Tag: Institute on the Constitution

Michael Peroutka Calls League of the South "A Christian Free Market Group"; African-American Group Invites Peroutka to Speak

This morning former League of the South board member and candidate for Anne Arundel County Council Michael Peroutka held his news conference in Maryland. I was unable to go but I talked to one person in the meeting and am seeing some news reports filed after the event.
According to a source at the event, Peroutka accused me of unfairly editing the video of his 2012 speech at the League of the South annual conference. In that video, he supported secession and led the crowd in “Dixie”, calling it the “national anthem.” That post is here and as you will see, I included the entire video uncut, along with a separate video of his tribute to Dixie. In other words, if my source is accurate and Peroutka accused me of editing the video, Peroutka was wrong.
According to my source and the Capital Gazette, Peroutka called the League of the South “a Christian, free-market group.” According to this report, he sees no racism in the League of the South. The League of the South is pretty clear that they want a Southern homeland for white Europeans.
Peroutka’s designation for the League is not one that the League uses. They claim to be a Southern Nationalist organization that seeks secession and you don’t have to be a Christian to be in the League.
If his approach to the League is any indication, I doubt Peroutka helped himself with this press conference.
Meanwhile, a local caucus of African-American leaders has invited Peroutka to speak to their organization.

THE CAUCUS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERS
INVITES
MICHAEL ANTHONY PEROUTKA TO SPEAK

 
Annapolis, Maryland- July 30, 2014– Carl O. Snowden, convener of the Caucus of African American Leaders have invited Michael Anthony Peroutka, the Republican candidate for Anne Arundel County District Five to address the Caucus of African American Leaders at its September meeting.
 
Mr. Peroutka who is holding a 10:30 a.m. press conference today at Hampton Inn in Glen Burnie, Maryland  to respond to allegations that he is affiliated with a hate group and that he is an extremist. 

He is expected to respond to both the Caucus and other Republican candidates that have indicated that they will not support his candidacy. 
 
Mr. Snowden applauded District 30  Republican State Senate  candidate Don Quinn, who has publicly disavowed the candidacy of Mr. Peroutka. 

The Caucus of African American Leaders is a consortium of black elected officials, clergy, and civil rights organizations in Anne Arundel County, which includes the NAACP, Black Chamber of Commerce, sororities and activists.   The Caucus has invited both Republicans and Democrats to address them in the past. 

Previous candidates who have spoken before the Caucus include County Executive Laura Neuman, Speaker Michael E. Busch, Delegate Steve Schuh, former Anne Arundel County Sheriff George F. Johnson and Mr. Quinn to name a few.

“We believe that Don Quinn and the Republican candidate for Governor Larry Hogan is correct in their assertion that the extremist right-wing views of Mr. Peroutka should not be represented on the Anne Arundel County Council and we have called on Annapolis Mayor Mike Pantelides to join his fellow Republicans in denouncing his candidacy”, said Mr. Snowden.
 
He further stated, “Because we anticipate that Mr. Peroutka will deny that he is an extremist with racial animus, we are extending this public invitation for him to join us at our September meeting at the Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center in Annapolis, Maryland to speak directly to African American leaders’, said Mr. Snowden.
 
Mr. Snowden who knows Peroutka spokesman John Lofton, the two served together as panelist on WJZ-TV’s Square Off program, said, “All one has to do is review the public statements of John Lofton and Michael Anthony Peroutka and if their views are not extremist, than water is not wet”.  

For more information, please call 410-269-1524.

 
 

Baltimore City Paper on Michael Peroutka: "Extremist Dressed Up for Mainstream Appeal"

Out today, the Baltimore City Paper has a well-written summary of Michael Peroutka’s rise to notoriety.
Writer Van Smith notes that Peroutka is well positioned to win the Anne Arundel Council seat because he is similar to the mostly white, well-educated and well-to-do population in the 5th District of the county. From there Smith outlines his claim that Peroutka is an extremist trying to look mainstream. I’ve saying that for over a year; Smith does a good job of documenting the claim.
About Peroutka’s Institute on the Constitution, Smith accurately writes:

Similarly, the name of Peroutka’s Institute on the Constitution (IOC) fails to communicate its actual mission: creating theocratic governance based on both testaments of the Bible, similar to how extremist Muslims would like to establish states based on sharia law derived from the Quran.

Smith outlines a few facts about Peroutka’s personal life that I knew but chose not to write about. I suppose such details are more relevant now that he is running for office. Smith ends his article by saying about Peroutka, “He is what he is: an extremist dressed up for mainstream appeal.”
In all, the article is a good introduction to why Michael Peroutka’s IOTC should not be trusted by churches (or anyone) and why I hope he does not win the county election.
 

Michael Peroutka: I Wish I Was in Dixie is the National Anthem

At the 2012 League of the South conference, Michael Peroutka encouraged the League members to use his Institute on the Constitution course as a foundation for building their membership and preparing the way for secession (or some other form of destruction of the United States regime).

At the end of the speech, he sang a song about the “American view.” Then, after asking the audience to stand for the national anthem, he led them in “I Wish I Was in Dixie.”

Watch:

Here is the entire video.

If this doesn’t work, just go here.

Jul 30, 2012 Former Constitution Party candidate Michael Peroutka speaks at the 2012 League of the South national conference in Wallsboro, Alabama.

What Does Michael Peroutka Really Believe About Secession?

According to the Baltimore Sun, GOP nominee for the Anne Arundel County Council Michael Peroutka told Steve Schuh, a GOP candidate running for Anne Arundel County executive, that he does not believe in Southern secession from the union. However, in a 2012 speech (starting at 26 minutes) to the white separatist group, League of the South, Peroutka spoke favorably about secession:

I don’t disagree with Dr. Hill [League of the South president] at all that this regime is beyond reform, and I think that’s an obvious fact, and I agree with him. However, I agree that when you secede, or however the destruction of the rubble of this regime takes place and how it plays out, you’re going to need to take a biblical world view, and apply it to civil law and government. That’s what you’re still going to need to do. We’re going to have to have this foundational information in the hearts and minds of the people or else liberty won’t survive the secession either. You see what I’m saying? I’m saying that because I don’t want people from League of the South that for one minute that I am about reforming the current regime, and that studying the Constitution is about reforming the current regime. (emphasis added)

Watch:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/vc99QKjjq80[/youtube]
In 2013, Peroutka joined the board of the League and pledged the resources of his family and the Institute on the Constitution to the League’s efforts.
Watch:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/vze4fPPkgxY[/youtube]
One of the prime objectives of the League is secession. It is difficult to understand why one would join, speak to and help run an organization if one did not support the prime objectives of the organization. In 2012, he was quite candid in his agreement with the president of the organization that the United States is beyond reform and that a “biblical world view” was necessary for secession.

Maryland Republicans Distance Themselves from Michael Peroutka

I assumed it would eventually happen. Maryland Republicans (with a few sad exceptions) are distancing themselves from Michael Peroutka in his bid to become a county council member in Anne Arundel County (MD).
Yesterday, GOP candidate for Anne Arundel County executive Steve Schuh called on Peroutka to quit the League of the South. According to the Capital Gazette, the MD GOP executive director, Joe Cluster, asked Peroutka to resign from the League. Reportedly, Peroutka did not say what he would do.
Peroutka repeatedly has pledged his support for the League of the South. He recently thanked League president Michael Hill for his support and asked for financial contributions from the League.  Hill called Peroutka a “Southern nationalist candidate.”
Maryland’s Republican candidate for governor, Larry Hogan, also distanced himself from Peroutka by saying the Republican party does not stand for the principles embodied by the League of the South.  The Baltimore Sun reported yesterday that Peroutka denied being a racist and said he did not believe in secession. Peroutka should be asked why he continues to belong to a group and accepted a board member position with a group that believes in white separatism and secession as cardinal points of belief.
In my opinion, the Republicans should go a step further and refuse to support Peroutka even if he says he quits the League. While it may mean losing one seat, they will lose no matter who wins in District 5 because there is no actual Republican running.
See also this article from Jonathan Hutson on the Huffington Post.