Secession
It occurs to me that all of this talk of secession really spits in the face of all those who died during the Civil War. Yes, even those on the Confederate side. For at least by their deaths the question of whether a state can secede from the Union was decided forever, and thus, at least it meant something.
Now we know that the question was only decided until the Republican Party lost an election and didn’t like the policies of the guy who beat them, even though that was precisely the scenario that started the Civil War, except that back in 1861, it was the Republican Party that won, and the Southern states didn’t like that or President Lincoln’s policies.
Yes. That is the definition of irony.
Flash forward 148 years, and either the modern Republican Party forgot everything it stood for when the party started, or they just don’t care, for all that matters to them now is power. Forget the Constitution. Forget the hundreds of thousands of Americans that gave their lives during the Civil War. Indeed, forget every veteran and every American who ever died for America and its freedom. For the essence of asserting a right to secession is saying that you don’t care about America at all. It says you only love your country if your party is in power. And if you are out of power, fuck it, I want out. During the dark days during the Bush Administration, there were some who said they would follow the right wing’s advice about “love it or leave it.” I always told them that I am an American and I am staying, for it was my country too and the right wing was just going to have to deal with it.
And now that the right wing is out of power, this is how they are dealing with the notion that their ideas are not favored, that their vision of America was rejected at the ballot box in a landslide: they want out.
And that reveals another irony, considering that Republicans were the ones always wrapping themselves in the flag.
It is tempting to say fuck it, let them leave.
No. If it takes refighting the Civil War to learn lessons anew, then maybe that is the way it has to be.
This secession business is just performance — designed to get TV and radio time in front of the hardcore. Seceding means actually governing and we already know they aren’t into that.
I am wondering when someone will point out to these idiots that seceding in a time of war doesn’t support the Commander-In-Chief nor the troops. 🙄
The national GOP is wandering aimlessly. The Delaware GOP is deliberately acting stupid.
The people in charge somehow wed their wagons to the past, the DuPont past. When a guy like Copeland gets wiped up by Matt Denn you have to wonder WTF?
Supposedly, Copeland ran a hard race especially in the city but lost by a huge margin. Plus he was dumb enough to join Lee on a trip to the twilight Zone.
Guess what? Copeland leaves a safe senate Seat, which the GOP lost and gets a huge beating at the hands of Denn.
The GOP needs to dump Ross and all the incompetetent out of touch hacks who frequent the Republican haunts.
I am tired of Zinfandel sipping. horse riding, out of touch people with two middle names running the GOP.
Count me out.
But…but…but…Mike, aren’t you running for Vice-Chair from the floor of the convention?
note: i have no freaking clue if that was Mike or one of his minions or someone else altogether, hell, it could have been Charlie Copeland himself, for all I know, it just made for good snark.
I suppose I could find out if it is the same IP address, but who cares? It is actually a good point. I am not sure what the answer is for the DE GOP. The futility statewide began 16 years ago. Not that I would offer advice to my adversary or that they would take it, but Delaware is moderate state generally.
Social conservatism does not fly here, and you can track the national and state GOP’s embrace of it with their declining success. The image of moderation is what saves Castle to now, and Wagner smartly concentrates on the job description of auditor and fiscal responsibility rather than social conservatism.
The Conch Republic staged the greatest secession in recent history.
You don’t need to tell me a thing about that, of course, you know it already. Really, don’t care about the IP address, it’s just humorous how his comments and other commenters of same interest have suddenly spiked. Effing router!!!
American pledge of allegiance:
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Republican pledge of allegiance:
“I pledge under God.”
running for Vice-Chair from the floor of the convention?
Get.Out.
Unless this convention is in his driveway, the router gets no votes so this looks entirely counterintuitive.
If the national GOP party has been silent on the Texas nonsense (and I have no clue on this, but assume that the RNC hasn’t said a thing), then it isn’t fair to paint this as a failing of the GOP party, but rather of what we would call nutcases in Texas.
We weaken our criticism of the national party when we attribute actions to it that it is not actually responsible for. We have enough (like working hard to boost the deficit in order to cut Paris Hilton’s inheritance taxes).
Well, the Georgia GOP wants to secede. Tom DeLay is defending Perry. The defacto leaders of the national GOP, Limbaugh and Beck, are all for it.
I’m not so sure about that last part Paul. The Republican base wants secession. The Republican base want fiscal chaos. The Republican base wants a violent uprising.
The leadership’s silence on the topic indicate, if not complicity – sympathy.
Had a thought. We can put all those yahoos and the like-minded ones on the island of Guam and let them have soveriegnty. Not only would they get what they are whining for, they’d all fit there, too! Ultimately, we keep Texas, and more importantly, S Padre Is!!!
J – the right-conservative base. I know it’s all-too-easy to lump conservative-as-all-Republican, but that’s akin to saying liberal=democratic. It’s a false analogy. Unfortunately, the right-conservatives know how to yell very loud.
It is too much typing to add (except RSmitty) to every broad brush attack.
Eventually RSmitty will grow tired of being brushed over.
RSmitty has a point. But I think those like him who are not socially conservative, or who are moderate, are either very disillusioned with the party yet remain within it, or have left entirely, becoming Independents or in some cases Democrats. Recent polling seems to bear that out, as the Republican base has gotten smaller and more polarized against Obama, while the ranks of Dems and Indies have grown larger, with the former giving Obama an approval rating of 88% and the later 57%.
So when we speak of the base, we are not talking about RSmitty, or those like him. We are rather talking about those unlike him, those who believe Limbaugh’s attacks are gospel, etc.
Eh, being brushed over is almost habitual to me. I may be the only guy in history who had to have the reception BEFORE my wedding, so my wife would get drunk enough to say, “I DO.”
On a completely unrelated note, I think it’s becoming abundantly clear when I have my good-mood days vs my complete psychological meltdown days!!!
I think the religious conservatism is a sure loser for the GOP, but they hitched their wagon to the “Silent Majority” and they’re stuck with them. Now the “Silent Majority” is really just white men in the South and the new GOP has no idea how to woo back everyone else.
I do think some form of fiscal conservatism is a road back for the GOP. Right now though, the GOP only has born-again fiscal conservatives, who look pretty stupid complaining now since they were the ones who got us into this mess. Fiscal conservatism isn’t just “tax cuts for the rich, program cuts for everyone else.” Until the GOP, or whatever party grows to take its place, realizes this they’re bound to wander in the desert for a while.
The repub party would rather make and keep enemies than make and keep friends. Their enemies unite them. That’s one reason their movement is dying.
Now they are trying to turn America into their enemy (which, of course, it always was but they didn’t say so explicitly).
C’mon, no comment on my wedding day strategy? Sheesh, tough crowd.
LOL. Sorry Smitty. I always assumed that was the way it happened. 😉
Damn, my reputation precedes me! 😯
RSmitty, you’re such a nice guy, you’re wife was probably thinking the same thing about you.
I have to disagree with the author of the article that the Civil War settled the question of whether a state could secede from the Union forever. All the loss of the Confederacy proved is that the Federal government had the means to force 13 free and independent States back into the Union at gunpoint, essentially making the Federal government no better than a common hostage taker with Lincoln as the ringleader. Have we all forgotten that secession is at the very core of our existence as a nation? That the War of Independence was really a War of Secession (albeit Secession from Great Britain)? No where in the Constitution does it forbid any State from leaving the Union as willingly as it joined. So as far as I’m concerned it is not only legal but a moral option for any State. It should also be noted that in the original Constitution that the “U” in united States is lower case, showing the Founders intent that we were a nation of sovereign and independent States united together in common cause. So if any State wants to secede, more power to ’em and God help anyone who tries to stop them.
13 free and independent States
Interesting description of slave states.
Have we all forgotten that secession is at the very core of our existence as a nation?
Yes.
Number 24 is a traitor and anti american then if he feels that way.
Poor J Rogers…Poor baby.
His party lost a n election…poor guy.
Go suck your thumb little baby.
or succeed…one or the other
Agree, DV. To argue against a President’s policies is not unAmerican. Indeed, dissent is patriotic.
But to say you want to secede because of it, well that is the definition of treason.
Nevermind secession, let’s start talking about eviction. We voted them out of office, now let’s vote them out of the country. The neo-secessionists should be careful what they wish for, cuz they might not only get it this time, they might have it crammed down their throats whether they like it or not. I wouldn’t mind at all seeing Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama be forced to secede (to get it over with in an orderly fashion). Then all the right wing nut jobs will have a place to go, and the rest of us can live in peace.