“In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.” – Mark Twain
This legendary Mark Twain quote is beginning to come to fruition within modern-day American political culture. It seems that every Republican politician under the sun, at least while Obama is in the White House, is talking like Benjamin Franklin’s heir apparent. The most recent example of this comes from Texas Governor Rick Perry. More and more, he is sounding like a freedom advocate.
After a report surfaced about the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) possibly seizing thousands of acres of land in Northern Texas, Gov. Perry spoke in defense of property rights and state sovereignty saying:
“It’s not a dare; it’s a promise that we’re going to stand up for private property rights in the state of Texas.”
Perry’s comments followed Texas Attorney General and current Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott’s even stronger remarks:
“At a minimum, [the federal government is] overreaching, trying to grab land that belongs to Texans, or worse, they are violating due process rights by just claiming that this land suddenly belongs to the federal government, swiping it away from our Texans.”
This behavior is quite different than what the public saw from Rick Perry in the 2012 Presidential debates. This is a man who once begged President Obama for federal welfare and tried to force a potentially harmful vaccine into the bodies of young girls to enrich wealthy Big Pharma cronies. Now, he’s Mr. States Rights. How did this happen? Has Rick Perry all of a sudden experienced a Grinch-style change of heart?
Probably not, but Perry is at least smart enough to understand which way the political winds are blowing. He knows that talking tough against federal land-grabs will curry favor with his Tea Party constituents, as well as independent folks disaffected with the status quo. He knows that the way to maintain relevance nowadays is to champion the rights of the people rather than the power of the feds.
As Tenther ideas spread and take hold across the Republic, there will be more of this type of behavior. By influencing minds, we indirectly affect the politicians because they need the public to vote for them. As evil as public officials can be, they are ultimately beholden to the voter. If the voter cares about nullification and states rights rather than government handouts, the politicians won’t be as apt to use taxpayer money to buy off voters. They will be forced to center their rhetoric and policy platform around freedom.
That is why it is important for us to push the ball forward whenever possible. Our approach gets the idea of nullification out to the masses, positions it as a reasonable and legitimate viewpoint, and offers it as an alternative to the federal supremacist approach dominating the two major parties.
The time is right for success, but there is only one thing missing for us to take our operation to the next level: Your Help! Join us, and we can make America a freer place.
