I guess there are worse things than having Jan Brewer for Governor. Not that I can think of very many right now, but here is one: having Rick Perry for Governor.
Yeah, the residents of the great state (make that nation, if he gets his way) of Texas now have a bona fide nut, and it's official.
Perry, who is facing a tough GOP primary battle against Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who wants his job, is suddenly sounding worse than any Arizona nutcake (and we've certainly got ours too.) Perry is expressing his support for 'Texas sovereignty.'
OK. As I understand it, 'sovereignty' has a lot of meanings, ranging from the right to void federal laws that one dislikes to full independence. However, it is usually interpreted as closer to the latter than the former.
Now it is true that Texas was an independent country for nine years (from 1836-1845) and that it also was one of eleven confederate states that seceded from the union during the Civil War, but that was a real, real long time ago. And in fact by the treaty in 1845 that brought Texas into the union, Texas has certain rights that no other state has (1. at least in Texas, it is legal to fly the state flag at the same height as the U.S. flag, 2. Texas has the right by treaty to subdivide itself into as many as five other states.) But even that isn't good enough for Perry. He wants actual or effective independence.
Maybe they should figure on building that 'border fence' so it walls off Texas rather than Mexico. Not only would it fit Perry's new definition of the border of the United States but it would keep some of the nutty thinking that exists inside, on the inside.
Keep in mind that the Texas Republic sought annexation by the United States for most of its history because it was in debt, constantly at war, and generally ungovernable. A historian will give you many socio-economic reasons for its instability and general disfunction as an independent nation, but they really all add up to one thing.
ReplyDeleteIt was run by Texans.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteFor the past eight years the whole country was run by Texans (Bush, DeLay, need we go on?) Even Dick Cheney had to re-register from his Houston residence back to his old stomping grounds in Wyoming so he could be on the ticket with Bush.
Then again, I see your point.