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As Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s Texas-sized mouth garners gushers of media attention in the opening days of his presidential campaign, fact-checking website Politifact has been working overtime to ride to Perry’s rescue, rating statements that Perry alternately “threatened to” or “wanted to” secede as “false.”

West Wing Report‘s Paul Brandus points out that it was on this date in 1862 that President Abraham Lincoln laid to rest any doubt about the right of states to secede. Politifact concedes that point, yet ignores it in analyzing the accusations against Perry.

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It seems as though cable news producers have a laminated rundown of topics to discuss on each night’s show: Sarah Palin? Check! Tea Party? Check! Texas Secession? Whaaa? Hardball producers came up with a unique take on the Tea Party movement when host Chris Matthews – and his Texas-residing guests — discussed how Texas Governor Rick Perry (and Tea Partiers ) have been casually throwing around ideas of secession. A dangerous game, or delightful fodder for cable news? Why not both!?