Ron Paul Still Believes That Secession Is 'Very American'

As residents in over thirty states file petitions to secede from the United States in the wake of President Obama's reelection, Rep. Ron Paul's (R-Texas) office is reaffirming the congressman's belief that the right to secede is an "American principle."

Paul spokeswoman Rachel Mills told US News & World Report that the congressman "feels the same now" as he did in April 2009, when he said that "it's very American to talk about secession" in a YouTube video.

"It's very American to talk about secession," Paul said in the video. "That's how we came into being. Thirteen colonies seceded from the British and established a new country, so secession is very much an American principle... Just think of the benefits that would have come over the last 230 some years if the principle of secession had existed."

Paul's 2009 comments resurfaced as a petition for Texas secession on the White House's website received over 81,000 signatures, far surpassing the threshold for the Obama administration to respond. Petitions for other states, including Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, have racked upwards of 20,000 supporters.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, whose 2009 comment on secession was the impetus for Paul's video, clarified Tuesday that he does not stand behind the petition. Perry's press secretary said that the governor "believes in the greatness of our Union and nothing should be done to change it."