What you are saying is you have a problem with states rights, the intent of the original republic and freedom from centralized oppression on the Federal level.
I find that odd you would even come to a web sight called FREE REPUBLIC. You don't seem to fit in.
Why am I here? I'm a right-wing conservative. If I thought Free Republic were a neo-Confederate secessionist website, I wouldn't be here, but it's not.
You won't hear me objecting to state's rights. I'm a strong advocate of limited government at all levels. Furthermore, because government usually works best when it's closest to the problems at hand, I'd like to return as much power as possible to state and local governments, limiting the federal government to its constitutional duties, of which the most important is national defense. Ideally I'd like to see most of the federal bureaucracy dismantled and its functions either eliminated or returned to state and local government, but I'm realistic enough to know that would be an extremely long process and likely requires changes in federal tax policy to make it possible.
What you will hear me objecting to is advocacy of secession in a 2012 political context. First, it's impossible, and second, secessionist comments can be picked up by leftists and twisted to make conservatives look like racist bigots. I'm not a racist, I'm guessing you aren't either, and I'm well aware the Civil War was about much more than slavery, but to even raise issues like that in a modern political context runs great risks for no good reason.
Rather than talking about secession, which is not going to happen, I'd rather focus on fighting battles that we have a reasonable chance of winning.
http://www.lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2010/06/free-republic-now-pro-secession.html
I note that you participated on some of the threads referenced in that post, and got into a discussion with fightinJAG.
I happen to think this comment by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, quoted on Free Republic, makes sense: “I am afraid I cannot be of much help with your problem, principally because I cannot imagine that such a question could ever reach the Supreme Court. To begin with, the answer is clear. If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede. (Hence, in the Pledge of Allegiance, ‘one Nation, indivisible.’) Secondly, I find it difficult to envision who the parties to this lawsuit might be. Is the State suing the United States for a declaratory judgment? But the United States cannot be sued without its consent, and it has not consented to this sort of suit.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2453349/posts
I note that your tagline is a reference to Confederate Maj. James Innes Randolph's poem in which he said he hates the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and the American flag, and wished the Confederates had killed three million Union soldiers, not just 300,000. You posted it yourself here, and got into an argument with IrishCatholic about it: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2541766/posts?q=1&;page=86
RockR said this about you on Post 91 and 94 of that thread: “The differences between the assertions that central_va makes about ‘love of country’ and the anti-American diatribes can’t be more stark. He constantly wets his pants in anticipation of tearing our country apart...but of course does nothing but talk. I think the true answer is there for all to see... I understand and appreciate a lot of the anger felt by those on the right about the egregiousness abuses that the left is heaping upon our country right now. I even understand a little of the secessionist talk - within context and within reason. I just hate to see reasonable discussion hijacked by scum with agendas as malevolent as Øbozo’s. We can take our country back but not by stupid talk from idiots like cantral-va.”
Another post by org.whodat to someone else advocating secession: “If you wish to post about over throwing the Constitution, perhaps you should read Jims rules before you find yourself on the out side looking in.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381910/posts
It's up to the owners of Free Republic whether they want to tolerate neo-Confederate views or talk of secession. That's their call, not mine. But don't argue that I'm out of place here because I'm not a secessionist. It's crystal clear that Free Republic does not advocate secession — at most, it tolerates posts discussing secession.
Look, I'm an American and that means I have to believe that 1776 was a legitimate action. If you push me really hard and ask me what I'd say about resisting tyranny by someone like Stalin or Mao, you'd get me saying some things that don't look good in print. That's the sort of problem Rick Santorum has — he's my candidate, but I really wish he'd be more careful about saying politically unpopular things that antagonize people for no good reason.
My personal view is we aren't anywhere close to the point that we should be talking about secession. Yes, President Obama is bad, but my goal is to remove him at the ballot box, not give Democrats a reason to cite unfortunate postings here and claim that Republicans are neo-Confederates advocating a violent revolution. A year and a half ago, we had a massive victory of conservatives at the polls. We have a good shot at taking back the Senate this year, and despite some very weak Republican candidates, we may still manage to take back the White House.
Why talk about seceding when we're winning, or at least have a good shot at doing so?