Can We Give Texas Back Yet?

By Charles Pierce, Esquire

02 November 13

s it happens, I spent the last few days wandering the places where the last major nullification/secession movement came a'cropper. These included places like Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Antietam. In walking the trails and cowpaths and Sunken Roads, one comes inevitably to the conclusion drawn by my good pal, Roy Blount, Jr. - that secession was a bad idea at the time, and looks even worse in retrospect. (I'm not kidding. Strolling down Bloody Lane at Antietam will knock you into some deep thinking about the idiocy of that particular American heresy.) Comes now, via Ed Kilgore, the work of Warren Throckmorton at Patheos wherein we learn that the Republican senatorial primary in Texas may be contested entirely on the grounds of blatant historical horseshit.

As I reported on Monday, David Barton has been asked by some tea party folks to consider a challenge to Cornyn. The spin is that Barton has party experience, broad name recognition, and, probably with Glenn Beck's help, could access adequate funds for a Senate campaign.

Oh, please, big baby Jeebus, you know I'm your amigo. Let this happen. Barton is one of America's consummate political charlatans. His life's work is dedicated to proving that the Founders were as god-nutty as he is. He has not been particularly honest in this regard; the people who study Mr. Madison's life particularly would like to come across his path while carrying a large sock of manure. Reading further, we find that some of the other potential candidates make Barton look like Will Durant.

Stovall is VP of the Houston chapter of the Refounding Father Society. The society seems to have much in common with the League of the South, especially a preoccupation with nullification and interposition. The society's website refers visitors to Mike Church's Founder's Library. Church is a radio talk show host who shares at least some common ground with the League (e.g., dislike of Lincoln, promotion of secession and nullification). Stovall might appeal to the far, far right but could be too extreme for the GOP, even in TX.

Not that I think that John Cornyn necessarily is in trouble - Barton, in particular, is notably shy about taking his bizarre beliefs out for a walk beyond the confines of a Michele Bachmann rally - but it is an indication of how solid and lasting the rightwing bubble likely will be. They have their own scientific and natural laws. They have their own history. They are embattled on all sides. This is not going away any time soon. It is firmly rooted in the politics of the states. It will take decades to dig it out again.

Charlie has been a working journalist since 1976. He is the author of four books, most recently "Idiot America." He lives near Boston with his wife but no longer his three children.