A North Carolina Tea Party group is promoting the idea of secession as a solution to the “tyranny of national government.”
The email newsletter of North Carolina Freedom Project contains an item entitled by “Solutions to the tyranny of national government.” The item proposes two such solutions. The first, described as “incremental,” involves embracing “tentherism” — the bogus belief, espoused lately by some on the far right, that many of the powers of the federal government are unconstitutional.
The second solution is described as a “quantum leap” that is “probably beyond the comfort of most citizens, but still bears serious consideration.”
The newsletter, obtained by TPMmuckraker, then links to a post on the blog Whiskey and Gunpowder, which raises the idea of secession “as a solution to the Washington debt threat.”
The newsletter item appears in full on NC Freedom’s website, where it’s signed by a “John (Hans) Mentha.” Mentha goes on to argue in the post that secession is condoned by the constitution. “Washington DC has become destructive of our economy and liberty,” writes Metha. “It is our right and our duty to throw off such government and provide new guards for our future security.”
A disclaimer under the post makes clear that the views expressed are Mentha’s alone. But the inclusion of Mentha’s post as an item in the newsletter suggests at the least that others in the group didn’t see them as beyond the pale.
Secession has been a hot topic in right-wing circles over the last year. Texas governor Rick Perry even mused publicly about the idea, before backing off.
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