Chapter 1:
The Governor Flirts With Secession
(All quotes, especially from Rick Perry, are written exactly as reported. Those comments which are fictitious are in italics, though I have tried to duplicate Perry’s style of speaking.)
It was during the Tea Parties, those staged astroturf corporate sponsored rallies endlessly promoted by Fox “News,” that the whole mess began.
No one expected where this would finally end up, with a man who aspired to be president humbled and humiliated, beaten repeatedly, and the state he not-too-seriously-nor-smartly claimed could become a nation instead shattered, broken in almost half a dozen pieces, leading to the rise of movements the exact opposite of what secessionists wanted.
In San Antonio, Fox’s Glenn Beck, conspiracy theorist extraordinaire, was broadcasting live that day from Alamo Plaza, flanked by the famous Alamo, Rivercenter Mall, and the old federal building. Many handwritten signs repeated the talking points put out by the astroturf organizations. "I'll keep my freedom, my $ and my guns. You keep the change." "Stop Rewarding Failure." "Stop Obama's Socialism." Another read, "Some Pirates Are in America," (a race baiting reference to Somali pirates) and showed photos of Obama. Probably the most popular race baiting altered photo from the Tea Parties would come later in the healthcare debate, showing Obama in “whiteface” as the Joker.
Far right racist rock musician Ted Nugent, last popular back in the 1970s, performed a guitar version of the national anthem. Nugent had been barred from playing some venues in the state for his racist outbursts, longwinded rants attacking Mexican-Americans. Speaking at an NRA rally in back in 2007, Nugent raged, “Remember the Alamo! Shoot 'em!....I want 'em dead. Get a gun, and when they attack you, shoot 'em.” Over the years, Nugent had been given many a pass for his racism. Nugent has long performed wearing a stereotyped caricature of supposed American Indian clothing.
In 2008, Nugent publicly threatened Obama’s life while on stage. At an August 21 concert, he shouted onstage that Obama was a “piece of shit” and Hillary Clinton a “worthless bitch.” Nugent then threatened to murder both of them. Holding up weapons, he told Obama, “Suck on my machine gun.” Then he yelled, “Hey Hillary…ride one of these into the sunset!” The crowd roared in response to the death threats, some in shock, and others in approval. Amazingly, he has never been charged with sedition for his death threats against two presidential candidates and senators.
Later in 2008, Nugent had more racist remarks about Obama, calling him a “dope pusher” and blaming him for “gangland rioting.” At a USO tour in Iraq, Nugent was quoted saying, “"Just aim for the laundry." (A reference to Arab turbans. But with ignorance typical of him, Nugent didn’t realize that Iraqi men generally don’t wear turbans.) A later online rant by him in the far right Moonie cult newspaper The Washington Times went on an extended racist bashing of Africans, even arguing African lives were worthless. “Africa isn’t called the dark continent for no reason….Genocide is a way of life [for Africans]….There is little light in Africa…Africa is an international scab.” Nugent was later welcomed on a white supremacist radio show, The Political Cesspool. The host applauded Nugent for “pro white” remarks he made at a Dubuque, Iowa concert. “There’s a lot of white people in this crowd. I like that! Dubuque is a white town!”
Nugent has also repeatedly called for uprisings or violence against Obama, Democrats, feminists, environmentalists, vegetarians, liberals, and pretty much anyone he disagrees with. Early in his career, Nugent described defecating in his pants for a week to avoid getting drafted and sent to Vietnam. Yet he still calls himself a patriot.
San Antonio Tea Party organizers forbade politicians from speaking. But Nugent was apparently fine by them. This kind of rally would be typical for the Tea Party, and the offshoot from it, secessionist rallies promoted by the governor of Texas.
Up at a Tea Party rally in Austin, a reporter asked Perry about some people associating him with the idea of secession from the US or independence for Texas.
“Oh, I think there’s a lot of different scenarios. Texas is a unique place. When we came in the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that.” Perry answered.
He continued, “You know, my hope is that America and Washington in particular pays attention. We’ve got a great union. There is absolutely no reason to dissolve it, but sometimes it seems like those politicians in Washington are trying to push us to. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what may come out of that? So…But Texas is a very unique place and we’re a pretty independent lot to boot. If they give us enough reason, we’ll go ahead and leave.”
Someone in the crowd cried out, “Secede!” The crowd cheered and took up the chant, “Secede! Secede!”
Contrary to what Perry claims, this would not be the last time he flirted with secession. Later he spoke to a group of conservative bloggers. The interview was posted on YouTube in March 2009. Perry discussed Texas in 1836, the year the insurgency began against Mexico. Perry pointed to a painting of the defeated terrorists in the Battle of the Alamo. He had similar objects in his own office. He even had a “Come and Take It” logo (a slogan used by the traitors in their uprising against Mexico) on his own pair of boots.
“Texans have a different feeling about independence. When we came into the nation in 1845, we were a republic, we were a stand-alone nation,” said Perry. None of what he was saying was remotely true, but such myths are widely believed.
What Perry said next was treasonous. “One of the deals was, we can leave anytime we want. So we’re kind of thinking about that again.”
The crowd erupted in laughter and cheers supporting treason.
Perry took it one step further. “Think I’m joking? Maybe not!” The crowd continued to cheer.
But at first Perry called secession a "side issue of Texas history. ... We are very proud of our Texas history; people discuss and debate the issues of can we break ourselves into five states, can we secede, a lot of interesting things that I'm sure Oklahoma and Pennsylvania would love to be able to say about their states, but the fact is, they can't because they're not Texas." So even while claiming not to want secession, Perry has continually flirted with the treasonous notion, and held it up as a good thing.
Perry’s campaign has also repeatedly said Perry believes Texas could secede if it wanted. Perry continues to believe this and defends the notion to this very day. He is not alone. Up to one third of Texans also believe this, and for whites, Republicans, and conservatives in the state, the proportion believing this urban legend is an actual majority.
Problem is, that belief is a load of nonsense held by people ignorant of law and history. The Texas State Constitution, the US Constitution, and the 1845 Joint Resolution Annexing Texas to the United States, all do not have any right, any provision, and not even any mention at all for a way for Texas to return to its claim of being an independent nation. And as discussed in the Introduction, that independence is itself a myth.
The 1845 resolution does allow for Texas to break itself into five states but doesn't specify whether that would require congressional approval. For those with less understanding of the law, it’s perhaps easy for them to confuse forming new states with secession.
In the aftermath of Perry’s secession speech, one Republican congressman bragged that Texas should go ahead and split into five states, since it would give the Texas eight more (presumably conservative Republican) senators. But he apparently did not understand that much of Texas is not red state territory. Even in the most lopsided of elections, generally forty percent of Texans vote Democratic. There are large sections throughout the state that vote moderate or are downright progressive minded, especially the third of the population that is Mexican-American, the Black neighborhoods of the major cities, and Austin, which styles itself as the Texas version of San Francisco, proudly liberal, multicultural
, and with proportionately probably the largest gay population of any southern city.
Perry’s next step was to turn to some of the most disreputable people ever to share the stage with any governor, and if Perry had his way, a future president.