Eight-term Tennessee Republican Congressman, and candidate for Governor, Zach Wamp is unfurling the secession banner:
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-03) suggested TN and other states may have to consider seceding from the union if the federal government does not change its ways regarding mandates.
“I hope that the American people will go to the ballot box in 2010 and 2012 so that states are not forced to consider separation from this government,” said Wamp during an interview with Hotline OnCall.
He lauded Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), who first floated the idea of secession in April ’09, for leading the push-back against health care reform, adding that he hopes the American people “will send people to Washington that will, in 2010 and 2012, strictly adhere” to the constitution’s defined role for the federal government.
“Patriots like Rick Perry have talked about these issues because the federal government is putting us in an untenable position at the state level,” said Wamp, who is competing with Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam (R) and LG Ron Ramsey (R) for the GOP nod in the race to replace TN Gov. Phil Bredesen (D).
It’s worth noting that the most recent poll of the Gubernatorial primary showed Wamp in second place in a race with a large number of undecided voters, so I think you can put Wamp’s statement in the category of “politicians will say anything to get elected.” Of course, there’s a corollary that rule which says that politicians will also say something totally wacky that will destroy any chance they have of winning an election. It’s hard to tell for sure, but I think Wamp just gave his Republican opponents a nice big load of ammunition they can use against him. Instead of talking about practical solutions to real problems, Wamp is talking about an idea that was completely discredited by a little event called the Civil War. I haven’t been following this race all that closely, but I’m guessing that Wamp just guaranteed a Haslam victory.
