Way to govern with a steady hand, jackass:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry fired up an anti-tax “tea party” Wednesday with his stance against the federal government and for states’ rights as some in his U.S. flag-waving audience shouted, “Secede!”
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.
Perry called his supporters patriots. Later, answering news reporters’ questions, Perry suggested Texans might at some point get so fed up they would want to secede from the union, though he said he sees no reason why Texas should do that.
“There’s a lot of different scenarios,” Perry said. “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, 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.”
I’m sure you all remember when, in 2003, after the population of lefty liberal leftistan California, enraged by Bush taking us to war in Iraq, boisterously cheered Gray Davis as he debated secession. Oh, wait.
These jackasses are playing with fire.
Mnemosyne
I feel sorry for the liberals stuck in Texas, but if your governor decides to try and secede, don’t blame the rest of us for what happens.
The Cat Who Would Be Tunch
My God, this was happening just ten minutes away from where I was sitting?
The Populist
Where was this asshat when Bush grew the feds? Where was he when Bush and the GOP congress pushed through the Patriot Act?? Where is he when they spied on us???
States rights my ass. This is code for them wanting a place to treat others different from them as second class citizens and rape the land.
Fine, secede but don’t cry to us when you need help or your resources dwindle away.
Steve V
They just keep cranking up the lunacy, every day. I can’t take it.
The Populist
Can we hold Perry and these other a-holes responsible when one of their "supporter patriots" bombs a federal building and kills AMERICANS (with many people on the right and left most likely).
Cris
Perry / Palin 2012 – committed to reducing the total area of the United States by 25%
RueM
I happily encourage them to secede, just leave all the stuff blue staters got you. No computers, no more welfare and that help on your border?-none of that stuff. They’d crawl back in 28 minutes.
Cris
P.S. You’ll need a passport if you want to ski in New Mexico again.
The Populist
Don’t forget that they can’t keep the weapons you and me paid for nor can they keep any of the bases we built.
They leave, we take all the nukes and armored weapons back.
The Populist
And to that I say tough shit. They leave, they can’t enjoy the rest of the country anymore. They live with Texas and the economic collapse secession most likely will bring. After all, they may have oil but they need a currency and a world willing to take it.
Dennis-SGMM
Not that Governor Goodhair is worried that Kay Bailey Hutchison will kick his ass or anything. How long before Sarah Palin shows up at his side for a few campaign rallies?
SteveinSC
Er… Texas tried that once, and well, it didn’t turn out too well. In fact, if the Confederate south (i.e. the current Republican south) were to secede, well, they would become the world’s newest third world country.
The Populist
Which could cause us major problems as they will beg for help while threatening us with border attacks.
Argh…
Dennis-SGMM
@SteveinSC:
The day after they seceded they’d have their hands out for foreign aid citing our longstanding association. The ironic part is that with them gone we could afford it.
The Populist
If California in combination with Washington and Oregon and maybe Nevada or Arizona AND New York+New England and Pennsylvania were to form a new nation the USA would be screwed as most of the innovators would be gone.
Anastasius
Yesterday we had the DHS report and Texas secession, today it’s Tea Parties. It’s been a good week so far.
Can’t wait for the Texas secession and then having the Mexican drug cartels taking over there. We could then have a great stimulus project by building a border fence around them.
MikeJ
And they’d still try to collect Social Security and Medicare.
The Populist
Agreed but I feel really bad for some of these maroons once they realize that it wasn’t good FOR THEM. The so-called middle class would instantly become impoverished.
The Populist
Speaking of that…I dare any of these teabaggers to make us a promise they will never take a dime of social security and that their parents won’t use medicare.
JR -- Bryan, TX
My God — (and I say this as an atheist) what a fucking tool.
As a native, life-long Texan, I can tell you that Perry is ten pounds of shit in a five-pound bag.
I’ve told many of my friends, and I’ll tell y’all now — never, ever, EVER elect anyone from Texas to national office again. I don’t care if s/he is a GOOPer or a Democrat, we have lost our right to lead this country.
NEVER AGAIN!!!!
Dennis-SGMM
@The Populist:
True that. But when has the South ever failed to fall in line behind a grandstanding politician with harmful ideas?
asiangrrlMN
As I told the Galters, stop talking about it already and just do it. Otherwise, we reserve the right to point at you and laugh. OK, we do that, anyway, but still. We will be pointing extra-hard.
SpotWeld
Is this keeps up, it’s going make attending an anime convention in Dallas an odd experience.
Irrelevant,YetPoignant
It’s a tempting idea at first, but within a generation or so we might have to lead a U.N. humanitarian intervention to free their slaves and restore civil order.
Letting the South secede would violate Southerners’ human rights.
Dennis-SGMM
@asiangrrlMN:
LOL! I first read "Galters" as "Gauleiters".
The Populist
Hehe, quite often BUT Southerners sure like to TALK about these things and not much else.
Bad Horse's Filly
Is there a republican out there who has actually ever, in their lifetime, read a history book? First the tea-bagging, now secession. They can’t get anything right.
The Moar You Know
Let them.
The Populist
I see your point BUT I just don’t care anymore. Either they throw idiots like Perry out of office or just do it and secede already.
It’s like the idiot kid who has all the video games and is playing them with friends. He loses so much he takes all his games and goes home in a huff. Either put up or show some humility to the process, except the election results and WORK with Obama.
Most likely they won’t so I just don’t care about whiners anymore.
The Populist
If they keep talking and not doing they sound exactly like the liberals they mock who said they’d move to Canada if Bush won. It’s sour grapes and it’s just like a whiny child who doesn’t get what they want.
El Cid
"States’ Rights! States’ Rights! What? Oh. Um, ah, Too Much Fedrul Gubmit! Too Much Fedrul Gubmit!"
+++++++++++++++++
Hey, if Texas is really mad about all the Federal money spent in its borders in contracts and military bases and ports, we could probably take that somewhere else.
But I seem to remember the Lone Star Republic barely holding its own against the Comanche and the Mexican forces. And as corrupt as Texan politicians famously are (maybe not so much as Louisianans and Floridians), it shouldn’t be too hard for several of the larger Mexican narco-gangs to buy out the whole state.
calipygian
I can’t wait for Rick Perry to come to DC, hat in hand, begging for funds after some West Texas town gets flattened by tornadoes.
Obama should give it to him, but not before making him get down on his hands and knees and beg for it like the fucking dog he is.
kay
@Steve V:
It’s pretty transparent. They’re trying to create the idea that there is widespread, grass roots opposition to Obama.
I’m watching CNN, and Republicans are appearing, and setting up the question they want asked, which is….wait for it…it will be instantly familiar from the campaign…
"Is this a problem for Barack Obama?"
We’ll have to see if the media dupes advance the predetermined theme. I’m betting "yes"
The Populist
What’s sad is they don’t seem to understand that talking like this DISRESPECTS our country, it’s history, it’s veterans and the troops currently fighting these useless wars.
If they love America and support the troops wouldn’t they at least find some compromise, bide their time and show that they deserve to be in power when the time comes (if it ever does)? All they are doing is protecting the status quo and the super rich. To me, THAT is what infuriates me about these so-called average folks who buy into the bullshit.
I don’t expect everybody to agree on anything but we can find middle ground right? Why is it so fracking hard for these maroons?
Tokyokie
Rick Perry is one of those unfortunate politicians who, if he calculated that it would net him more votes and contributions than it would cost him, would heartily endorse rounding up the Jews. Goodhair believes fervently in Goodhair to the exclusion of all else.
El Cid
Remember! The only true patriots are right wing secessionists. It’s crazy, but it’s true! They show how much they love America by screaming how much they hate America! Believe it, or not!
Lev
I don’t know, LBJ had a mixed record but HW Bush looks pretty good in retrospect. Of our three Texan presidents he’s the only one who won the war he started.
I’m hopeful that the irritating South gets mitigated a little bit by all the people moving to Georgia and Texas. There’s always hope.
Fencedude
@SpotWeld:
Not to mention severely complicating the purchase of DVDs from some companies…
gnomedad
Fixed.
The Populist
Need i remind the GREAT STATE OF TEXAS (yep, whatever that means) that in a generation the kids of immigrants will outnumber the "native" white folks?
asiangrrlMN
If at first you don’t secede…
Since you mentioned Perry, I reserve the right to link to this video (it’s a parody of the NOM’s anti-gay marriage "Gathering Storm" ad). Lame warning: Salty language is involved. If that offends you, then what the f*** are you doing reading this blog, anyway?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJGR8YDd_lU
P.S. As an added bonus, everyone’s favorite Alaskan governor shows up. Also.
JoyceH
Hey, remember that wall the right keeps wanting us to build on our southern border? Okay – that would be the NORTH border of Texas.
Dennis-SGMM
It just occurred to me that should Texas secede they’d be open to re-invasion from Mexico.
"You’re a sovereign nation now, Texas. You’ll have to deal with your neighbors the best way you can."
Bwahahahaha!
The Raven
Maybe they can join Mexico.
Krawk!
Lidane
*sigh*
Perry and the rest of his idiot teabagging cranks need to GTFO of my state. I hate that they’re making those of us in Texas look bad.
aimai
All joking aside I"m starting to get really, really, pissed off about all this talk of violence and secession. This is a bitch slap to all of us, and to Obama and I am totally opposed to allowing it to happen without a hearty roundhouse punch to the jaw in return. Can anyone tell me at what point this crosses some legal line, since the popular press seems determined treat this level of vitriol as just something Democrats must endure?
aimai
4tehlulz
@SpotWeld: You mean more than the usual oddities at anime conventions?
apistat
It’s really a testament to how beholden Republicans are to the fringe elements of their constituency. I find it pretty amazing that they basically have to run around calling a president with a 65% approval rating a socialist that’s destroying the foundations of America if they want to have any chance of getting the support of the dead-enders and winning an election. They have to embrace this crazy bullshit, and all the extremism that’s coming along with it, in a way that elected officials on the left never had to with the anti-war movement.
It is absolutely delicious to watch the highly mobilized, hyper-partisan elements that Bush whipped up to win by a sliver spiral out of control and attack the people who created them.
Balconesfault
There’s a common myth told down here that when Texas joined the Union, under terms of the treaty it reserved the right to seceed at any time.
Before you guffaw, note that that treaty DID convey certain things to Texas … for example, every other state in the union can only claim 3 miles of offshore waters, while Texas can claim 10 miles, per their entry treaty. When talking about oil leases, that’s some serious jack.
But anyway, the myth is wrong. With a W.
The treaty DOES have a provision that would allow Texas to divide itself into 5 states at any time. Let’s hope Tom Delay isn’t anywhere near the levers of power at that time, or the state boundaries would end up looking as ridiculous as the Gerrymandered 2002 Congressional District map, where much of South Texas looked like a bag of french fries.
Dennis-SGMM
@aimai:
Any reprisals outside of the law would just validate their heartfelt feelings of victimhood. Laughing at them works better and it’s more fun.
gg
Didn’t I just read somewhere else that some of the teabaggers were saying that Obama needed to be "more like Lincoln?" If they continue with their secessionist rhetoric, Obama may ending being a bit more Lincoln-like than they can handle…
El Cid
Did anyone see the Daily Kos joke diary this morning about Obama announcing a Berlin airlift to supply the city of Austin?
bvac
How much federal money goes to Texas per dollar sent to DC? Anyone know off hand?
RSA
That border fence you Republicans are so enthusiastic about? It’s going to have to be installed quite a bit farther north than anyone had originally expected…
BDeevDad
I don’t. My liberal relatives in Texas were scared of Obama the socialist. It was my conservative Texas relatives that voted Obama. It made my wife’s head spin as it’s her family.
Irrelevant,YetPoignant
When Obama was making all of the Lincoln self-comparisons during the campaign he knew what he was talking about.
He knew that the South Would Rise Again, and that he would have to Smack Their Racist Asses Down Again. Very Lincolnesque.
Dennis-SGMM
@Balconesfault:
They’d kill each other fighting over which state would keep the name of Texas. I’d like to think that one of them would be honest enough to call itself Rock Ridge.
JL
What state should NASA relocate to? North Carolina
Scott H
Obviously, I am not the only one wondering how well Perry is going to adjust to his subsequent Mexican citizenship.
SteveinSC
I heard that up in Columbia there were so many people at the Tea Bagger’s tax protest that there was hardly enough room to spread your legs.
The Cat Who Would Be Tunch
@Dennis-SGMM:
Mexico doesn’t really need to do anything. The demographic trends show Hispanics seriously outpacing all other racial groups in the next decade. But I guess that’s no different from the rest of the US. And then Mexico can easily walk in to reclaim Texas, California, and whatever other states are desirable. At least, that’s the reason I think John Gibson urged white people to have more babies.
Dennis-SGMM
Narcotraficantes say: "Do it, man!"
demimondian
@aimai: The legal line is when somebody directly incites violence. Until then, it’s protected speech.
El Cid
I’m just feeling that these freaks are settin’ themselves up for some sorta ass-whoopin’. Now, what form of which, I don’t know. Hopefully the metaphorical kind.
But if I were their evil leader, I wouldn’t have had them escalating to secessionist and crazy full-on rhetoric just 12 weeks into the government of one of the most popular Presidents ever who followed a President and party that the great majority of the nation — particularly the non-Southern-conservative-white bits — think of as about as popular as weeping foot fungus.
I think that they’re about to learn that, no, you don’t surround us. You’re a tiny little enclave of the 28%-ers who cheered on every Bush Jr. idiocy and wanted more, more, more, more war, more deregulation, more assault on decent government programs, more lies, more surveillance, more dismantling of the Constitution.
I mean, good God, you now have people who support a group named "STOP THE ACLU" complaining that they’re offended and frightened of the DHS daring to monitor right wing violent extremists. Wait — I thought that’s why they wanted to STOP THE ACLU, to, you know, encourage that sort of thing.
If they think they’re going to frighten and threaten the vast majority of the nation into going along with their failed bullshit crazy rightism, they got a massive lesson-learning on the way.
aimai
I don’t want a "reprisal outside the law" (I meant that punch in the jaw metaphorically). But I do want to know at what point someone points out that the fucking governor of a state threatening secession might kind of cut into the willingness of the rest of the country to pay for their shit. Frankly, if I were Pelosi, Reid, and Obama I’d publish a document showing just how much the country would save if we let Texas melt in its own heat without any government subsidies. I’d like to see that number, and I’d like to vote on whether we have to keep paying for that melting pool of asphalt.
aimai
Stoic
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." – Napoleon Bonaparte
Laura W
@JL:
Excellent idea!
Astronauts are hot.
AnneLaurie
When that happens — and it will be a total surprise to Gov. Goodhair, I’m sure — Perry will start trying to prove that Charles Whitman was a registered Democrat and therefore, both sides just as bad ! eleventy-one ! !
(Of COURSE that doesn’t make sense. What’s all this ‘making sense’ talk, are you sum kinda Kommonist er sumpin?)
gg
They remind me of those Japanese soldiers on isolated islands who were still fighting WW2 decades afterwards. The teabaggers will be fighting the 2008 election for decades similarly.
Joy
If they go they need to take Oklahoma with them. I’m betting we give the state of Texas a disproportionate amount of money on an annual basis for health care for uninsured residents, welfare, schools (which obviously hasn’t helped), disaster aid, etc. We’d come out ahead of the game. Let them live on oil alone without any other major industry. Let them fend off Mexican cartels themselves. It’s time to piss or get off the pot Gov. Perry.
Lev
You mean the town that became racially enlightened in the 19th century after a black sheriff showed that he was just as smart and tough as they were? Maybe it would the one that has Austin in it–I’m guessing they’d make that its own state to isolate all the damn libruhls!
Dennis-SGMM
Should one of the "patriots" finally do something terrible I’m sure that we can count on Perry, Beck, Bachmann, and all of the others who’ve been egging them on to do the right thing: blame ACORN.
Rommie
@Irrelevant,YetPoignant:
Indeed – these people *really* want Obama to go Abe Lincoln on them? Really?
What’s Perry going to do, tell FEMA to hit the bricks as Hurricane LOL bears down on Houston, ’cause he don’t need no help from socialist Northerners?
The crazy ship Wingnut isn’t close to peak – it’s in a frakkin’ vertical climb.
mcc
I’m really curious what Perry’s swing into Constitution Party land means for the governors’ race against KBH (not to mention what lasting effects it might have on the race between KBH, Kinky and the Democrat).
Dennis-SGMM
@Lev:
They’d probably make hill country a state. That would take care of both Austin and San Antonio. It would also take of the best part of Texas.
JD Rhoades
I don’t want Texas to secede. My favorite bookstore is in Houston.
TenguPhule
At some point in the near future I can safely predict one of these wingnuts will cross the line into sedition and treason.
In which case, it’s time for rifles and walls.
bvac
It just occurred to me that if Texas seceded the GOP would lose 34 solid electoral votes forever. Although I guess the # of EVs needed to win an election is reduced as well, I’m sure it would be a net loss for them.
Go Texas!
JWW
Whatever it is you all smoke or drink, I would like some. John, you are just stupid, the rest of you are less because you follow him.
We don’t have the money, sorry, yes we do but it is all borrowed from China. Makes me proud.
Zuzu's Petals
@Cris:
And conversely, the rest of us would need a passport to go to Texas.
Would you bother? Me neither.
No offense, Texas juicers.
Rick Taylor
Crooks and liars has the clip of Perry. It’s actually worse than it looked like on paper.
If you hunted on the Internets, I’m sure you could find some on the far left who called Bush a fascist, but there’s nothing I remember comparable to a governor talking about succession or a news anchor on fox openly calling the administrations policies fascistic. It is shocking and a little scary how nuts they are going.
Mnemosyne
@JWW:
Sorry, whose governor said — twice in two days — that his state is going to secede from the union and precipitated this entire conversation?
Maybe you need to take it up with your governor if you’re upset that our response to his threats is, "Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on your way out."
Rick Taylor
It’s also a little disillusioning. During the Bush administration when I visited Captain Ed’s site (because John Cole listed him as one of the more reasonable right wing bloggers out there), it was common place for people in the comments to remark that lefties who opposed the Iraq ware were traitors who deserved to be hung. So I am, despite my cynicism, surprised to see the right that always made a big deal about patriotism suddenly talking about secession just because they lost an election. I don’t remember that on the left; certainly not from a governor.
DonkeyKong
The Texan Republic of Dumbfuckistan…….yeah that’s about right.
JWW
Mnemosyne,
I’m a native New Yorker waiting to go home. Texas is not the issue(Really), it is the money that has been wasted for the last two decades. Our executive and congressional branches feel like they have a Platinum Card and that we should pay the bill. Also we have Americans that think they deserve these funds.
You get what you earn with labor, not by filling out a form.
Bill Teefy
But yesterday I was assured that he didn’t mean "Secede" at all.
Actually I have been to Texas a couple of times and, like anywhere, parts of it are nice and the people are friendly. But there is a certain level of odd about Texas in the sense that Texans love Texas as if it wasn’t part of the United States. Not quite to the level of South Carolina crazy but that is pretty near impossible.
Now California also spent a short time as a Republic but I can honestly say I wouldn’t kill anyone or threaten to kill anyone for speaking poorly of California. My family came to California with the Railroad and my wife’s family from before the gold rush which is a long time in America to belong to any state. It’s a great place and frankly I’d rather you didn’t move here. One of the most awesome trends in the Bush era has been the huge migration of Bitters and Right-wingers out of here. The Republicans are just about to fall under the magic 1/3 and I look forward to their further marginilization.
I actually don’t give a crap about states rights as compared to individual rights. And even after eight years of Bush screwing California every way he could I did not want to secede. So if the Governor of Texas wants to chatter around the issue I don’t care really. But I will laugh at him and any ass who joins him on that crazy train.
Comrade Darkness
Shorter Perry: We are so patriotic we are secessionist!
The right has totally forgotten what democracy means. It means the majority gets to decide the policy. Don’t like it, get off your asses and field better candidates. Doing anything else is decidedly unpatriotic, losers.
And if you are going to talk about seceding, you have to talk about it as part of enacting it. Talk alone is just bogus shit spewed by pansies.
Svensker
I got two things to say to these nimwits:
1) America: love it or leave it; and
2) If you didn’t do anything wrong, you have nothing to be afraid of.
(If there were a 3rd, it’d be FOAD….)
NonWonderDog
@Rick Taylor:
Don’t you remember Olbermann’s "You’re a fascist! Get them to print you a T-shirt with ‘Fascist’ on it!"?
Not that there’s any equivalency in policies or appropriateness, but there was at least one news anchor-type person who regularly called Bush a fascist.
Don SinFalta
All of you folks out there in the USA should know that in the last Texas gubernatorial race 61% voted against Hairy Perry, but there were 6 candidates in the race and no requirement of a majority for the winner. Most Texans are well aware of what a doofus the guy is. It’s pretty easy to see that all the guy’s energy from the neck up goes to growing hair.
We Berliners, er, donuts, er, Austinites, have gotten pretty good at fending off the red tide of stooopid, which is not as toxic as it sometimes looks from outside. Given the demographic trends, it shouldn’t be too many more years before we push back the tide far enough to turn the state blue.
As for secession, besides the fact that Perry couldn’t spell secede if you spotted him the first two syllables, as Texas governor he doesn’t have the power to do anything about it anyway. Hell, the Texas governor can’t even appoint most of his "cabinet", they’re elected and can run their departments however they want. Makes a great job for an all hat no cattle sort of guy who wants to spend all his time going to tea parties or cutting brush on his "ranch". Unfortunately, it’s so easy it’s likely to give one of these morons the idea they could handle a real office like, say, President of the US.
demkat620
@JWW: Yeah, well hand the credit card bill to those Texas Republicans.
Delay, Armey, Gramm, Bush, you know, the fiscal conservatives.
JWW
Svensker,
Simple #3 for your dumb ass!!!
Asleep at night, somebody kicks your door in and robs you maybe kills somebody in the home you own and in the USA.
Explain how #1 or #2 simply are the only two rules.
Simple #3 for your dumb ass!!!
Get home from work, all is cool. Go to work in the morning and the building is boarded up. Closed for business. I’ve seen that happen to a chain restaurant. No warning.
Explain how #1 or #2 simply are the only two rules.
Martin
Mexico wouldn’t reclaim it, but good luck keeping English as the official language.
Yeah, I didn’t give much weight to that assurance. It was pretty obvious where Perry was heading.
ed
Let me be the first to call for his, (Gov. Rick Perry’s) impeachment.
HarpoSnarx
"Delay, Armey, Gramm, Bush"
The founding dumkopfs of the Republic of Texas.
Buh-bye Goopers, don’t come back now, ya heah?
Cyrus
Where are the Confederate flags? If they haven’t come out yet, why not? It could be interesting. If they have, can we see pictures?
bago
@Don SinFalta: Ask Palin about how secession is right for you!
Texas Dem
On behalf of the sane, thoughtful, and rational people in the Lone Star State (all six of us), I’d like to apologize for the behavior of our idiot governor. I’d move to another state but I’m too old to look for another job.
Sasha
See: Palin, Alaskan Independance Party.
anonevent
@Cris: Actually, they – the Texans I want no part of – will try to retake Santa Fe.
amorphous
@Zuzu’s Petals: None taken. Get me out of this FSM-forsaken state.
anonevent
@The Populist: Hey, I keep voting against every Republican here in Texas, even Ralph Hall. But I think we’ve already had the discussion about voting and losing.
Bill Teefy
@NonWonderDog: Yeah. Olbermann did that quite a few times. But at least KO actually knew that a fascist was an authoritarian who exercises strong autocratic or dictatorial control. And he didn’t start out railing on Bush constantly. Bush earned his kicks in the nuts.
The Vidiot
Nobody here discussed the actual merits of what Gov. Perry said. You all just shot him down as nutso.
For the many years now, not just Reagan, GH, GW, and Clinton and now Obama, it goes on for a long time now, the Federal government has been insinuating itself into issues best left to the states.
Maybe there are merits to the idea of a ‘confederated states of the America,’ but nobody on the left blogosphere will even go there to discuss it. I don’t like right-wingers, I think they’re a bit ‘tard in the head, but globalization hasn’t done anybody any favors. Maybe smaller is better. But we’ll never know that because the left blogosphere, the part of the blogosphere where the intelligentsia is rumored to congregate, has a knee-jerk reaction to anything outside of the ‘state is good’ mainstream.
Shoot it down if you must, but for heaven’s sake, shoot it down with facts and not rhetoric.
anonevent
@aimai:
@bvac:
Actually, Texas pays more in Taxes than it receives from the federal government, something like 85 cents back for every dollar sent. We’re one of the few Republican states that does that.
Jay C
Texas secede?
Heh – Obama should do a Rudy! on them. Back in the early ’90s, during one of Staten Island’s periodic eruptions of fervor to secede from New York City, then-Mayor Giuliani said he’d entertain the notion – as long as any separation plan required that the new county, or whatever, would pay NYC back – in full- for every improvement in the borough which had paid for by City money: police stations, firehouses, roads, garbage, the Staten Island Ferry Terminal – the lot. He even had some preliminary figures handy – scores of billions, IIRC – whereupon the "separatist" geniuses realized that just to keep public services at then-current levels, and pay off their "buyout", their taxes – the nominal spur for the "secession" movement – would have to increase hugely: in a middle-class bedroom suburb with no industry and dependent on NYC for jobs. End of "secession" talk.
Now Staten island is just 59 square miles of suburbs with less than 500,000 residents: one has to wonder how much the Federal Government has spent on "improvements" to the State of Texas. I’m sure the figure will be considerable. Maybe they can pay for it oil: for the next, what, 300 years?
Lidane
@The Vidiot:
Nobody here discussed the actual merits of what Gov. Perry said.
That’s because there are none.
anonevent
@The Vidiot:
There are things that I believe have been left to the states for far too long, and they are hurting us: Education and health care to name two. I think states are useful in that you can’t manage the third largest country on earth by having everything run from DC. But, there need to be some standards set, some rules in place.
Here in Texas lots of people like to talk like Perry about Texas seceding, but they have no problem taking help from the government when things get rough, like hurricanes on the coast, or drought.
I don’t see any state, including Texas, complaining about having a national military, because the states themselves know that 50 militaries would be an overlap an waste of resources. Or how about 50 state postal systems.
The thing is, Perry isn’t complaining that states rights are being violated. What he’s complaining about is that there’s a big pile of money but to get it he has to follow some rules. And he doesn’t want to have to give up the money. He sounds like my kids.
gwangung
Actually, I DO blame Texas for the dumbing down of high school textbooks.
Much cheaper for publishers to publish one set of textbooks to be used across the country. And for years, Texas wingnuts have been insistent on dumbing down science textbooks to fit their dim limited view of the universe.
Mike in NC
LBJ and the idiot Bush "dynasty". No national trauma there, right?
Splitting Image
It’s funny how those liberals ended up not having to move after all. You have gays getting married, your second-largest province is minority-majority and its governor is talking about sovereignty, and I notice that you’ve started appointing Senators.
Now all you have to do is develop a viable third party and start drinking better beer. Then I’ll be the first to say "Welcome to Canada!"
kormgar
Three Cheers for Texas Secession!
I know…old tambourine and all that…and I’ll admit that I do love Austin…but the rest of the state…ugh
Splitting Image
Actually, after reading the Wikipedia article on Perry, I’d suggest that a better solution would be not to elect any more male cheerleaders.
Seriously, Texas has been governed for the last fourteen years by former cheerleaders. What’s up with that?
Eric150
One of the writers cited the Treaty of Accession that led to the annexation of Texas. It was never ratified by the required 2/3’s vote in the US Senate. Instead, Texas was annexed by way of a joint resolution of Congress. Terms of secession are not in the joint resolution in 1845. The provision about splitting into 5 states is in the Texas state constitution, but to do so would require the approval of the majority in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate, according to to Article IV Section 3 of the US Constitution. Neither secession nor splitting is likely to happen.
That said, Texas could secede if the rest of the states and the Congress agree to it. But that would be, in effect, the dissolution of the American Union by mutual consent, possibly by an amendment.
Continuum
Is it still called secession if the rest of us vote to throw Texas out of the Union.
Can we throw out a couple of other neanderthal red states along with Texas.
El Cid
I think these calls for Texcession are a little bit Texcessive, but probably just being done for the purpose of Texaggerated Texclamation.
Common Sense
@Mike in NC:
After Nixon and Reagan, I have the same policy about California politicians. They are all idiots who will destroy this country.
Comrade Dread
I grow tired of this.
Honestly, I’d say let them go, providing they give up all of the Federal weapons they have, we terminate all Federal contracts with them, and any debt we incurred paying for anything we did in their state goes with them.
Other than that, if they want to see a mass exodus of people, turn their state into a fucking ‘corporate paradise’ by cutting taxes to zero and not caring about environmental laws, then let them burn.
Of course, the assholes will probably go to war with us within a decade after their new ‘country’ turns into a major shithole.
Bill L
The Federal Government is insaine. Do you think that we are going to be better off when they take %50 of our earnings? That will simply mean that we are 1/2 slave rather than %35… This is not going to end well for you… Wake up before it is to late!
Can’t you see they are playing us against each other? We are one country and we had better start acting like it. There is nothing that is good for part at the expence of the whole. We can’t continue to send people to Washington to robb the national piggy bank and thrive.
By the way I am not right wing… Voted for Walter Mondale and Ross for boss… He said "your not going to get rich washing each others japaneese cars." he was right.
We were a strong nation, but we have been sold out by our government… They exported every job they could and imported people to do the jobs they could not export.
Mnemosyne
@JWW:
We sure do: people like Rick Santelli and Jake De Santis think they should be able to take all of the fake profits they manufactured and run off with them, leaving the rest of us holding the bag and wondering why it stinks so bad.
What’s your definition of "labor"? Re-bundling the same overpriced mortgage 6 times so that there’s more borrowed against it than the house would ever be worth? Betting against your competitors by buying "insurance" on their bundled mortgages? Santelli and De Santis think the rest of us are lazy slackers because we didn’t make our money by gambling that housing prices would never go down.
El Cid
Someone should point out [to the modern U.S. right] that this is Karl Marx’s theory of how value is created.
El Cid
This is not accurate. The government was bought by the richest and uppermost classes and over the last 30 years they waged an unceasing war to divert all possible income and wealth as faaaaaaar upward on the scale as possible.
And we helped them. We let people go around mumbling about how ‘the government’ was too powerful, and ‘the government’ should get out of our lives, and ‘the government’ was spending too much on welfare, and ‘the government’ needed to let business do business.
And they laughed and laughed, and watched with glee as every part of the federal government which had been forced in the 1930s through the 1960s to serve the vast majority was trimmed back, weakened, restrained, while the parts serving the most venal, greedy, short-sighted, vicious of the uppermost classes was bolstered.
Our government didn’t just sell us out. We first made sure to let it be bought. And then we acted all surprised that the new owners used it like they wanted.
Xanthippas
What a fucking douchebag. As a Texan, I assure you that I and my non-insane fellow Texans have no desire to secede, as we would immediately be an even broker and more backwards state than we already are and such a move would prompt Mexico to think that it’s time to undo what they lost in 1836.
TenguPhule
What is this "we", white man?
LD50
At least we never voted for McCain or Bush. And we do have the only congressman in DC who’s an open atheist.
Besides, we all Nixon would be far too liberal to ever get the GOP nomination now. (And of course, there’s the fact that he’s dead.)
scarshapedstar
[INSERT DRAMA PRAIRIE DOG HERE]
The South may or may not rise, but they have a black President to blame, and you know what that means…
"Tune up your lynchin’ banjos, boys!"
Common Sense
@LD50:
I can’t think of a single former Republican president that wouldn’t be too liberal for the current regime. Can you? They may blather about Reagan, but seriously, If a GOP candidate came along and proposed Reagan’s tax rates there would be pseudo riots in the dozens.
I fully anticipate Rick Perry will continue this lunacy for the next few months. He’s already appealing to Limbaugh to move here. Unfortunately for you ‘tards who think the 4 million Obama voters in texas all lived in Austin, Rush may be relocating to the Capitol City:
Uh oh. looks like you’re going to need a bigger bomb.
TenguPhule
Nuclear Harpoon Kill Sats from Space.
It’s the only way to be sure.
Common Sense
@TenguPhule:
Honestly, I think Rush would last about a week before he fucks up and insults Vince Young’s obvious QB greatness. If there’s one thing you do NOT do in Austin, it’s point out that Vince has a noodle arm. These people tolerate Alex Jones. They will not tolerate a Longhorn hater (by which I mean anyone who won’t admit Vince walks on water).
Common Sense
BTW don’t tell Rush or these poor deluded non Texans that Austin isn’t liberal the same way SF is. Austin sported the largest Ron Paul support group in the US.
The Populist
Not very bright I am assuming? We PRINT the money regardless. Why did China threaten to dump the cash holdings they have because they were mad at all the money we are printing.
Get it right or slink back into your little teabag.
The Populist
I know you real Texans don’t want it BUT it’s sad that these idiots advocating for such things hate the troops and this country so much to push for it.
The Populist
You mean like Rushie Limballs? A fat fucker who thinks that paying 3% of his salary in more taxes is some kind of crime against humanity?
You mean the uber-rich who think that taxing an estate upon death is tantamount to abortion?
Yep, 3% is so bad and still makes the USA one of the lowest taxed countries in the world.
Fools.
The Populist
I wonder what you do for a fracking living? Are you a top 1 percenter or someone who thinks that one day they might be?
Why do you hate the American worker so damn much? What is wrong with earning a livable wage you maroon?
The Populist
You need to add the term CALIFORNIA GOP politicians to your post.
I’ve felt that some Dems in this state would be fine national leaders.
The Populist
Nooooo…it is nutso. Had he said this during the Bush years MAYBE I’d have given it a listen and given him props for saying it. He says it NOW when Obama is president and sounds like a sour grapes teabagger.
Common Sense
@The Populist:
Sure, and some Dems from Texas would have worked out too. The point is that it ain’t all that sensible to disqualify a state because they produced one or two (in Ca’s case all) bad Presidents.
The Populist
I see it to some extent but the idiots on the right don’t. They hate Obama and they hate this country because they don’t control the levers of power anymore.
I do see clearly thank you very much. I hate hypocrisy. Had they teabagged during the Bush years, I’d have hung out and marched and protested with them. They do this because they hate Obama and can’t tell anybody why (maybe because he’s BLACK?).
The Populist
Fair enough. I am just really pissed right now. It sucks that these rightwing asswipes are destroying this great country.
The sad part is that none of them can even SEE the damage they are creating and building towards with this bullshit rhetoric steeped in greed and bigotry.
Common Sense
@The Populist:
It’s sad 30% of America has no idea what they look like, but at least the other 70% know exactly what they are seeing — and it isn’t pretty.
I went to see Barack Obama speak in Houston at the Toyota Center in front of 20,000 people. Compared to that, Houston’s teabagfest was a drop in the bucket. 10 million protesting didn’t change the results in 2004. What is this going to accomplish? Besides a landslide reelection in 2008 I mean.
TenguPhule
Perhaps, but he’s still be there for a week.
The environmental damage alone would be horrible.
Plus, teh chasity of every 12 year old in a hundred miles radius would be danger.
Common Sense
@TenguPhule:
Nah. Not enough people of the brown persuasion for Rush’s liking. I guess San Antonio is within 100 miles, but really, he’d have to travel to Mexico for the good stuff.
In fact, Mexico is perfect for "El Rushbo." Cheap V*agra, desperate penniless waifs selling Chicles on every street corner, and best of all Boy’s Town is right across the border in Nuevo Laredo. I’s a short 4-5 hour drive.
Common Sense
Damn moderation filter:
@TenguPhule:
Nah. Not enough people of the brown persuasion for Rush’s liking. I guess San Antonio is within 100 miles, but really, he’d have to travel to Mexico for the good stuff.
In fact, Mexico is perfect for "El Rushbo." Cheap V*agra, desperate penniless waifs selling Chicles on every street corner, and best of all Boy’s Town is right across the border in Nuevo Laredo. I’s a short 4-5 hour drive.
El Cid
Hey, I did better on my taxes this year than last year. But that is impossible because, um, Obama Bill Ayers birth certificate soci@list tea party robble robble robble.
TenguPhule
In the dark, all assholes are alike.
Also, given Rush’s girth, it’s not like he’d be able to see the difference anyway.
WestVirginiaRebel
Now this does raise an interesting question. Should Governor Jefferson Davis Perry actually go through with this, and Bush is no longer an American citizen, does that mean we can arrest him for war crimes if he ever sets foot on American soil again?
Just as a point of international law, you understand…
skyreader7
What Perry and the tea party idiots don’t realize is that the secession was from the Republican Party and that is the reason Obama is the president and the democrats have the power. I am a Texan and Perry does not speak for me. It goes to show that you give a clown a little power and things get dangerous.
vivelame
There are some who feel like that the conditions are such that they can secede from us there. My answer is bring it on.
bob h
These jackasses are playing with fire.
A visit from the FBI may be in the cards for the Bachmans and Perrys.
gex
@Lidane: Sorry, hun, but that ship sailed when that one Texas legislator started circulating handouts claiming that heliocentrism is a Jewish conspiracy.
It’s one thing to have to fight the Christian Dominionists on global warming and evolution. If we have to go back and fight the earth revolves around sun/sun revolves around earth argument I’m just gonna throw up my hands and write the state off as lost.
CalD
I have long maintained that we should give Texas back to Mexico (if they’d take it). If they want to secede, I wouldn’t be one to stand in their way.
Da Bomb
@BDeevDad: That’s strange. I am born and bred Texan who’s liberal. I voted for Obama. There’s a large number of liberals here, hence why the major metropolitan areas of Texas were overwhelming blue during the Presidential election. The major crazy and wingnuttery flows through the peripheral.
I surely didn’t vote for Rick "the prick" Perry.
Jim Pharo
This is probably the right thread for me to once again promote my campaign to End State Welfare (tm). The idea is to agitate for a Constitutional Amendment that would prohibit any State from receiving more in federal benefits than its citizens pay into the federal treasury.
The idea is to force right-wing kooks into defending the need for the richer states to help the poorer states. (Which would presumably NOT be socialism, but why that would be so escapes me…)
I’m disappointed that so few in the media (though they are mostly actors PLAYING reporters) are aware of the reason why we fought the Civil War, and that the outcome stands for the principal that States may not unilaterally leave if they don’t like how things are going. At the time, and for about 140 years thereafter, this seemed like a fairly important point.
Ah! Those were the days!
Elizabeth
Ya Know, I am a Texan, born and raised, and the only problem I see in this country is that there seems to be a lot of people driving around in Escalades, BMW’s and Tahoe’s that are receiving foodstamps, stop giving woman epiderals when they have children and don’t have insurance, stop handing out foodstamp cards like they are free, they aren’t free, it cost me an arm and a leg to support a bunch of lazy people who would rather get government housing than hold a job. I think this problem is nationwide, but since I live in Texas I seem to notice it a lot more here. I am tired of paying school taxes when half the kids that attend there are on free lunches, and why should I have to pay in taxes to the federal government when JOE BLOW over there is claiming his welfare girlfriends kid that she is already receiving food stamps and medicaid for, have you seen what these people get back each year, they make 11 thousand dollars, have three kids, and get back 4 thousand in earned child tax credit. I think that we should rip away the food stamps, let people’s teeth rot out their heads, and stop wasting money on educating the ignorant thugs that don’t want to be at school anyway! This country has made some bad choices, while trying to help the poor, we have created a nation full of conartist that know how to work the system…… Take the money we use to feed all these obese people who sit on their asses all day watching Oprah and pay off some of our national debt. It wouldn’t hurt a few people to eat less, and learn to live within their means…. I also think that our prison system is wasting a lot of money as well…. look at how much we spend to house these animals, when they decided not to follow the laws of this country they gave up their right to be protected by laws, so feed them oatmeal, and turn off the air condition…. ANyone ever heard of the saying, Work for what you want…..not hold your hand out and wait for someone to drop it in your hands…..
Mary-A
@Laura W: And they wouldnt need adult diapers to drive to Florida from there.
Gus
JWW, I hate to be a grammar cop, but you really have to work on your grammar and punctuation. I’ve had to read a couple of your posts a couple times to understand them, and there’s really not enough there to justify that time investment.
Rick Taylor
@NonWonderDog:
No I missed that. Thank you for the link. Yep, that’s pretty extreme.
Ryan
The TEA parties were supposed to be bi-partisan, FOX News hi-jacked them and made it easy for the liberals to dismiss them. What you guys don’t realize is the fact that it’s not Republicans or Democrats controlling this country, but instead a handful of filthy rich bastards who run the Federal Reserve (which isn’t Federal at all, the Fed is actually a private company) and most hail from the Council on Foreign Relations. Do your research on the CFR, Bilderberg and the Trilateral Commision and wake the hell up.
Josh Hueco
@Elizabeth:
You forgot to add, "And if the poor are so broke and hungry they have to eat grass to survive, all I can say is ‘Git offa mah lawn!’"
binzinerator
@Splitting Image:
The whole comment was pretty damn funny.
binzinerator
@Continuum:
Yes we can.
Georgia.
Alabama.
Mississippi.
South Carolina.
Kansas.
Tennessee.
Arkansas.
I’m partial to zydeco music and cajun cuisine, so I’ll have to recuse myself for Louisiana, but I know it oughta be included too.
Honorable mention:
Oklahoma
And oh yeah…. and fucking Wyoming. Go Cheney yourself. Dick.
inthewoods
Here’s the farewell letter:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/80714812.html
No More Broken Promises
To those who seem to hate Texas and feel that the rest of the union would be better off without us: that’s just fine with us. Texas is self-sufficient in agriculture and energy. We have a strong diverse economy that ranks 10th in the world. Your current economic crisis is a nuisance to us, but it isn’t crippling. Texas is doing just fine. We wish you all the best in your experiment with socialism. Please understand that we will continue be good neighbors in times of disaster. We will provide for your refugees in times of dire need, as we did for New Orleans when the Federal Government seemed to be paralyzed. But we will not be enthusiastic about bailing you out of the economic depression that you seem so eager to dig yourselves into.
To those who would love to take the drain of Texas off the US economy: You have your facts skewed by a wide margin. Texas receives considerably less in Federal funds than we pay to the Federal Government. In fact, this is one of the strongest motivations we have for declaring our independence. Your politicians are spending our hard earned dollars like drunken sailors on wasteful programs that we do not want. Our economy will be that much stronger when we are free from the yoke of your opressive taxation.
To those who call us traitors: Texas joined the union in 1845 by treaty. The Constitution for the United States was part and parcel of that treaty. Since the Federal Government no longer considers itself to be bound by the terms of that treaty, specifically the 10th amendment to the Constitution for the United States, it is not treasonous for us to say that the deal is off. If there has been bad faith it is on the part of the Federal Government for failing to confine itself to its lawfully delegated authority. It is not treason to want and demand the freedom and independence that are our God given rights.
To those who call us terrorists: It is not the intention of Texas Nationalists to start a war with the United States. That would be a losing proposition for both sides. We seek to assert our lawful rights under the US Constitution and under the terms of our treaty with the United States.
To those who say, “Give Texas back to Mexico”: I say bluntly, Texas isn’t yours to give. The nation of Texas belongs to the people of Texas. We declared, and won, our independence from Mexico, just as we are now declaring our independence from the United States. It is our God given right to self-determination, and it is arrogant for you to think of our country as your property.
To those who say that without the US, Texas will be invaded by Mexico: Wake up! Mexico has been invading Texas for decades and the United States has done almost nothing to stop it. Worse, they have prevented Texans from securing our own southern border. This is another of the reasons that compels us to declare our freedom; we can no longer count on the United States to provide for our defense. promote our general welfare nor secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.
To those who call us racists: In case you missed the memo, Texas is not a slave state. We are seeking the sovereignty guaranteed us under your own Constitution. Our movement toward independence is not motivated by race. Texas is a melting pot of people from many national and ethnic backgrounds. There is room for all of them here, provided that they enter our country legally and abide by our laws. Perhaps you think we want to leave you because you have elected a black man as your President? Don’t be silly! The Texas Nationalist Movement is older than the Obama administration. Many of us were ready to leave the United States even before Bush was elected. However, it is no coincidence that the sharp turn toward socialism taken by your country has made our cause all the more compelling to freedom loving Texans. Your own Declaration of Independence informs us that we have not only the right, but the duty to throw off old forms of government when they no longer suit the needs of the people. Simply put, the Federal Government of the United States no longer suits the needs of the people of Texas. We have no desire to overthrow your government, you are welcome to keep it. We simply wish to provide for our own governance.
Karen Smith
Neither Bush nor Perry have half a brain. They are sleazy crooks.