By Bill Burch Grass Roots Institute of Texas (GRIT)
Due to the depth of the issue of Secession columnist Bill Burch has studied & divided a thumbnail analysis into three parts which will run on three consecutive days here as an exclusive to Texas Insiders readers. The three parts are:
- What Seems to be the Problem?
- What are the Pros & Cons of Secession? and
- Can Texas Really Secede?
What Seems to be the Problem?
There is a growing frustration with our elected officials of both parties who represent us in Washington. This is evidenced by the recent bipartisan participation at the TEA Parties across Texas and the United States.
It is a mistake to think that the attendees of these events are only Republicans. The truth is that Democrats Libertarians and Independents were also in attendance … and substantially so.
Republicans and Republican leaning Independents who have become unsatisfied with their Republican representatives and who have quit voting as a result are a large share of these attendees. Also Democrats who have seen their party turn from a Liberal or Moderate-liberal Party to a Socialist Party are equally upset.
The biggest reason for their being upset has to do with the elected and appointed federal officials disregard of the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution. This disregard is bipartisan in nature meaning that both Republicans and Democrats have broken their oaths of office in regards to uphold the Constitution.
This break has resulted in an increase in the tax burden on We the people".
Additionally we have seen our individual rights eroded. or done away with entirely. in many areas such as inflation as a result of the increase in money supply by the Federal Reserve (a private corporation that is Federal in name only) over spending by Congress rising taxes and our States stripped of their rights and powers in what is perceived to be a deliberate & calculated manner.
There has been a degree of frustration with our political leaders from the beginning of the United States. It grew to a peak in 1861 with the election of Abraham Lincoln and the resulting Civil War.
The latest peak is the result of the policies of Barrack Obama implemented immediately after his election. But we need to remember that just as Abraham Lincoln had James Buchanan Franklin Pierce Millard Fillmore and others before him who played a part Barrack Obama had George W. Bush Bill Clinton George H. W. Bush and others who also played important parts in this growing level of public frustration.
Just as Lincoln was more than simply the new guy who had to deal with the actions of those before him Obama is the same. His rapid movement toward Socialism that is to be paid for by future generations and small business owners has raised the eyebrows of many. Politicians believe that the people are not watching.
And indeed for many years they were not. But with the advent of faster communication via the Internet and radio talk shows people have taken notice while the politicians thought otherwise.
Today we have Texas Republicans insisting that we move away from our conservative ideas that have proven to be valid and move towards a more moderate stance. What nonsense. The public as a whole have become increasingly conservative as a result of bank auto industry and other bailouts to many emergency stimulus" packages an unbelievable & record-setting budget continued earmarks the move towards Socialism and the total lack of understanding of the Constitution.
On the way about one-third of the elected Republicans have actually turned their back on Republican principles. They have done this because the major media lavishes praise on them for doing so.
What is more disturbing is that a number of Republicans have gone so far as to commit treason to the Republican Party by supporting Democrats over Republicans working behind the scenes to stop contributions from going to Republican Candidates against Democrats.
But dont forget the Democrats.
Whereas it is true that in a recent Rasmussen Poll 39 of the Democrats identify themselves as Socialist the remaining 61 prefer a Free Market system.
However over 80 of the Democrat office holders support these moves and incremental steps toward Socialism.
When George McGovern ran against Richard Nixon he transformed the Democrat Party to one dominated by liberals although the majority of Democrats at that time were moderates or conservatives. This opened the way for Republicans.
Now Obama has done the same in moving the Democrat Party to Socialism even though most of the Party is made up of liberals or moderates. This has left a large number of Democrats without a Party once again.
This time it is unlikely that the Republicans will moderate their views just to attract these Democrats.
Socialism in the United States is not new. It is something that has been part of our society for a long time. It was just hidden with the poor and the working class.
Remember we have given free housing in nice neighborhoods as well as free utilities free healthcare free food and free transportation to these groups for a long time under both Democrats and Republicans.
What will potentially happen is that the Democrats will attempt to make their Socialist views (preferred by 20 of all Americans) more appealing to the masses through various federal government programs such as heath care nationalizing corporations through joint government/private ownership more handouts of free housing utilities and food by expanding the number of people who qualify and increasing government funding of ACORN Planned Parenthood MoveOn.org and other groups either directly or indirectly.
The Republicans will largely move more towards Free market programs that have more regulation than before in order to give the impression of more protections for the public.
The public is likely to rebel against Socialism and keep a wary eye towards the Free Market regulations.
Additionally with the move by many states to re-assert their rights under the 10th Amendment you may begin to see many states become emboldened to tell the Federal Government to pull back or risk a mass exodus such as took shape in the TEA Parties movement.
This is a message that all politicians in all states would be wise to listen to very carefully.
I hope you will come back to read tomorrows Part II of this discussion entitled What are the Pros & Cons of Secession?"
Bill Burch is Chairman of Grass Roots Institute of Texas (GRIT) is a past candidate for Texas State Representative in District 9 past public Director of the State Bar of Texas and is author of Merlin the Sorcerer.
