The Only States That Don’t Want To Secede Are The Ones With Gay Marriage
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First, there were the birthers. Now, there are the seceders. Over the past few days news has swept the nation that there’s a tiny force in the country demanding Barack Obama to allow their states to secede from the union. To date, 42 of our 50 states have petitions at the White House’s “We The People” petition site, asking President Obama to “Peacefully grant the State of  _____  to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government.” Or, something.
Interestingly, the only states that have not asked to secede from the United States of America are the ones that have made same-sex marriage legal. Connecticut. Maine. Massachusetts. Vermont. Maryland. Iowa. Washington. Washington, D.C. Oh, and Hawaii, the President’s birthplace. (Believe it or not, Mr. Trump.)
Of course, it will never happen. And of course, we’re talking about just a handful of Tea Party troublemakers, so this entire exercise is rather silly and stupid, hatched by the lunatic fringe.
But first, a word on this: Go.
If you’re a “seceder,” I have a few thoughts for you to consider. I’m sick to death of anti-American “patriots” who don’t have one iota of common sense or an ounce of love for what this country really stands. I’m sick to death of those who apparently didn’t pay attention in history or civics or social studies classes in high school (if you got that far).
And you probably did. Because we know that Tea Party supporters are overwhelmingly well-educated. Well compensated. And white.
Yes, I’m talking to you, the Tea Party radicals, the right-wing extremists, and the radical religious right, Â those who have taken your cause so far away from mainstream America that we voted your sorry asses out of Congress last week, and landed your lying shape-shifting wing nut leaders, Romney and Ryan, on the loser line.
And for the record, may I just say, “science” and “math.” Because apparently those words are foreign to you.
Now, that said, I have a question for you:
Why is it the first states in the union are generally the ones who uphold traditional American values? Fairness, Equality. Learning. Supporting the poor. Why is it so many of our successors — not the original colonies — are the ones who just can’t get it right?
Anti-gay? Racist? Anti-Muslim? Anti-science? Anti-evolution? High level of child homelessness? High level of uninsured? High level of child malnutrition? High level of high school drop outs? High level of porn watching? High level of teenage pregnancy? High level of repeat teenage pregnancy? High level of divorce? Low level of life expectancy?
Chances are really good we’re not talking about Connecticut. Maine. Massachusetts. Vermont. Maryland. Iowa. Washington. Washington, D.C. Oh, and Hawaii.
Yes, those are the states where no one has yet to “petition” the White House to allow them to secede.
While I recognize that facts and science are irrelevant to many anti-American Tea Party wing nuts, here’s a map that rates states on how they’re doing with child homelessness:
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For the record, child homelessness and divorce are higher in states that ban same sex marriage. That right there should be a clarion call to all the so-called “pro-life” and “pro-family” people.
Only, of course, it’s not.
Consider this, via The National Center on Family Homelessness:
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And if you think you’re on the right side of issues, consider this.
Barack Obama won. He won by turning out the most people in a well run campaign. In other words, he won fair and square.
Those aren’t my words. Those are the words of Tea Party activist (and, God only knows how, but CNN contributor)Â and RedState founder Erick Erickson, just yesterday:
Barack Obama won the election.
He did not win by stealing the election. Voter irregularities always happen. It is one reason we support voter ID rules. But even in the worse scenario of reports out there, there were not enough tales of voter irregularities to matter nationwide. This is another benefit and built in safeguard of the electoral college.
Barack Obama won. He won by turning out the most people in a well run campaign. In other words, he won fair and square.
We here at RedState are American citizens. We have no plans to secede from the union. If you do, good luck with that, but this is not the place for you.
…
Too many people have spent the past four years obsessed with birth certificates. Now they are obsessed with voter fraud conspiracies, talk of secession, and supposed election changing news stories if only we had known.
So let’s add dabblers in this latest nuttiness to birthers as a category of people we do not welcome at RedState. Our aim is to beat the Democrats, not beat a retreat to a Confederacy that Generals Grant and Sherman rent asunder well over a hundred years ago.
Frankly, however, I say, if you can swing it, if you can actually secede, go for it.
Because you know what? It’s most often Democratic, blue states that are forced to pay out more to the federal government and get back less than red states do.
Michael Moran, writing at Slate, notes that “supposedly indolent, ‘tax and spend’ liberals actually subsidize the individualistic, pure, and hard-working lifestyle of our conservative countrymen.”
Texas can brag all it wants that their budget is “balanced,” but it is in large part thanks to me. And Uncle Sam. And folks in northern states.
So, secede. See ya.
I’m pretty sure we’ll do just fine here up north.
The only problem is, the children.
And minorities.
And the poor.
And the old, the sick, the needy.
Because Lord knows, you Tea Party wing nuts won’t lift a Christian finger of charity to take care of them.
I’m all for splitting America into red states and blue states, and if we could do it geographically, I’d even be fine with never seeing Disney World again.
“According to Chuck Thompson, a veteran travel writer who toured the American South, a degree of mutual enmity between Northerners and Southerners continues to be a source of cultural tension and political gridlock,” Joshua Holland at Salon notes. “We remain divided even as we have grown to become the world’s superpower. In his new book, Better Off Without ‘Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession, Thompson argues that it may be time for a divorce – to shake hands and go our separate ways.”
Almost every American, at one time or another, has said that it’s too bad the country didn’t just split when we had the chance. We didn’t let the South go when we had the chance. We would have avoided a lot of problems. We – meaning this group in the north as we might identify ourselves – could take the country we want into a direction that we think is befitting of America without this push and pull that comes from the Southern states. At the same time the South could do the same thing.
What really led to this call for secession was understanding that a lot of people from the South are just as sick and tired of people like Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid having an impact on their country as I am sick of people like Newt Gingrich and Jeff Sessions, Eric Cantor, and Haley Barbour having an impact on my country.
So why shouldn’t each of these societies that are really very different from each other in the way they approach the fundamental building blocks of society – education, religion, commerce, politics … both sides of the country really approach their problems in the way they want to put their societies together in very diametrically opposed ways. Why shouldn’t people be allowed to live in a pseudo-theocracy if they want to? If the majority of the people in a very large part of the country wants to have the Ten Commandments emblazoned in front of their legislative houses, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do so?
My call here for secession isn’t really a punitive thing towards the South, though I admit to a lot of these Northern frustrations. It’s an effort to identify these differences; to acknowledge that they’re very striking and very strong, and to say each one of these sides might be better of without the other.
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But sadly, it’s probably not possible.
So, Tea Party “patriots” will need to become compatriots. They’ll need to lose the attitude. Lose the wing nuts. Lose the hats. Send the GOP to the dust bins of history. And send the anti-gay radical religious right straight back to the Hell from which it came.
Let’s start anew — by recognizing we are a nation of immigrants. And gay people. And Black people. And Women. And…
But God Almighty, cut the selfish, racist, anti-science, anti-evolution, anti-gay, anti-math, anti-education, anti-truth crap. Or get the hell out.
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For more, please read my “2.9 Million Orphans, Happy Father’s Day.”
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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Republican of Georgia, is under fire after praising University of Mississippi students, some wearing American flag outfits, mocking a Black woman protester by making monkey sounds and shouting, “lock her up.”
“Counter-protestors at the University of Mississippi made racist remarks — including monkey noises and comparisons to Lizzo — towards a Black woman who was part of a planned protest against the war in Gaza,” Los Angeles Magazine reported Friday.
Collins, who tried to defund Vice President Kamala Harris’ Office in November, declared his support for the counter-protesters at “Ole Miss,” as the University is called.
“Ole Miss taking care of business,” he wrote on social media, atop the video (below).
The counter-protesters, as evidenced in the video, appear to be mostly white.
A large number of users on the social media platform X responded, accusing the Congressman and the counter-protesters of racism.
“When is the inevitable ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body’ tweet coming,” wondered Rewire News Group editor-at-large Imani Gandy.
“Which part is your favorite, Mike?” asked Fred Wellman, the former executive director of The Lincoln Project. “Is it the white kid acting like a monkey at the black woman or the white security guy acting like she’s a threat? I’m trying to figure out which flavor of racism has you all excited the most?”
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Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo responded to the Georgia GOP congressman, “Thanks for confirming you’re a massive racist piece of sh*t.”
Mississippi Free Press news editor Ashton Pittman wrote: “Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, praises a video showing a University of Mississippi frat boy dancing like a monkey and making monkey noises near a Black woman student who was protesting for Palestine while other frat boys chant ‘lock her up.'”
In a separate post describing a separate video taken of the same group Pittman wrote: “Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, ‘Lizzo! Lizzo!’ and shout, ‘F**k you fatass, f**k you b*tch’ at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine. Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews?”
Journalist John Harwood did not mince words, writing, “Congressman proud of the racism.”
“Okay, Mike. We get it,” wrote podcast host, documentary director, and author W. Kamau Bell. “You want to be famous for being a racist. Fine. I’ll help you become a famous racist. You’re welcome.”
The original video is here.
See Rep. Collins’ post and the video below or at this link.
Caution: the video is disturbing.
Ole Miss taking care of business. pic.twitter.com/JiL9hs2pHz
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) May 3, 2024
READ MORE: Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’
Amid more damning revelations from her soon-to-be released book, embattled South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem will head to Mar-a-Lago this weekend as ex-president Donald Trump auditions potential vice presidential picks in front of high-dollar donors. Noem was also slated to attend a Republican fundraiser in Colorado this weekend but it was canceled over alleged safety concerns after news broke she had bragged about shooting her 14-month old dog.
While Noem’s shooting to death of her wirehaired pointer, Cricket, which she detailed in the book, is still making headlines overnight a new revelation made news: Noem falsely claims in her book she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
A spokesperson for Noem “seemed to concede that the Kim story was false Thursday night,” and notified her publisher, Politico’s Ryan Lizza reported in his exclusive.
But less noticed appears to be the actual text of Noem’s false story, in which she brands children she ministered in church “little tyrants,” and compared them to the murderous North Korean dictator.
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“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” Noem wrote, according to Politico, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”
CNBC reported this week Trump “will mingle with potential vice presidential running mates and wealthy Republican donors at the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat. The meetings are likely to act as informal tryouts for a short list of politicos in the running to join the Trump ticket.”
The list of Republican “special guests” includes U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance, Rep. Elise Stefanik, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
Also expected to attend are House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and other elected Republicans along with RNC co-chair Lara Trump.
READ MORE: Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report
NBC News, which says Rep. Donalds is also under consideration, on Friday added there will be “a fundraising retreat that could serve as a screening session” for potential vice presidential running mates.
Meanwhile, the Jefferson County, Colorado Republican Party chair announced a fundraising dinner Noem was slated to attend was canceled after threats were made, The Denver Post reports.
“We understood there was a planned organized protest outside of the hotel, led by Progress Now,” Nancy Pallozzi said. “I felt that our event would be negatively impacted, and we could not take the risk that those who made threats would cause physical harm.”
Over the weekend independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at a fundraiser for a far-right anti-government group in Erie County, New York – a slice of the country that had a large proportion of residents arrested and charged for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection. Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and vaccine denialist, increasingly is embracing the far-right.
“That group, Constitutional Coalition of New York State, has founders who not only have ties to Donald Trump but are also connected to the stop-the-steal movement through their activist network, which includes groups that had a presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” The Daily Beast reported Friday. “It’s yet another instance of Kennedy—who is mounting one of the most well-funded third-party presidential threats in decades—serving as a peculiar bridge between his own anti-establishment movement and Trump’s.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the Constitutional Coalition of New York State (CCNYS) on its page of anti-government groups. Political Research Associates, which detailed the high proportion of January 6 residents arrested and charged, included the Constitutional Coalition of New York State in its February report on “The Rise of the Far Right in Western New York.”
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“If you don’t think the government is lying to you, you’re not paying attention,” Kennedy told attendees at the CCNYS fundraiser, The Buffalo News reports.
“CCNYS founders Nick and Nancie Orticelli are also affiliated with the Watchmen, a nearby militia who Nick has encouraged his social media followers to join. The Watchmen had several members at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and one member, Pete Harding, is still facing charges for violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds,” The Daily Beast noted. “Nancie Orticelli has also hosted the Watchmen’s founder, Charles Pellien, on her weekly radio show on several occasions.”
One of Kennedy’s goals in traveling to New York was to get on the ballot for the November presidential election. Various polls show him taking votes from both President Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump, but Kennedy currently has only qualified to be on the ballot in three states, Utah, Michigan and Hawaii, the newspaper reported.
But The Washington Post on Thursday reported The American Independent Party of California, which has a history of “far-right ties,” and “backed segregationist and former Alabama governor George Wallace in 1968, nominated Kennedy for president.”
Kennedy “said this week that he has qualified to be on the ballot in California and will accept the nomination of the American Independent Party, which has a history of associating itself with far-right figures and individuals who have expressed racist views.”
Some news reports and RFK Jr. himself say the Trump campaign was actively courting Kennedy, attempting to convince him to consider being the ex-president’s 2024 vice presidential running mate.
“That MAGA dalliance with Kennedy could be coming back to bite the Trump campaign, some Republicans close to the former president worry,” The Daily Beast also reported.
“’They can only blame themselves,’ a Trump-aligned strategist told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations about the risk Kennedy poses, ‘because they cozied up to him and thought it was funny.’”
Watch WIVBTV’s report on Kennedy’s trip to New York below or at this link.
READ MORE: Trump Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results if He Doesn’t Win State He Falsely Claims He Won
Congressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds
Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’
RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties
Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report
Trump Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results if He Doesn’t Win State He Falsely Claims He Won
News2 days agoCongressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds
News3 days agoTrump Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results if He Doesn’t Win State He Falsely Claims He Won
News3 days agoElection Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report
News2 days agoNoem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’
News2 days agoRFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties