A thought on the so-called "secession movement."

[WilliamPitt]

[JaneQPublic]

1. We should call their bluff.

Tell them not to let the door hit them on the way out.

Smart money says they'll do like a young child who threatens to run away from home: If allowed to pack their bag and take three steps out the door, they'll burst into tears and come running home.

[Horse with no Name]

2. Is this your facebook page Will?n/t

[WilliamPitt]

4. No.

Everlasting GOP Stoppers made this after an IM exchange we had.

[Horse with no Name]

9. :)

Thanks! Was going to add you,lol.

I don't do very much politics on my FB page but was going to make an exception.

[WilliamPitt]

10. I do have an FB page

It's William Rivers Pitt. We have fun, come on by!

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I live in Arkansas. I just found out from a friend that some Arkansas residents

have petitioned to secede. It's embarassing.

[SouthernLiberal]

15. I saw a couple of South Carolina petitions, too

That did not surprise me though, since we have already been the chosen target of the folks who want to take over SC and then secede to form an evangelical christian nation.

[Cleita]

5. I haven't said anything about this movement because I think

it's another issue to distract us from what is really going on. We have to really watch what is going on in Washington during the lame duck period until January when the power structure shifts.

[AlinPA]

6. I see it as media crap.

[robertpaulsen]

7. Deport Everyone That Signed A Petition To Withdraw Their State From The United States Of America.

I signed this petition laughingly, wondering how many people who actually signed a petition to withdraw their state from the USA ever said to someone else, "America! Love it or leave it!"

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/deport-everyone-signed-petition-withdraw-their-state-united-states-america/dmQl1bXL

[Polldancer2012]

8. I respectfully disagree

Let me explain why I am right.

Lets pretend BOOM Texas is a nation. First thing that happens is an uber right wing constitution and the Dems flee the state. That includes millions of low income people from urban areas. Then businesses will move to Texas, wealthy people will move there for tax reasons.

At this point the US would have to cordon off the state and have no trade agreements because if Texas were allowed to trade with the US it would be a wealthy nation.

[CJCRANE]

14. If millions of the low income people flee...

then who will do all the low-paying but necessary jobs?

And why would businesses relocate there if there is no pool of available workers?

[Polldancer2012]

17. Low income blue collar repubs, aka white trash lol nt

[TalkingDog]

18. Yeah... your understanding of true poverty seems to be rather limited.

You sound like those people who berated the poor in New Orleans for not leaving before the storm came.

How the hell are all those urban poor supposed to get out? Walk? Cause a good number of them don't have cars or the money for gasoline. And then there is the: I'm not moving no matter what apolitical poor.

Given that more of the poor states are conservative, I'm pretty sure that the conservative poor who could afford to move to Texas would outnumber those that left. That means they would end up with more needy people than before they "secdeeded".

[Polldancer2012]

20. Wouldn't they have strict immigration? Duh

And the US would surely run evacuation transports out of Texas.

[TalkingDog]

23. Those things cost money. You aren't helping your case. Every thing you've suggested is

a drain on their now-limited economy.

[Polldancer2012]

26. I just see it differently

Texas would be the new "Caymans"

IF the US allowed trade between nations...

I can't imagine how many businesses would move their business and cash there.

Why is there auto mfg in Tennessee? Same reason why there'd be mfg in Texas.

Come on, you can do better.

[mercuryblues]

28. The US will

have no choice but to pull out the military bases.

Major Installations

Army
•Fort Bliss
•Red River Army Depot
•Fort Hood
•Sam Houston/Camp Bullis
•Ingleside Army Depot

Navy & Marine Corps
•Corpus Christi Naval Air Station/Naval Hospital/Naval Station
•Kingsville Naval Air Station

Air Force
•Randolph AFB
•Brooks City Base
•Lackland AFB
•Sheppard AFB
•Air Force Plant 4 (formerly Carswell AFB)
•Dyess AFB
•Goodfellow AFB
•Laughlin AFB

Coast Guard
•Corpus Christi
•Houston/Galveston
•VTS Houston/Galveston
•Air Station Corpus Christi
•Air Station Houston
•Search and Rescue Station Freeport
•Search and Rescue Station Port Aransas
•Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur
•VTS Port Arthur
•Marine Safety Unit Texas City


Now factor in the loss of spending. No FEMA is a biggie for Texas as they tend to get hurricanes, hope they allow people to keep their bootstraps. Football season would be pretty boring with only 2 teams.

Forget those student loans and pell grants for college students. I wonder how long it would take for the highway system to crumble without federal funds.

How will they protect themselves if Mexico decides to invade?

There isn't anything made in Texas that the US can't get elsewhere. So I suspect the US will ban trade with Texas and get a UN coalition of sanctions.

Now do you really think Texas would not only survive, but thrive.

[Polldancer2012]

29. well...

I said several times in my post...

IF TRADE IS ALLOWED.

Obviously the US can bomb Texas duh.

But if Texas were allowed to survive LIKE MEXICO or LIKE CANADA... as a neighbor and trading ally... yes they'd thrive.

And if it was an amicable separation, they'd negotiate Texas keeping some of the military hardware and infrastructure. Mexico invading lol?? The 3rd Armored Cav by ITSELF could beat anything the nation of MEXICO has lol.

But this is all philosophic masturbation as it will never happen. It just annoys me when people say dumb things like "Texas couldn't survive without the US"

[mercuryblues]

32. you have a lot of ifs in there

Do you really think the US government would let Texas secede amicably? That is pure fantasy. Allowing Texas keep billions of dollars of military equipment. Nope. That would never happen.

The 3rd armored Calvary would save Texas from a Mexican invasion. Do you mean the 3AC that is PART of the US Army? That one? Think again. Sure some military would try to defect and defend Texas. They would even probably get a lot of people to move there. Just as many people would be leaving.

Do you honestly think the US government would let a state secede? There would be war and bombs dropped. The last time states tried to really secede there was this thing called THE CIVIL WAR. How sure are you of the people in Texas taking up arms in a revolt? If they are that anxious to actually go to war there is one in Afghanistan they could volunteer for, but they aren't.

How will Texas survive as a country after the US declares war on it? Blocking the ports, getting the UN to authorize sanctions and trade barriers.

Texas could not survive without the US government. Even Rick Perry knows that. Texas gets back MORE in federal dollars than it pays in. They will lose the income they get from the military bases. They will lose the shipping industry, they will lose FEMA, they will lose highway spending, and lose infrastructure spending. Not to mention the revenue the sports teams generate. No funding for education. No more college loans and Pell grants = A loss in enrollment. No more Federal grants. UTEP just received a million dollar grant to innovate green technology. Those types of grants will be GONE. The higher ED system will not fare well.

There is nothing that Texas provides the US, that we couldn't get elsewhere. So I will say the Texas today would not survive without the US. Texas would survive in name only. It won't be the Texas you're picturing. It will look more like Afghanistan. It is dumb to think otherwise.

I think it would benefit secessionists to start thinking about America and Americans instead of themselves. It is time for them to stop listening to the hate speech and start supporting the US. It is time for the rmoney's and trumps of this country to give back willingly to the country that helped make them rich. It is time for the hate preach to stop and ministers to lift up their congregations instead of fleecing them. It is time for politicians to stop suppressing the people in favor of the few. It is time for the secession talk to stop. Even if it is not serious. It serves no useful purpose for the future of this country. It serves the purpose of the oligarchs; keeping the citizens divided.

It is just time.

[CJCRANE]

31. They wouldn't be enough

to do all the menial jobs that the rich and corporations rely on.

But in any case, I doubt poor Democrats would leave because, as has been pointed out, by definition the poor can't afford to relocate.

There's more likely to be a brain drain of the educated and high income earners.

[kurt_cagle]

27. It would, but ...

Texas is still oil rich, albeit not as much as in the past, and there would be significant questions concerning any oil wells more than 20 miles off the coast. It would also be a business magnet at first, assuming massive liberalization of govt regulations and taxes. However, over time they'd experience a brain drain of qualified labor, and the needs of setting up a new self-sustaining government would ultimately end up driving a move towards "nationalization" of resources for tax purposes. They'd also find themselves seriously struggling with pollution issues, and the first time a hurricane hits Galveston or Houston, the costs involved could be stratospheric.

[CatWoman]

11. not to be off topic

but DAMN you're gray!!!

[WilliamPitt]

12. Yup

Happened fast.

[HopeHoops]

13. I say let them go for a provisional period, say four years - no voting, nothing.

They'll come crawling back home within six months.

[rhett o rick]

16. I say let them go. They are a net income loss. Let them fund their own military. LOL. nm

[phantom power]

19. Secede. Go Galt. Please.

But that would give us some peace and quiet, and let us have nice things, and so Murphy's Law indicates it will never happen.

[cherish44]

21. Be sure to go piss directly on one of those Veterans we honored a couple of days ago

you know for serving, sacrificing and dying for this country they hate so much.

[WilliamPitt]

22. ?

Wha...?

[TalkingDog]

24. I might be wrong, but I think they're talking to the SECDEErs

n/t

[thucythucy]

25. Haven't any of these people ever heard of "self deportation?"

[JoeyT]

30. Three years is about right.

But in that three years they'd become a third world country and lynch anyone that was LGBT, non-religious (Or the wrong religion), a minority, or a liberal. In the end they'd run out of hated groups to kill and probably have the death penalty for being destitute. So it's probably not an experiment worth trying.