On Wednesday Gov. Rick Perry addressed an angry crowd with an equally angry tone.
Unfortunately, he verbally stumbled and fell in front of a tea party crowd in Austin. In a manner visually reminiscent of John McCain’s speaking style, Perry chopped air and pumped his fists.
Although Perry may not have been aware of the inaccuracies he was preaching, many Texans were.
In an article in The Houston Chronicle on Thursday, columnist Rick Casey corrected Perry’s verbal errors in Thursday’s article in The Houston Chronicle.
‘Texas is a unique place. When we came into the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that,’ Perry said.
As Casey outlined in his article, this was not quite right.
‘The federal act that admitted Texas to the Union did not give the state permission to secede,’ Casey wrote.
Casey was right. Nowhere in Milton Brown’s bill did Texas receive the permission to leave the union if it desired when joining the union in 1845.
‘In fact, Texas received no special terms in its admission to the Union. Once Texas had agreed to join the Union, she never had the legal option of leaving, either before or after the Civil War,’ Texas State Library and Archives Commission states on its annexation facts Web site.
Perry’s second stumble came when he summoned the crowd’s enthusiasm by quoting Sam Houston.
‘Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may,’ Perry said.
However, as Casey Casey pointed out, it was not congruent with what Sam Houston desired when he was our seventh governor.
‘But Perry, with secession apparently on his mind, neglected to note that as Gov. Houston bitterly opposed Texas’s secession from the Union, and was booted from office when he refused to sign a loyalty oath to the confederacy’ Casey wrote.
Perry’s inability to remember Texas history did not cease; he had room for one more stumble.
‘I’m talking about states’ rights, states’ rights, states’ rights. Those states rights that are enshrined in the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution; unfortunately, those protections have melted away over time,’ Perry said.
Casey knew the states’ rights Perry cited were not what most people would know them to be.
‘The crowd loved it, but there is a large segment of Texas citizens who know bitterly that the term ‘states’ rights’ was long militantly employed to fight the melting away of such ‘rights’ as state sanctioning of slavery, enforcement of school segregation and, in Texas, the definition of political parties as private associations were permitted to exclude non-whites primaries,’ Casey wrote.
This proved to be a significant error in speech, which Perry probably wishes he could change.
In an article by Bud Kennedy, published Sunday in the Dallas/Forth Worth’s Star-Telegram, Kennedy spoke with some of Perry’s former college professors.
‘A&M professor Walter L. Buenger is a fifth-generation Texan and author of a textbook on Texas’ last secession attempt,’ Kennedy said.
Buenger, a tenured professor of Texas history at Texas A& M University, had interesting things to say about Perry’s comments on Texas’ succession.
‘It was a mistake then, and it’s an even bigger mistake now,’ Buenger said in his interview with Kennedy.
Buenger’s opinion, similar to Sam Houston’s, clarified that succession is not what Texas needs, and, in fact, it could be a terrible mistake.
‘And you can put this in the paper: To even bring (secession) up shows a profound lack of patriotism,’ Buenger told Kennedy.
Whether Perry seriously considers Texas’ potential succession, or not, he was still representing a group of angry Texans who are ‘fed up’ with government spending.
Perry shares the same views of most Republicans: that the government is spending too much and endangering future generations with higher taxes and incredibly large deficits.
Most Republicans are already thinking about their next move, whether it is re-election in 2010 or a possible shot at the presidency in 2012. The work they have cut out for them is a long uphill battle, but many variables exist, too. Depending on the success of the overwhelmingly Democratic government, failure or little to no progress could lead to success for Republicans.
‘The Republican Party needs a fresh start to the new decade,’ economics junior Steven Ray Christopher said.
Christopher notes the party needs some rejuvenation in order to get back on track and to work toward the once strong Republican Party.
‘What has been lost in the past eight years is what is needed most now: electability and articulation of conservative values that went by the wayside – values that can appeal to all Americans,’ Christopher said.
Casey rightfully gave Perry a failing grade in his column in The Houston Chronicle.
The accurate knowledge of your state’s history is not only important when you’re governor, but especially important when your addressing a crowd.
Whether he gets re-elected in 2010 for a third full term or decides to run for a higher office later, a review of his Texas history would serve as a great starting point to a better grade and more credibility.
Andrew Taylor is an economics junior and may be reached at [email protected].
