Texas tea party candidate: Violent government uprising ‘on the table’

Republicans are distancing themselves from Texas congressional candidate Stephen Broden after he suggested Thursday that a violent overthrow of the government is "on the table."

Reporter Brad Watson of WFAA-TV asked Broden during a lengthy exchange if violence is a potential method by which to revolutionize government, Melanie Mason reports for the Dallas Morning News.

Broden, a pastor, responded: "The option is on the table. I don't think that we should remove anything from the table as it relates to our liberties and our freedoms. ... However, it is not the first option."

Broden's remarks — together with a clutch of recent stories connecting tea party leaders and supporters with extremist views — are not the sort of news that tea party strategists need as they seek to close the deal with many independent voters seeking reassurance about the movement's ability to govern in the final days of the 2010 campaign.

Broden, who is waging an uphill battle against Democratic Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson in the race for Texas's 30th District House seat, has received the endorsement of Sarah Palin and local members of Congress such as Pete Sessions and Sam Johnson. Some tea party adherents have hailed him as an inspiration for the overall movement. Local news outlets peg the race as one to watch.

But yesterday Jonathan Neerman, chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party, called Broden's statement a "disappointing, isolated incident," in an interview with the Morning News. Neerman added that he plans to discuss the matter with Broden's campaign.

Tea partiers and Republicans were on the defensive earlier this week after the NAACP released a report tying portions of the tea party to white supremacist, white nationalist and militia groups. The report also claimed that national tea party factions have offered a platform for racists, bigots, and anti-Semites.

Tea party representatives denounced the report, with some suggesting the NAACP is merely race-baiting ahead of the election.

In other fringe tea party news this week, it was revealed that Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller, a Republican aligned with the tea party, hired a security company connected to extreme militia groups. The security company recently handcuffed a journalist at a Miller campaign event.

(Photo of Stephen Broden: Creative Commons)