It was last year while on the campaign trail for re-election as governor of Texas that Rick Perry somewhat facetiously suggested secession as an alternative to federal oppression. My reading of the Constitution pretty much tracks with the Abraham Lincoln judgment that the document prevents individual states from opting out without the approval of the rest, but Perry was referencing the original agreement for bringing Texas into the union after the Texian victory at San Jacinto.
There were two unusual provisions. One allowed the huge state to some day, if desired, break up into five smaller states. The other authorized unilateral withdrawal or secession if things didn't work out, sort of a no-fault divorce from the Union. Neither hold the force of law today, but they certainly are worth pondering. I somehow can't see a federal intervention and a Second Civil War to keep us in, if we chose to drop out.
Well, just to demonstrate that great and reasonable ideas develop legs of their own, we see this from a troubled region:
County Supervisor Proposes State of SoCal
What should be noted here is the reaction to these proposals. The opposition doesn't seem to address the concerns or even to point out the laws regarding such an alternative. Nope, what they do is say things like this:
“A secessionist movement? What is this, 1860?” Brown spokesman Gil Duran told The Press-Enterprise.Maybe a better question to ask, Gil, is what makes this elected official entertain such a notion in the first place? Ridicule is not debate, nor is it constructive.
Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster called Stone’s proposal a “crazy distraction.”
...
“The temperature has gone up in Riverside County and it seems Supervisor Stone has gotten too much sun recently,” he added.And calling people crazy or experiencing heatstroke is ignoring the issue that drives the discussion.
2 comments:
One of the more interesting twists I've heard or read regarding secession has to do with a large swath from Texas to Montana and beyond, including Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, forming a separate nation.
Seems some of our northern friends are as tired of Ottawa as we are of Washington.
Northern Californians have long wanted to be shed of the Southern Californian expense and illegal immigrant problems. So its not a new thing in California, its just backward because SoCal sucks resources and tax revenue from the north disproportionately to the benefits received.
Post a Comment