Activists call on Perry to follow through with secession

Wayne Slater
 
Rick Perry’s talk of secession appears to have buoyed efforts by Texas secessionists who want the governor to follow through. At a rally Saturday on the Capitol steps, members of the of the Texas Nationalist Movement called on the governor and the Legislature to put a referendum on the state ballot on whether Texas should leave the union. At an anti-tax “tea party” protest in April, Perry touted states rights and raised the possibility of secession.

On Saturday, secessionist speakers denounced the federal government in general – and the Obama administration in particular. One speaker said, “We are aware that stepping off into secession may be a bloody war. We understand!” Another self-styled patriot invoked George Washington as an ally of secession (History lesson: Washington presided over creation of the union) and Sam Houston – “You go ask Sam Houston what he thought about secession. He did it anyway.” (History lesson: Houston opposed secession. He ran for governor as an independent Unionist in 1859. Despite his efforts, the people of Texas voted to secede, and he was forced out of office in March 1861. )

There are no plans by the governor to call a special session of the Legislature. For his part, Perry says he never advocated secession – only resistance to federal programs that infringe on states rights. The message is part of his anti-Washington appeal to the right-wing of the Republican Party in advance of next March’s GOP primary against Kay Bailey Hutchison. Hutchison calls Perry’s rhetoric about secession “silly.”

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