by
Tom Malinich
With the popularity of Tea Parties growing around the country, the time is right to get involved as secessionists. Vermont secessionists now have several candidates for governmental positions including governor, but our movement still is lacking the overall energy and monetary support of organizations like Tea Parties. The righteous anger that started these movements is getting lost and steering off course. The fraudulent Republican Party is trying to hijack the movement to benefit their election cycle this November. The Democratic Party has labeled the Tea Parties as right wing, not seeing how the anger could benefit Americans from all political persuasions. Without involvement from secessionists, the Tea Parties will crash and burn in short order.
Traditionally, I would be considered a “hard right” politically motivated citizen, yet I am thrilled about the work Thomas Naylor and the Second Vermont Republic have done to make secession a unifying idea for both sides of the political spectrum. I would argue “true conservatives” would agree with “true liberals” on a whole host of issues including ending the war on terrorism, having a reasonable military that does not extend all over the world, balancing the budget, supporting local commerce, and ending the ridiculous notion that the Constitution treats corporations / big political organizations as equal to private citizens. Most good people see a need to help the poor through some sort of welfare, but on a local personal level, not an overly bloated federal level.
So the time is ripe for secessionists, whether conservative leaning or liberal leaning to get involved in Tea Parties and make our views heard. At the very least, we can all talk to some of these people one on one and seed the ideas of secession in their heads. I have talked to many of these people, and many of them are well intentioned, but misguided. Being as polite as possible, we need to show them the errors of their thinking. Here are a few such quotes with possible answers:
1. “If we just voted all the bums out of Congress, the country would get back on track.” Nice idea in theory, but not far sighted. How long will these so called new politicians fair when they propose pulling out our military around the world, reigning in the social programs, let alone trying to make one change to Social Security? Most would wilt under the national spotlight and acquiesce to the national pressure.
2. “If only the Republicans / Democrats were in charge, the country would get back on track.” Totally laughable! In the last 30 years, we have had several power changes between the Republicans and Democrats. Under Bush junior, Republicans had total control, and blew the national debt sky high with absolutely no control in spending. With Obama and a Democrat controlled Congress, we still cannot reign in the military and endless wars!
3. “Third parties would not work. Republicans and Democrats have monopolized the system making any attempt fail.” Agreed. That’s why we need to think about local elections and less about federal elections. Although I agree that a Free Vermont could become corrupted just like any government, the small size of the state and its influence would severely restrict how corrupt a government could get in Vermont.
4. “Well, a state can’t just leave. We had a civil war over secession. We need a non-violent revolution.” Many secession organizations are non-violent, and only the ones that are committed to non-violence should be considered, like the Second Vermont Republic. If Vermont would locally vote themselves out of the United States, there is no way any current politician would vote to invade Vermont unless they are politically suicidal. We now are fighting two politically correct wars overseas with heavy restrictions on the military. Does anyone really think a politician would allow the U.S. military to open fire on a Vermont citizen without huge international repercussions? The media would have a field day!
5. “I’m a conservative. Why would I want a bunch of liberals to take over the entire state of Vermont?” Utterly ridiculous. First of all, a successful secession of Vermont could lead the way to other states following suit. Some states will obviously have more conservative / liberal leanings than others, but who cares? I thought conservatives were in favor of competition? What could be better than letting Vermont try to set up a better system and motivate other states to follow their lead? You could also ask them what “conservative and liberal” even mean anymore. Over the last 50 years, we have had Democratic Presidents that look like fiscal conservatives and Republican Presidents that look like tax and spend liberals. I also believe that a free Vermont could form a socialist state, tweak taxes only marginally if at all, and still have fiscally conservative budget books. We have to challenge the terms conservative / liberal and Democrat / Republican. They are nearly meaningless.
6. “Isn’t secession un-American?” I do sympathize with this statement to an extent. The United States once was a beautiful country. The ingenuity of Americans and its laissez faire nature in the beginning made it a model for the world. Our Revolution with Britain led other nations to rid themselves of monarchies in favor of republics. Small businesses were the norm, and Churches were an active part of the community helping the poor. However, what has become of Lady Liberty? I would argue that the Constitution has been largely ignored and forgotten, letting Congress legislate with no limits. Instead of staying out of world affairs as our forefathers taught, we are now front and center of nearly every international crisis. We have a debt that is nearly impossible to pay back. Most disturbing is the fact that Americans are more divided against one another than ever before. Yes, secession would be a radical change, but its goals are unity through small scales.
Of course, there are other questions and comments that arise through conversations with Tea Party activists. Secession is still a far out concept to many Americans, and unless we actively engage these people in friendly debates, this will never change. It is also important to take people where they are at and always be polite and courteous when engaging in debate. We must be vigilant and sincere about always being a peaceful political movement. Keeping these principles in mind, let’s engage the Tea Parties and try to take advantage of the publicity they have generated!
Tom Malinich
