Ron Paul: Texas Secession Should be On the Table

Rep. Ron Paul has weighed in on Gov. Rick Perry’s secession talk for his state of Texas. Paul defended Perry as he took the position that it is very American to talk about secession. He pointed out that secession was how America came into being.

The video comes from Rep. Paul’s Campaign for Liberty website:

As usual Paul took a philosophical approach, “[Perry] really stirred some of the liberal media, where they started screaming about: ‘What is going on here, this is un-American.’ I heard one individual say ‘this is treasonous to even talk about it.’ Well, they don’t know their history very well, because if they think about it…it is very American to talk about secession. That’s how we came in being. Thirteen colonies seceded from the British and established a new country. So secession is a very much American principle.”

From a philosophical point of view, Rep. Paul is correct, but I would quibble with his characterization that it was only the liberal media screaming about this. The silence from the GOP has been deafening on this one. I think the whole discussion is nothing but an early reelection publicity stunt by Gov. Perry. Once one gets past the philosophical merits of the idea, secession is not practical.

How would Texas survive if it was no longer a state? Perry pointed out how large the Texas economy was, but how would they fund protection of the border, on all sides if they were independent? How would they maintain infrastructure? Many Texas school districts have financial troubles. How would they get by without those extra federal dollars?

Texas ranks third in federal grant dollars, and federal spending. You don’t hear Perry talking about that or urging Texans to turn down the money. Bringing up secession was a nice way to launch Perry’s reelection campaign, but Texas couldn’t survive without the federal government. Dr. Paul is right. There is nothing un-American in the discussion, but the idea is completely unrealistic, and not practical.

(h/t: Think Progress)

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association