At a "tax day tea party" last week, Governor Rick Perry fired up the crowd by yelling "secede." He said that the federal government had abandoned the country's founding principles of limited government and that Texas' economy is in good shape compared with other states. (If it weren't for that pesky threat of civil war they might've tried this earlier.) This call to arms brought other level-headed (sarcasm) Americans such as Glenn Beck and Ron Paul on board.
Many have responded to Perry's threat of secession by saying "go ahead." The following video joins that chorus, noting that we would be rid of some pesky Americans (i.e. George Bush) and that all we'd miss is Austin.
WATCH:
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105 comments:
Maybe Bush could be president of Texas...
I love it. Goodbye Texas! And all the smart people in Texas who are against succession, please move to any other part of the Union, we will welcome you gladly.
Is there a petition we can sign to make this happen?
Wonder if the Gov wants to secede before or after he gets his disaster money from the federal government?
Best Video so far this week.
Let em go and take all the rest of the Southern states as well + Alaska.
Lincoln was wrong. We have continued fighting the Civil War since 1865, although in different ways than the original.
Hopefully Todd (aka Sarah) Palin's Alaska leaving US will also be revived, although most of the state is FEDERAL lands, so they wouldn't get much, and they will join with Texas. Do these numbskulls realize they'd have to have a passport from THEIR nation to enter Oklahoma, LA, or NM? Their planes would also not be permitted to enter US airspace, all university students in Ivy League colleges would lose their status as US citizens, along with any grants, loans, or securities pertaining to US citizenship? As long as we're just being extremely silly (even if the governor and other idjits following him think they are serious!), I hereby pledge $1000 to go to a fund to erect a fence to prevent these anti-Americans from invading our country along their border.
I am a Texas Democrat and am still appalled at what Perry said last week. My question is, if Texas did secede, does that mean all the military institutions would have to move somewhere else? Our military is the heartbeat of this state. Perry's comments were unpatriotic, divisive, and ignorant. He needs to go away.
Guess it's time for me to stop reading anonymously in silence and speak up.
I worked on the Obama campaign as a precinct captain in Collin County, Texas.
My neighbors shrieked at me that Obama was unpatriotic because he didn't always wear an American flag lapel pin and that his wife was unpatriotic and didn't love her country.
I ask you, how much more unpatriotic can you be than to want to secede from the Union?
Can you say cognitive dissonance?
Orwellian isn't it?
They would certainly lose the US military if they were not part of the US. And NASA. And defense contractors. It would make a very large dent in their "good" economy.
I think that Texas should join Alaska - Texaska? - and leave the rest of the U.S for the REAL Americans. You know, the ones that voted for OUR President.
I bet if there was a poll of the rest of the 49 states there would be total support for Texas to leave.
Texas, please secede. Puleeeeeze, pretty puleeeeeze? And take the rest of the South with you? Maybe then we'll have a nation that truly lives up to the lofty ideals expressed in the Constitution.
Isn't there a small island somewhere that secessionists should go to?
Maybe one of those islands which the nonexistent global warming will one day inundate?
Lets see - Rev Wright was excoriated in the press for months for saying God damn America in a fiery sermon but he never suggested abandoning it, but instead holding it to its promise. He received death threats and his church needed extra security for months. Repugs had a field day damning him for lack of patriotism
But now here's a white elected governor, Perry, leading a crowd on the statehouse lawn in chants to secede the U.S and half the Repug party of Texas begins loading up their armaments and preparing to man the borders against the feds...
America - love it or leave it, Texas
Hopefully they're well stocked on ponies and good riders... 'cause they're gonna need 'em for delivering their mail!
We stole Texas from Mexico, anyway.. We could just give it back.
Why not - Repug politicians are just a tad less ruthless than the drug cartels and certainly as incompetent and corrupt as the government of Mexico.
Without federal subsidies the oil business would crater, the cattle business would go bust, agricultural commodities would be unprofitable, NASA will be pulled out of the state, and Texas would be defenseless militarily and would lose the war against annexation by Mexico.
Texas is able to do what it does solely with the economic and social infrastructure that the federal government provides.
In other words, repubs of TX, from the governor on down, are fools.
Hey Texas - Get back to me after the next hurricane rips through. How will you do in recovery without Federal Aid? And let me know how you will take care of all those on Medicare? And all those drawing on Social Security?
Exactly! Do these nitwit repubs in TX really think they would get to keep NASA if Texas seceded? Not effing likely! Also, Texas would lose all of its military bases, which play a large role in the economy of Texas. They would have a much bigger border to control if Texas seceded. And, TX would have no Army, Navy, Airforce or Marine Corps. American corporations headquartered in Texas would pull out. Texas receives huge amounts of Federal money that would dry up instantly. Everyone in Texas would lose their Social Security, Medicare and other US government pensions or benefits. Texas students who attend colleges using Federal aid would suddenly be in a world of financial hurt. The list goes on and on.
Governor Perry wouldn't be bragging so hard on Texas' economy if they suddenly had do without the billions the federal government pours down there every year maintaining scads of military bases.
"Pours" is right. When the base commission decided which bases to close, Texas emerged unscathed. "Pours" as in sand down a rathole.
Exactly.
Those B-1s at Dyess don't run on jet fuel. They run on $$$. Lots of $$$.
Even an Air National Guard unit is about 70% federally funded.
Let see, what else..If they secede, then Texas will not owe taxes to the USA. In return, the USA will not have to pay disabled vet pensions, tricare for life, vet retirements, social security, etc. We also have a plum,,,by getting rid of the Bushs. No more college football on a national level. Well thought out... You go Texas.
We won't have to pay medicare for the millions of texans over 65. Let's hope they secede!
Had this been completed in 1950...
1- JFK. No reason to visit. No assassination
2- LBJ. No senators from Texas. No escalation of Viet Nam
3- No Bush 41 or 43, no Rove, No Delay.
4- Half the immigration problems gone.
The video was somewhat funny, doc, I did like it ... still allow him who you call the wise one to illuminate y'all on some facts:
1. when polled, only 18 percent of Texans supported Perry's comments.
Perry is aware of his abysmal approval numbers, and he knows he is probably not going to win reelection. He couldn't get over 39 percent in the last election without any legit candidates running against him.
2. Texas is not "south". It is "southwest". Texas has more in common with the west overall than the south.
3. Texas has had two Republican Governors since Ann Richards, but the pendulum is swinging back toward blue more than many people think. Only two states had more people vote for Obama than Texas. 3.6K people voted for Obama. Only New York and California had more people vote for him. Of course 4.4K voted for McCain, but my point is that there is A LOT of blue in the state.
Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin (of course), El Paso all went blue in the election....and it is going to do nothing but increase.
4. A large amount of Texans don't belong to any party....quite a few independent people down there....but they are all Americans regardless of party affiliation.
I see this less about Texas and more about some fairly extreme right-wing attitudes. This event happened to be in Texas.
I have lived in Texas and in the Southeast and you are wrong in one respect oh wise one - there is a heck of a lot of south in Texas.
Bible thumping, racist folks, that listen to Rush in great numbers and only believe FOX news.
I do agree that Texas is changing, just like North Carolina is, and becoming more "enlightened".
Maybe we should help 'em out a bit. You know; throw them a going away party or something.
Or we could up the ante on those Teabaggers. We could Gladbag them. We could fill Texas with all the white trash we have, then bundle it up and leave outside our back door.
If Texas secedes, then the Dallas Cowboys will play 16 games against the Houston Texans. And the team with the best record will play either the Dallas Cowboys or Houston Texans for the Texas Super Bowl.
They can secede but they have to leave the land behind.
Yep, just like a divorce. It's not just your land. It's OUR land. You can just leave it behind.
Or we can fight over it. By the way, our bombs are way bigger and so is our Army.
WAIT JUST A MINUTE ON THIS SECESSION BUSINESS.
Let's try to get something ffom them before they leave.
Let's start talks with Mexico immediately about a trade; Texas for Baja California sounds good to me.
Let's at least try to get something from these yahoos.
Can't...stop...laughing!
ROTFLMAO....
I guess I'm in the minority on the Left, because I do not want to allow Texas to secede. On the contrary, I'm all for launching another civil war on them, in order to free their liberals from wingnut tyranny.
LOL magic libertarian dust!!
That was the best part!
DEAR TEXAS: PLEASE SECEDE. NO REALLY. IT'S FINE. WE FEEL BAD FOR AUSTIN, BUT MAYBE IT CAN BE LIKE WEST BERLIN IN THE COLD WAR AND WE CAN AIR LIFT IN AMERICAN APPAREL AND STARBUCKS.
WE COULD SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME TALKING ABOUT WHO'S FAULT THIS IS, AND SPEND TIME IN THERAPY, BUT WHO ARE WE KIDDING. THIS UNION HAS BEEN OVER FOR A LONG TIME. AND AS LONG AS YOUR SECEDING, CAN YOU TAKE ALL THE WINGNUTS, DITTOHEADS, AND TEA BAGGERS WITH YOU.
Must you shout? I have a headache.
Ooops... my caps lock was on and by the time I hit enter, it was too late. Sorry, my bad.
The way that the ethnic balance is moving in Texas, the latter would soon become part of Mexico (again) if it seceded from the U.S.
Gov. Perry and Ron Paul could then talk about a genuinely heavy-handed federal government to their hearts' content.
18% wanting to secede from the union sounds about the percentage of popularity Bush had when he left office, so guess this tea party secessionist movement disguised as a tax revolt, is really just a bunch of mad, angry Bush fans who just cannot accept the fact their party lost, and are so angry they wish to form their own little country of right wing nut cases; only problem is it appears 82% in Texas do not want to be party to this tea party secessionist movement, so I guess one could say these fools are nothing but secessionists, purveyors of sedition and treason, how ironic the so called patriots have finally come out of the closet as traitors to the United States by advocating secession, an issue which was settled in 1860-1865, and hate to bust their bubble but they lost then also!
Kudos to freshfunk5 for the longest comment sentence. I was going to, as always, request paragraphs, but since it was all one sentence, that wouldn't have been possible.
Great video doc!
Stevia and CatLadyLinda are friends of mine. Stevia emailed me a link to doc's blog ages ago, but this is my first time posting, just like it is theirs. Why? Well, because this is the first time Texas has come up.
I am a progressive Democrat and I live not far from the coast, and I can assure you that we haven't received SQUAT from the federal government or FEMA because of Hurricane Ike.
FEMA and the feds were missing in action, as was the State of Texas and Governor Perry.
The locals, who were a bipartisan group did a fantastic job, or it would have been far worse.
Strange, wasn't a guy from Texas President when you had that hurricane? Oh well, not to worry, next time you for sure won't be expecting anything.
On the other hand, if Texas was a foreign country you might get more aid from the U.S. Seems to work out ok for Pakistan anyway.
Of course you would have to put up with the Taliban...oh that's right, a Republican from Texas referred to himself as the Taliban.
This just keeps getting better, and better !!!
Now we need one for Alaska.
Maybe the remaining 48 can take a vote on it. I'm sure there will be a big majority in favor of jettisoning both states.
Hell, we'll even throw in Utah!
I have fond memories of Texas... I bought my 58th assault weapon at a gun show there.
Hey 2 more and you're filibuster-proof for the next massacre.
If Texas secedes, will it be out of character for the US to invade it and install a crippled government for its oil?
I loved doc's cartoon. What a great idea! Take the hacksaw, use it to separate Texas from the US, and set that sucker adrift, with Mexico as ballast.
Are you sure you don't mind if Texas leaves the union?
85% of all gasoline used in the United States is refined in Texas.
What greater motivation could there be to break our addiction to fossil-filth once and for all?
Then we can attack them and take over the refineries. No big deal.
Remember what the politicians have been warning us about since the 70's.
We need to ween ourselves off of oil from unstable nations.
Based on Bush and Perry, your typical Texan is definitely unstable.
TexASS; It's Like a Whole Other Country! That country being Syria.
na na na, na na na na hey hey hey goodbye...
Can't we sell TX?
To whom? The Mexican drug cartels?
The cartels already own Brownsville and El Paso, don't they?
Weird how the two states with the nation's oil reserve are talking about seceding. Palin and Perry's get rich quick scam.
Oh by the way Bushes dream of oil wealth never became a reality, after losing millions on a deal gone wrong he then proceeded to invade Iraq, that oil dream was even a bigger bust.
Interesting point.
Just to be clear, when they split, we get back all the equipment at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, the various air bases, etc.
I predict that we will be able to get Texas back in about twenty years, after they gut what remains of the pollution laws and poison themselves.
Or possibly they will all take hunting lessons from Cheney.
Of course, they will repeal all taxes, but they can save a mint by turning education over to the fundamentalists.
Just a Bible per child, no need for those expensive science, history or English textbooks.
Hell ol' George could barely form an understandable sentence and look how far he got.
The video maker got all the players in but one, John Cornyn and his curly toed boots and miniature cowboy hat.
He has another hat though, all Texans do. One to poop in and another to cover it up with.
Texas should just have a statewide I.Q. type test to determine eligibility to stay.
The flunkies of the test would have to leave. I recommend Utah, Arkansas, or West Virginia, but somewhere in Siberia would be even better.
The questions on the test could be really easy and plenty of Texans would still mess it up.
Ask them what the purpose of taxation is. Or just ask them if taxes are good or bad. Anyone with even a rudimentary brain would know that they do serve a purpose.
Another great question would be to ask the participants to rate Bush's Presidency on a scale of one to ten (one being the worst president ever, and ten being the best president ever).
Those who answer above 6 have to go. I'd be all for everyone answering above 3 to get lost to be honest. Getting rid of Rick Perry and King George would be a great start.
Gov Perry certainly is a joke. I imagine it must be similar to the embarrassment experienced by sane people who happen to live in Michelle Bachmann's district.
In fact, why don't we all just secede as needed from laws and the norms of society?
Don't like to pay taxes? Declare yourself a sovereign nation, secede from the US, and pay no taxes.
This is the path that we have been following for years. Ignore any responsibilites to other people and humanity in general, follow your own selfish interests in the name of "freedom" and "capitalism," and secede from those parts of your life that you find to be irritating, inconvenient, or expensive.
Answer to no one, respect nothing, and live a life unencumbered by compassion or kindness.
Worked out pretty well for the Bush Administration, que no?
Bye.
Signed, The Other 49 States
Yeah, don't let Oklahoma hit your ass on the way out...
(this email is going around)
Dear Red States:
If you manage to steal this election, too, we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California , Hawaii , Oregon , Washington , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Michigan , Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.
To sum up briefly: You get Texas , Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85% of America 's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama .
We get two- thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that New California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if the media won't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech, UCLA, Berkeley and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.
We also get Hollywood and Yosemite , thank you.
Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are the people with higher morals than we lefties.
Finally, we're taking the good beer, too. You can have the Budweiser.....
Peace -
--The Blue States
How many fortune 500 companies would actually stay in texas if it somehow seceded from the union.
You never know. They might get the offshore tax breaks.
I'm for a trial separation. With their slaughterhouse savvy, let them execute all the retards they can find in a year. The remaining dozen or so Texans can then negotiate for protectorate status.
Texas is an important part of the Union, but damn...to paraphrase:
"The problem with (Scotland) Texas is, it's full of (Scots) Texans."
Texas is just going to have to grow up and become a real state instead of a nostalgic wingnut fantasy.
All 50 states are special and important to the union in their own ways. We are like 50 precious little snowflakes. GROUP HUG EVERYBODY!
Except you, Florida. Do something about that "swamp smell," wouldja?
The premise of the entire argument is false anyway: Texas CANNOT legally succeed. People who believe that its the only state that can succeed or whatever are wrong. The Supreme Court already ruled on this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_v._White
Texas v. White, 74 U.S. 700 (1869) was a significant case argued before the United States Supreme Court in 1869.
The Court held in a 5-3 decision that Texas had remained a state of the United States ever since it first joined the Union, despite its joining the Confederate States of America and its being under military rule at the time of the decision in the case.
It further held that the Constitution did not permit states to secede from the United States, and that the ordinances of secession, and all the acts of the legislatures within seceding states intended to give effect to such ordinances, were "absolutely null".
Oh, Gustavsaves, don't be a party pooper. We're not really suggesting TX secede, just poking fun at the fools in the GOP like Gov Perry and their penchant for rabble rousing.
I know. Just thought I'd better make it clear to everybody why TX secession will never happen, in case anyone was actually worried.
:)
Aw, come on Gustavsaves...give us SOME kind of a thread to hang on to, here. We were just getting our hopes up!
Texas is just looking to secede where others have failed.
very punny
The whole right-wing "if you don't lick Bush's asshole then you're UNAMERRICAN and deserved to die in 9/11, so let's kill some Arabs" approach is going to haunt the South and the Right-Wing for the next four years.
Prepare for the deluge now. Let's face it, there's only so much proud ignorance normal people can take before, like those of us on doc's blog, they start making fun of anybody that voted for the government that fucked everybody over this badly.
Will we be building the fence or will they?
Anyone who actually believes that most Texans would want to secede really is a provincial douche who most likely only knows what their favorite TV shows tell them about the state. Every major city in the state - all four of them with over a million people - went for Obama, for God's sake.
You want a do-nothing right-wing shithole to pick on, Oklahoma's right over there ;)
Since we Americans aren't going anywhere, but we do have to put the faux-libertarian Bible-thumping secessionists somewhere, I say we pick out a town for them to call their own. It doesn't have to be real big.
They can even pretend to have a functioning government and everything. The only rule is that they don't get to call for help when they fuck themselves over in two weeks flat.
Maybe Lubbock or Laredo.... The rest of us won't miss 'em.
And also, the Texicans (as they then called themselves) wanted to be part of the US so they could keep their slaves. Texas was a slave-owning territory at that time, and Mexico had emancipated their slaves, for what that was worth to the mestizos. Texas wanted to become part of the Confederacy so they could hang onto their non-emancipated slaves. Cool, huh?
I'm descended from east Texas Cherokee, and I would like to point something out to you.
The Mexicans had no more right to that land than the Americans did - the Americans just turned out to be the tougher gang of thieves.
I'm glad the Americans won. They treat their indigenous people a fuck of a lot better than the Mexicans ever did.
But either way, it was just a fight between two gangs of thieves over other peoples land.
And should you-all ever decide to get guilty and give the land back - try and remember to give it back to its owners, and not Mexico. M'kay?
On the bright side, the GOP would have 34 fewer electoral votes it could count on.
Teabaggeristarian
LOL
In all reality, the Texas repub
chest-thumpers who take pride in how they don't need government would discover that it's damned hard to run a country, even a dinky one like the Republic (or whatever) of Texas. Especially if it's populated by people who don't want to hand over one damned dime of their hard-earned income to no revenooer.
That does beg the question, how would import/export tariffs work? Would there have to be a trade delegation to Washington to get favorable terms for the fledgling Republic? The mind boggles.
Truthfully though, I don't think they'll succeed/secede. It would take a long determined effort, and after they calm down, it'll be one of those subjects that gets brought up only after the second case of beer gets opened.
We'd Need To Have
"TEFTA"--Texas Free Trade Agreement.
Otherwise, nobody would buy anything from them. They probably burn more oil than they pump anyway.
I think it would be a great object lesson for all red state rednecks. With no taxation, how are they going to build their wall?
secession, what a ridiculous concept. They're like the little kid who keeps threatening to run away from home, then the parent calls their bluff and hands them a suitcase. Uhm wait, no meals? no warm bed? no toys? No help when the next hurricane hits? Good luck
yeah.. No kidding.
BTW, while a recent poll found that 45% of Texas Repubicans were in favor of Texas seceding from the United States, another poll found that 89% of Non-Texas Democrats and 77% of Non-Texas Republicans were in favor of them leaving. Among those that were in favor of them leaving, there were no undecideds!
Maybe then the US could borrow money from Texas instead of China?
I doubt it. Conservatives are consistently China's biggest customers.
After all, GWB just got through "fiscal conservatively" spending more than EVERY OTHER US President... combined!
That's how much conservatives REALLY believe in "smaller gubment". But when the Fiscal Conservatives were triumphantly chanting "Deficits Don't Matter" in 2000, it was pretty obvious their intent was always to plunder the US Treasury (as if their history of doing the same prior to that wasn't enough).
Also, if Texas really DID secede, it would be a failed state in probably three years.
We just saw what eight years of Texas conservative leadership can do to a nation, and it almost destroyed the global economy. Conservatives can't lead, but that doesn't stop them from wanting to be in charge.
I am one among numerous supporters of President Obama here in Texas. I do have a few conservative friends who didn't vote for him, but have no problem with his being the President of the United States.
However these same conservatives can't wait for Perry to be voted out of office. One of them had a few choice names for the governor. In a letter to the editor, Dallas Morning News, a writer suggested that Perry is a "Pompadoured Proponent of Plutocracy."
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