GOP Candidate Doesn't Rule Out Violent Overthrow of Government

Stephen Broden, a Republican running for Congress in a Dallas, Texas district, says if the Nov. 2 election does not yield the desired change in Washington then a violent overthrow of government would be one option "on the table," the Dallas Morning News reported.

Broden, a South Dallas pastor, made the remark in a prolonged back-and-forth exchange with WFAA-TV on Thursday.
When asked about his statement last year at a tea party event that the nation's government is tyrannical and could be altered by revolution if constitutional remedies fail, Broden initially avoided talk of insurrection. Altering it or abolishing it would be the best way to deal with repressive government, he said.

Pressed by reporter Brad Watson, Broden said: "If the government is not producing the results or has become destructive to the ends of our liberties, we have a right to get rid of that government by any means necessary." Watson asked if that includes violence as an option. "The option is on the table. I don't think we remove anything from the table as it relates to our liberties and our freedoms," Broden said.

The Dallas GOP didn't appreciate Broden's comments. "It is a disappointing, isolated incident," said Jonathan Neerman, head of the Dallas County Republican Party.

Broden is running in a heavily Democratic district against nine-term Democratic Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, whose campaign has been dogged by questions about misuse of Congressional Black Caucus Scholarship Foundation money.