Texans are fed up with federal tax policies, and might get so fed up that they decide they want to secede from the union, Gov. Rick Perry told reporters Wednesday after he attended an anti-tax tea party rally in Austin.

He said the federal government has gone somewhat astray from what our founders wanted and he believes the federal government is choking Americans with excessive spending and taxation.

And although Perry made it clear he doesn't see the need to secede and isn't advocating for that, he said there's no question that's on the mind of some Texans. That was obvious at tea parties around the state, where "Secede" was a popular slogan on signs.

"Texas is a unique place," he said. "When we came into the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that.

"My hope is that America and Washington in particular pays attention," he said. "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot.”

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