Racism, Secession, and Rick Perry: The Niggerhead Controversy

The Perry campaign is disagreeing with the date when the offending N word was removed from the entrance to the long-time family hunting ranch.

This doesn't appear to be unique or unusual in right wing Texas politics, just same old, same old, as with the proposal to offer confederate license plates.  For those who learned their American History in bad schools - like many of those in Texas and across the 'old South', or who never properly learned  U.S. history at all, Texas joined the confederacy specifically to maintain slavery of blacks.




The Civil War was a treasonous episode in U.S. history, and should NEVER be honored or recognized by a state or federal government entity.  According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, by R. C. Lee:

A mock plate was posted on the DMV's website in March. Comments were overwhelmingly positive: 186 in favor, 3 against.

"I think it is a wonderful idea to honor our Confederate Veterans during the 150th anniversary years of the war between the states," one resident wrote.

And by any chance, were those blacks who fought for the Confederacy slaves at the time?  Or are their descendants either freaking tenthers, or just willing to kiss the asses of the right wing at any cost?  The article continues:

Fighting for approval

But not all comments were positive.

"I think your "Sons of the Confederacy" plate will open up some old wounds that this country has been trying for years to heal. What will be next? One with a Swastika?" wrote one resident.

The SCV has won approval of the license plates in nine other states, including Georgia, Maryland and Tennessee, the organization's headquarters. It has filed and won lawsuits in states where its requests were denied, said national executive director Ben Sewell.

The group also is seeking approval of plates with its logo in Florida, Kentucky and Mississippi.

I wonder if we are going to hear from Aztec Red on this topic; he has been uncharacheristically  absent of late...
From MSNBC.com :

Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain criticized the name of a hunting camp once leased by Gov. Rick Perry's family as "just plain insensitive" in an appearance on Fox News Sunday.

The name of the camp — "Niggerhead" — was first reported by the Washington Post on Saturday. The paper said the name was painted on a rock at the entrance of the property.

Perry reportedly began hosting fellow lawmakers, friends and supporters at the secluded ranch early in his career. The offensive phrase has been painted over, but the Post's sources and the Perry campaign differ on when that was done.

The Post reports that the name can still be seen through the paint. (large font, my emphasis added - DG)

"My reaction is, that's just very insensitive," Cain told Fox. "[There] isn't a more vile, negative word than the N-word, and for him to leave it there as long as he did, before I hear that they finally painted over it, is just plain insensitive to a lot of black people in this country."

Ray Sullivan, Perry's communication's director, pushed back against the Post report on Sunday.

Sullivan said the governor's father, Ray, painted over the name in the early 1980s. That conflicts with the accounts of seven sources who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity. They claim the offensive name was visible during the 1980s and 1990s, when Perry launched his political career, with one source saying the word could be seen as late as 2008.  (the article continues at MSNBC.com)

So, whenever it was that the offensive slur was painted over, it appears that it was in place for YEARS, even decades, without Perry family, friends, OR POLITICAL SUPPORTERS objecting to it.

This would be the same Rick Perry who was inaccurately claiming that Texas might secede, not that long ago.  Perry clearly neither correctly knows his state's history, or that of the U.S.  But 'Tenthers', those who believe that the states are sovereign, and CAN legally secede per the tenth amendment, are a popular segment of the base on the right wing fringe.  If these lunatics ever gain any significant traction, instead of being marginalized where they belong, with the truthers, birthers, and other lunatics, we could have to fight the damn Civil War all over again. For those of you not familiar with these particular crazies, states rights, aka the tenth amendment relating to the rights of states, was directly the primary cause of the Civil War. The conflict was over the rights of states, rather than the federal government, to determine if slavery would be legal, and if there was a disagreement, that the states could secede if they chose:

Tenther movement  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tenther movement is a term used to describe a political ideology and a social movement in the United States which espouses that many actions of the United States government are unconstitutional.^[1] Adherents invoke the concept that the states share sovereignty with the federal government and with the people by citing the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution as the basis for their legal and ideological beliefs:

“

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

”

Adherents believe that political authority enumerated in the United States Constitution as belonging to the Federal Government must be read very narrowly to exclude much of what the national government already does.^[2] They argue for the recognition of limited sovereignty of the States.^[3] Opponents use the term in order to draw parallels between adherents and nineteenth century states' rights secessionistsCivil Rights legislation.^[4]
Some object to the name "Tenther" as it originated as a pejorative used by those opposed to the movement's ideas, in an attempt to reference and draw parallels to conspiratorial movements such as Birthers and Truthers.^[5]

Examples of political authority opposed

Adherents oppose a broad range of federal government programs, including the War on Drugs, federal surveillance, and other limitations on privacy and civil and economic liberties, plus numerous New Deal legislation to Great Society legislation, such as Medicaid, Medicare, the VA health system and the G.I. Bill.^[2]

You don't believe Rick Perry and the politically insane in Texas wouldn't like to return to what they imagine are the glory days of the 19th century?

We neither need nor want another ignorant Texan, who's political success is based on playing to the religious right and to corrupt crony capitalist special interest money in the 2012 election.

FYI, for those who are curious, Texas does NOT retain any right to secede, never did; the state did retain the right to subdivide into up to four or five smaller states - the exact same way as ANY OTHER STATE.