As the sun rises in the east, so do politicians who say stupid things revise and extend those remarks afterward when people start asking them questions about what they really meant. And so it was the case with Rick Perry, who insisted to reporters that he didn't actually mean it when he said that Texas might look to secede if we got fed up enough with Washington, whatever that means. It might have been nice if the reporters had pressed him a bit more about the crowd to whom he made his initial statements, who were chanting "Secede! Secede!" in agreement with what they sure as heck thought he was saying, but I suppose you can't have everything. Regardless, Democratic leaders such as Jim Dunnam and Rodney Ellis and gubernatorial candidate Tom Schieffer have rightly jumped on Perry for his idiocy, and I hope more will join in. (Anyone heard from Kinky Friedman on this?) It'd be nice if a few Republicans expressed some concern about making such intemperate statements, at least the ones who haven't been busy making their own. Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath.

Of the many things that bother me about this, I think it's the fact that once again a Texas Republican has made national news in a way that disgraces the state and makes us look like a bunch of rubes and fools. It's been a nonstop parade of idiocy this year - Sharon Keller, the SBOE clown show, Louie Gohmert, Betty Brown, and now Rick Perry. I realize that there's a lot of people who don't care what others think about us, indeed who consider it a badge of honor to be looked down upon by the rest of the country and the world, but nothing good can come out of this. We can be as business-friendly a state as we want to be, but if people don't want to relocate here because they've had such a negative impression of the place because of stunts like these it won't do us any good. Exceptionalism isn't necessarily an asset.

Most of all, I can't believe I have to say any of this. Secession, for Christ's sake. Because some people are unhappy that they lost an election. Remember how a bunch of celebrities whined to the press in 2000 and again in 2004 that they'd leave the country if Bush won? Remember how we all thought they were jackasses for saying that? Remember how Republicans in particular piled on them for their knavery? Boy, those sure were the days. McBlogger, PDiddie, Stace, and Rachel Farris have more.