may be crazy enough to say anything to be re-elected but not crazy enough to bite the hand that feeds him. Some people can be misled so easily into voting against their own interests.
Link to back up your post, Stogie?
Because GWB was the first American president who had little/no respect for the Constitution referring to it as, “just another gd piece of paper.” As a result of this attitude we have wiretapping and spying on American citizens, torture, rendition, secret prison sites, corruption and politicization of the DOJ, CIA, and other agencies, false terror alerts, a very rich 1-2% of Americans, a declining middle class, a huge deficit, two wars, and the list goes on and on. An analysis of the deficit was completed last week, and it was discovered that Obama’s spending accounts for only 16% of it. Guess whose spending accounts for the rest.
http://www.WashingtonMonthly.com
http://www.thinkprogress.com
http://www.centerforamericanprogress.org
August 31st, 2009 at 7:29 am
Definitely let Texas go. Provide assistance to those who would like to leave but can’t afford to do so and let the secessionists shoot themselves to bloody Hades.
August 31st, 2009 at 7:53 am
The governor did exactly what he needed to do to get reelected. The unmotivated voters of Texas who are too lethargic to attend rallies of any kind will hear his words on the teevee and then get a warm cozy feeling next time they go to vote. They’ll forget all the haranguing the speakers at the rally’s do to tarnish the governors image; after all, most of the sheep don’t REALLY want to secede. They just like to hear that their governor is fiery and impassioned.
Just politics as usual. Democrats do it too.
August 31st, 2009 at 7:56 am
I hope these yahoo’s don’t expect a bloody war.
I say let them go and then my tax dollars will not be sent to people that hate America.
Let those people go!!!!!
August 31st, 2009 at 8:46 am
Nah Nah Nah Nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, GOODBYE!
Without the money from the blue states paying for military bases, hurricane relief, space facilities etc. you guys would be broke.
By the way, does this include the HUGE GAY POPULATION IN HOUSTON? Ride em cowboy means a whole different thing there, partner!
August 31st, 2009 at 9:17 am
[…] Kilgore, a Christian activist that the Texas Observer says has advocated execution for homosexuals, "drew some murmurs of disapproval" when he told […]
August 31st, 2009 at 9:37 am
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
August 31st, 2009 at 9:39 am
I, for one, would like to see Texas secede and become an incubator for right-wing political philosophy. Specifically, I would like to see Texas completely severed from its obligations to and from the U.S. federal government, and have all of the standard, boilerplate abstractions typically proffered by ‘conservatives’ actually enacted into policy in the new independent sovereign nation of Texas. Specifically:
- Texas will collect no taxes whatsoever from its citizens. No income taxes, no sales taxes, no payroll taxes, etc.
- Texas will provide no social services; no welfare, no Social Security benefits, no Medicare, no unemployment, etc.
- Texas will have no public schools, no public police or fire departments, no public postal service, no public roads, bridges, tunnels or parks (and no public maintenance thereof), no public libraries, no public utilities, no public transportation, nor any other ’socialist’ entities. These services will be provided by the private sector, if market forces allow.
- Texas will have no regulation of private business, including (but not limited to) food and product safety, environmental standards, auto emissions, securities trading, usury, etc.
- Texas will also abolish its Department of Motor Vehicles and all other government licensing agencies (e.g., hunting & fishing, liquor licensing, trade licensing such as medical, legal, barbering, etc.), and have absolutely no laws or regulations proscribing gun ownership, possession or use.
- Texas will continue to have a ‘government’ but its members will not be paid with public money; they will be responsible for their own salaries by raising private funds. Elections will also not be publicly funded.
- Texas will abolish its publicly-funded court system and allow for the creation of private courts to enforce both civil and criminal laws. Access to the courts will depend on the complainant’s ability to pay.
In short, in the independent sovereign nation of Texas, citizens will have no obligation whatsoever to support their fellow citizens in any way, and the ‘government’ will not take one cent of their hard-earned money and redistribute it to anyone else. No taxes, no government, no regulations, no ’socialism.’ Every man (and corporation) for himself. Enjoy.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:11 am
Please, go. And take any other southern states that want to go too. You’re only holding the rest of us back. We’ll take back all the military bases and equipment, which northern tax dollars paid for, plus all federal facilities. Also, we have a condition: We won’t fight you, but you have to agree to become a demilitarized nation. We don’t want a hostile, heavily armed nation on our border. (You can keep your private weapons, since you like playing cowboy so much.)
That’s it. Leave. Teach your kids that global warming is a hoax, or evolution is just a theory. Don’t forget what your good book says. Those of you who haven’t lost your sanity, you’re welcome to become refugees and move up here. We need your skills and talents, and we still like you.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:42 am
If this gentleman hates the US so badly, why doesn’t he leave?
I live in Houston, and I don’t see these types of delusional hate mongers with any regularity. The nitwit Perry stepped in it big time when he played to this crazy base.
There are plenty of us sane people in TX, we’re fighting to keep these loonies at bay as well as the nutcases perry has placed on the education boards. Nuts, all of ‘em.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:58 am
It is against U.S. law for any state to secede unilaterally. Read the Constitution. The only way they could legally secede would be through the amendment process. Good luck with that!
Texas needs to start obeying the Constitution instead of trying to commit treason, again. The U.S. Military kicked the South’s ass once. This time around it would be a much easier job, regardless of how many treasonous civilians with guns commit open armed rebellion against the U.S.
And what if we end up with a million dead Texans? Well, that just leaves less traitors to hang.
August 31st, 2009 at 11:20 am
Interesting, how they didn’t hate America or the government when Dick Cheney was President.
August 31st, 2009 at 11:50 am
I thought about going to this “rally” and yelling “America, Love it or Leave it” just to see if their tiny little brains would explode. But after reading this report, I realize that they would probably see the slogan as support for their own side rather than an indication of their own hypocrisy.
August 31st, 2009 at 11:52 am
[…] On Friday, ThinkProgress reported that “tenthers” in Texas were set to hold a pro-secession rally in Austin this weekend. According to the Texas Observer, upwards of 200 people attended the rally, where one speaker declared, “We hate the United States!” […]
August 31st, 2009 at 12:22 pm
It looks like Daniel Miller, confirmed U.S. traitor by his own words, needs to have some of the fat secede from his body, and from inside his fat head too!
The strength of our nation is derived from E Pluribus Unum, from the many, one. Texas needs to get with the program. This illegal, treasonous secession movement posses an infinitely greater danger than Iran, North Korea and all so called Muslim terrorist groups combined could possibly inflict upon the U.S.
August 31st, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Rosa, that was one of the funniest things I’ve read!
August 31st, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I am a liberal and I live in Texas. I don’t understand why my felow Texans who are rallying to secede don’t get, that as a citizen of a foreign country they could got get their social security nor their medicare. These people are idiots, and are being manipulated by a clever media (Fox News) and by clever politicians, who care nothing for them beyond their use.
August 31st, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Is treason covered by the 1st amendment?
August 31st, 2009 at 6:29 pm
I think I figured out where these clowns are coming from. It’s this:
WHEREAS, Section 4, Article IV, of the Constitution says,
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a
Republican Form of Government,”
They obviously think a Democratic win was a violation of the Constitution. Pobrecitos…..
August 31st, 2009 at 7:53 pm
PLEASE LEAVE THE COUNTRY!!!
I would welcome Texas leaving and take your “Southern Welfare State Brethren” with you.
We should have cut you all loose when we had the chance the first time you left.
Let’s not make the same mistake twice and think we actually want these people as part of the United States!
August 31st, 2009 at 8:46 pm
“For his part, Kilgore assured the crowd that violence wouldn’t be necessary to secede. Instead, the U.S. would just split up like the USSR did in 1991.”
I am continually dumbfounded at how these fools line up to prove how stupid they are in front of live microphones. Dozens died in batles in Lithuania in ‘91, and it would have been worse if the pro-Soviet coup in Moscow hadn’t been blunted peacefully with army support later that year. Add the casualties from wars following in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the struggle between Yeltsin and the parliamentarians… wouldn’t that take it into the tens of thousands?
This was less than 20 years ago. If their memories are that short, then how can they even be expected to string a sentence together, let alone understand laws and principles and so on?
Secesh are traitors. Try them and punish them as such.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:02 am
Texas seceded from Mexico and we won the war. Then we wanted to join the Union but were rejected. We allowed our State to be annexed and a few months later we were a state again. Then Mexico and the USA went to war and Mexico was defeated again. We were also the first state in Mexico to declare independence from Spain and Europe. Now we pay more taxes than we receive back in goods and services from a poisonous Union government that seems to have forgotten that it is not a nation. We would be better off without the Union taking our freedom, our tax, and our resources. The Union is not a nation and should never be allowed to become a nation for its own good. The Constitution of the United States of America is a beautiful document, but it is not respected by most of the people of the various states. The freedom to leave the Union is a safety valve that takes power from an oppressive government and would cause a dictator to loose all power. Every State in the Union should have a healthy independence movement because the Union government can be kept within the bounds of the Constitution by the fear that the oppressors would have as a result. I am a Texas Citizen. I will be loyal to Texas. I will be loyal to the United States Constitution and for that I will be hated by the left. I will be loyal to the Union as long as Texas is a member of the Union. If there is war between the Union and the State of Texas, I will defend Texas from any enemy of the state. I will watch as the Union destroys itself after Texas and other states leave the extremist left wing in control of a dying Union. Good luck to all of you damn yankees, you need it.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:58 am
So there’s a fringe movement of nutty conservatives here in Texas who glorify treason, and nearly half of the commenters here decide that’s reason enough to toss all 25 million residents out on their asses as if they deserve it? I’d say many of you share the same critical thinking skills that led these headcases down the path of extremism.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:10 am
Where were these crackpots over the last 10 years when they, along with the rest of us, were truly getting screwed?
Secessionists, militia types and the rest of the thinly veiled “White Power” movement seem to come crawling out of the woodwork like termites chewing on the frame of progress every time a close facsimile of a progressive takes office. These people are mental throwbacks to the civil war and as history has shown, quite capable of terrorism.
The solution? Good question. I suspect the key lies somewhere in the ability of America to get over it’s racist undercurrent. Though we have made progress, it seems we’ve still mountains to climb.
September 1st, 2009 at 10:40 am
Tim, I suspect some people are simply jealous that our wingnut extremists are more entertainingly ludicrous than their own and that the smallest crowd of blustering twerps outside the Capitol can get airtime. Who’d notice if a bunch of similar clowns squawked and bleated outside any other statehouse about secession?
September 1st, 2009 at 11:28 am
Apparently, you have to be a fat white guy to say “God Damn America” …or else yer messin with his 1st Amendment rights.
I’m a Texas resident and a Latino. And no, we will not let this go. A million pissed off latino voters (and ACORN, too, fxck it) will trample atop of these treasonous morons.
September 1st, 2009 at 11:36 am
It is not treason to leave the Union. There is no prohibition on leaving the Union as long as a state is a republic form of government when it leaves the Union. I would love to see New York and other northeastern states leave the Union and I would love to defend their right to leave the Union.
To say that it is treason to leave the Union is like saying that someone is guilty of breach of contract when they are not in breach of contract. Read the Constitution and if your mind is not cloudy then you will see two things: 1. The Constitution is great. 2. There is no clause keeping the states from leaving the Union, and that is one of the great things about the Constitution. The problem is that schoolchildren are brainwashed on a daily basis by reciting the pledge of allegiance every morning… Sounds like something I would expect of the Peoples Republic of China. The children are taught the lie that the United States is one nation and that it is indivisible. Where in the Constitution is that? It is not in the Constitution. The United States is a Union of mutual consent. Congress must allow a state to become a member state and the state must decide to leave the Union.
States in this Union will probably wait too long to leave the Union and will suffer the economic disaster that it will cause them. In the end we will have no Union even if it seems as unsinkable as a ship can be. The United States of America is the modern day Titanic and no one thinks it can sink. Best of luck to all member states, we all need it.
September 1st, 2009 at 12:17 pm
“To say that it is treason to leave the Union is like saying that someone is guilty of breach of contract when they are not in breach of contract.”
Excellent analogy James. It’d be like telling somebody it was raining when it wasn’t raining too. Do you know who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance? It was a socialist. I’m not kidding, look it up.
I’m an American citizen who doesn’t live in Texas. I’d like to thank you all for 160 great years. I do think it’s time we start seeing other people though. I mean we do get 88 cents in taxes for every dollar in services we give you and don’t think we don’t appreciate that. However, you can’t build a relationship with somebody who keeps threatening to leave you. That’s called emotional blackmail. We’ve had some amazing times and I’d like to think we can still be friends.
There was a time we wanted the same thing. We wanted to expand slavery westward and you had no desire to become Catholic or to give up your slaves so we were a natural fit, but maybe our relationship was built more on need than anything else really. I think we’ve both grown a lot since then. Best of luck Texas, I’ll always remember you fondly!
September 1st, 2009 at 12:23 pm
James Johnson, just STFU, buy a one way ticket to Iceland, and get the f*** out already.
September 1st, 2009 at 4:00 pm
My thanks to all of the whack jobs who replied to my post. Thanks for confirming exactly what loons you are.
Of course, I know who Ft. Hood was named for. But so what? I also know it is the home of the 1st Cav, troops that could be used as in a first response to the treasonous act of secession. Please, all of you tough talking patriots, be first in line when the attack starts. Show us all how brave you are. Pathetic ignorant fools.
September 1st, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Joseph Gabriel, the Texas Nationalist Movement has been around since at least the mid-1990s, they didn’t “just show up.” I know because I did a story on them back then for the paper I was working for at the time. I joined the movement myself long before the recent presidential campaign because what Bush & Co. were doing scared me to death.
Our federal government has broken its contract with the people and the states. The federal system cannot be “fixed” in the next election, because the Republicans are just as fascist as the Democrats. And most Americans are too stupid to realize that the government has no constitutional authority to do what it’s doing, whether on implementing socialism, taking over the economy, waging war without a declaration of war or selling our national debt to a foreign nation.
Y’all might want to try and carry on an intelligent conversation with us sometime, if you’re capable of doing so.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:00 pm
The comments have been very entertaining, but thanks in particular to Brian for remembering the brave Lithuanian people.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Don’t worry Texas. I live in Alaska and we have our share of nuts. But taking into consideration your population and area, 200 people showing up for this stuff would be like 1/2 of a person showing up here. The media blows it up for whatever reason, but really I don’t think it’s that big of deal except for making Perry look bad (and that’s a good thing). Keep the faith!
September 1st, 2009 at 10:36 pm
This comment thread is amazing.
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:26 am
The real whack jobs are those who call it treason when it is just your rights. Again for those who have been brainwashed… The United States of America is not a nation, it is a Union. The United States of America is not indivisible. The Articles of Confederation were so bad that they were swept away within ten years and replaced by a truly great Constitution. The Articles of Confederation were defective because they made their Union perpetual. Now we have a more perfect Union, a Union of mutual consent.
You should realize that the Observer is twisting things such as trying to make it sound like the people in the protest were saying that they hate the United States. Kilgore said that he hates the government and said that the government is corrupt and there were people in the crowd who showed their disapproval. I like the United States Constitution, but most people in the United States have never bothered to read it and do not know what it says and therefore accuse anyone who advocates secession of being guilty of treason. The same uneducated morons tell us to “shut the f**k up” and move from our homeland to some alien land, because they can not bear freedom of speech or freedom of the press. What will they do next? Kill us because we do not bow down to a tyrant? I do not know who said it but there is a saying that you should think about. “Rebellion to tyranny is obedience to God”.
I think that it is interesting that the criminal Andrew Jackson is on the twenty dollar fednote. If people know about the trail of tears and the threat of war that Andrew Jackson issued to a member state, would they want to have such a dumb ass on the twenty dollar fednote?
It is time for Texas to stop supporting the United States with our resources, and our money. Other productive people see the Union government as a giant leech just like we do and they would probably follow us out of the Union if we did leave.
The Union government has not even enforced our borders, and that is a crime against the states. If we do not enforce our borders then we really do not have borders and we go from being a government to being a powerful gang with an eroding territory. I would hope that any state that chooses to leave the Union would be better at enforcing its borders than the Union government is.
Finally if I were in control of the Texas government and we did leave the Union, the first act would be to exchange ambassadors with the United States of America. We should be friends and trading partners. I wonder if the warmonger left wingers would allow peace to exist between the United States of America and Texas.
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Texas is a HUGE state and this article is focusing on not-even 200 protestors — how about laying off the blanket Texas-sucks rhetoric. My Dad lives in Texas, he’s pretty cool, and I would like to not need a passport to visit. Plus, Austin is awesome! And not for nothing, we’ve probably got at least 200 idiots up here in New York too.
September 2nd, 2009 at 6:55 pm
I’m a Texan, in fact I live around an hour away from the rally. And all that I can say about this is that I’m extremely embarrassed by these rallies. However, we’re not all rednecks, those who assume otherwise (or even assume that a significant minority of us are rednecks) are ignorant in their own perspective of the world around them. In every situation, there are the cool headed people who actually think before acting. These people usually represent the local majority. Below them in this hierarchy are the different factions, each with their own disillusionments. Trust me, even if Perry decides to wake up tomorrow morning and announce to the World that Texas is seceding from the United States because he’s deaf to all but the vocal minorities who represent the farthest right faction of this State, it’s still not going to work. The most fundamental issue here are the interests of both the US and Mexico.
Not only will Obama authorize a forced occupation of Texas, Mexico may decide to intervene on behalf of their own interests (How many times will there be a slight possibility for Mexico to gain back Texas?) Unless our coast guards are just that damned good to be able to fight two wars based on limited resource, our only choice would be to turn to foreign powers. But in order to keep (even if only a mask of) good relationship with the most politically influential country in the world, Texas won’t be seeing much support from the outside.
Humans are innately resistive to changes. When all form of order breaks down and chaos takes hold, the people will usually look to the first voice for leadership. Anything to resemble the facade of order. This nostalgia will become widespread and the popular opinion, initially impulsive and inflamed by passion, will soon decline with the return of reason. One of two things will happen during this civil disturbance in order for the re-establishment of order.
1. Texas turns back to the state with the majority feeling disgruntled.
2. Texas turns to a new leadership that will most likely not be able to withstand the overbearing pressure from the United States nor from Mexico.
So basically, what I’m trying to say here is that the notion of Texas seceding is extremely stupid. The belief that Texas will be sovereign after the secession is improbable. Upholding the voice of those who claims that these notions and beliefs to be justifiable basically means that you are an extremely stupid redneck.
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:08 pm
[…] there was something decidedly absent from last weekend’s “Sovereignty or Secession” rally other than brain cells: Gov. Rick Perry and his 70-plus pretend secessionist allies from the […]
September 4th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
I really was impressed with the lady and her “Tree of Liberty” rant. Tim McVeigh used the same quote often, and we know what he did. Let’s face it. A lot of this crap is because Obama is half black. I’ve been to Texas and heard “Hook ‘Em” out of one side of their mouths, and then “Bunch of F’n N’s” out of the other.
September 8th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
[…] an olive branch to the wingnuts who were mad as fire about his absence from the state Capitol rally covered so well by Observer staff writer Forrest […]
September 9th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
The Constitution of the US was an agreement between the States and the Federal government over which entity had jurisdiction over different elements of governance. Even an elementary reading of the constitution compared to today’s events and circumstances can see that this agreement is far askew from its original intent and purpose. This agreement is, in many ways, like a contract. In contract law, when one party violates the terms of the contract the other party may withdraw or seek compensation for such violation. When you think of it in those terms, you can see that the Federal Government has violated the contract. Succession has always been an option since the founding of this nation but only implemented once. It should not be undertaken lightly. However, neither should the federal government violate their contract. At this point in time, every state should be telling the Federal Government to get in line and follow the contract. Sadly we lack the political will to do so.
September 14th, 2009 at 3:09 am
I AM A PROUD TEXAN
When I was about ten years old, I was having a conversation with my grandfather about all the wondrous places I would visit when I grew up. I talked, in particular, about Australia and told him that I might even move there. Other than kangaroos and koalas, I’m sure I knew nothing about Australia. But, I was gonna live there.
He thought about this for a moment, as he sucked on his pipe. We sat in a wooden park bench type swing that hung by two chains from the ceiling of his front porch. This is where he came every afternoon to smoke his pipe and to heckle passersby on the sidewalk. Finally, after he’d analyzed my announcement over a few draws on the pipe, he said, “Mike, you’re a Texan!”
Read more at: http://www.dmperkins.com/2009/09/i-am-a-proud-texan/