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Texas Attorney General candidate Barry Smitherman says the Lone Star State is preparing to secede and become an “independent nation” if the United States “falls apart.”
Barry Smitherman currently holds the Texas Railroad Commissioner post. He made the Texas secession comment during an interview with World Net Daily (WND).
He is concerned about the economic stability in the United States and how the fiscal woes will impact the entire country. According to the Texas attorney general Republican candidate, the Lone Star State already possesses all the resources necessary to become an independent nation separate from the rest of America.
“One of the things I’ve focused on in the last 10 years of my public sector life is preparing Texas to be a prosperous and safe place to work, regardless of what happens outside our borders,” Smitherman said. “We are uniquely situated because we have energy resources, fossil and otherwise, and our own independent electrical grid. Generally speaking, we have made great progress in becoming an independent nation, an ‘island nation’ if you will, and I think we want to continue down that path so that if the rest of the country falls apart, Texas can operate as a stand-alone entity with energy, food, water and roads as if we were a closed-loop system.”
The Texan’s willingness to go it alone as a new independent nation should not be taken as a lack of patriotism. Barry Smitherman appears to love both his country and his state and is planning and preparing to maintain order and quality of life in case an economic, man-made or natural disaster places Texas in a situation where it needs to fend for itself. The attorney general hopeful also stated that he considers such a preparedness mindset part of his duty as a public official.
In 2012, Exxon Mobil moved its headquarters to the Houston area, creating a plethora of jobs and tax revenue for the community. The American Legislative Exchange Council reports that more Americans have been relocating to Texas than anywhere else due to low taxes.
Many of the resources which Smitherman cites as readily available are likely due in large part to the ongoing recruiting efforts by Governor Rick Perry. The Republican Texas Governor may not have been eloquent while at the podium during the 2012 presidential debates, but he apparently knows how to successfully run a state.
Texas boasts some of the top employment rates and highest incomes, as well as some of the lowest tax rates and lowest crime rates in the United States.
In 2009, Rick Perry made reference to the possibility of secession due to Texans’ mounting dissatisfaction with Washington, D.C. politicians.
“We’ve got a great union,” Perry said then. “There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we’re a pretty independent lot to boot.”
As Gov. Perry noted, Texans have always boasted an independent streak, and have also always held a strong states’ rights mindset. Federal government overreach is a thorn in the side of many Libertarians, Republicans and conservatives.
Barry Smitherman said Texas makes enough energy that it could be independent.
“Today we are producing over 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, number one in the country by a wide margin,” he said. “These numbers put us in league with many OPEC nations. We are a bigger contributor to the country than Saudi Arabia. We have about a third of all the natural gas production in the nation, and these numbers are going vertical.”
