New Secession Petitions to the White House

[daleduke17]

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2...te-149291.html

This could be interesting to hear how Obama will talk to it. The Texas petition is close to getting enough signatures to require official consideration.

And of course, even with logical thought out reasons on wanting to secede, people are screaming "YOU ARE ALL RACISTS".

I, for one, give these residents and states credit for standing up for what they want, and going about it the legal way to try and effect change. It may not have been best to do it with in a few days of the election, but, let's see what the President has to say and see if he will sit down and talk and try and reach a compromise that will actually help the country as a whole as well as keep the country whole.

[Gravekeeper]

The problem is these people don't know what they want. They're grasping at an illusionary American they've been told use to exist that can exist again if by god they'd just get rid of the black guy and let the rich old white men have all the money again. They're afraid of phantoms they themselves created. Also, most red states are a net loss for the union. They take more money then they give back. If they secede they'll be no more sweet sweet federal money for them. They'll lose their entire support system and collapse into forlorn ghettos.

But, that aside, *anyone* can create a petition. These are just a small group of butthurt fringe lunatics making noise. ;p

Obama shouldn't even dignify it with a direct response to be honest.

Texas has a population of 25 million people. So what if 10,000 of them are butthurt?

[Greenday]

Another problem with these petitions is that it doesn't matter what state you are from, you can still sign a petition. Look at New Jersey's petition. Most signers aren't from the state. While Texas's petition seems to have more people from in-state, plenty aren't from Texas.

These petitions are worth NOTHING if anyone can sign them.

[AdminAssistant]

I think there will have to be some kind of response. There's a few things I want to say here. First, I really wish we could stop saying "red state" and "blue state", or at least stop using red state as a pejorative. There were quite a few states in the South (mine included) that Romney only won by a narrow margin. Medical marijuana very nearly passed in Arkansas. There are lots of liberals down here in God's country, y'all, and I'm a liiiittle tired of hearing people say that the former Confederacy should just be cut loose. Especially because it's almost always non-Americans or people in urban areas on the coast. Just because it's different here doesn't mean it's bad, or that we're all bad people.

To the issue at hand - I think there has to be a response. Personally? Now that the election is over and we can all stop worrying about Ohio, it would be really nice for the President to go to Texas, talk to the people there, and see what can be done to reunite this country. And he's probably going to need to line up a trip to West Virginia and see what he can do to boost their economy so those people can recover from coal mines closing shop.

[Greenday]

First, I really wish we could stop saying "red state" and "blue state"

This would be nice. There really is no such things as red states or blue states. Let's look at some states in the South:

Texas: 57.2% of the population voted Romney. But in the major cities (Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio), Obama won and it wasn't even close in some of those cities.

Florida: In just about every huge urban area, Obama won.

North Carolina: Obama won almost every huge urban area.

Missouri: Romney won nearly every single district. The three he lost were the three biggest urban areas in the state.

I can do this all day. For the most part, it almost becomes urban vs. rural. Both "red" and "blue" states follow this trend. So it's not like the South is uniformly Republican/conservative. Nor is the North uniformly Democrat/Liberal.

[Andara Bledin]

One of the things these secessionists don't think of: can their state survive as it's own country?

There are only a few states that have enough in the way of resources, access, and business that could manage it, and even the best of them would have a difficult time on their own.

I honestly believe that any state that actually succeeded in seceding wouldn't last even 20 years before having to get some other country to play big brother, and in most cases, that would end up being the US.

^-.-^

[wolfie]

Some along the northern border (even landlocked states) might stand a chance if they made the "secede, then find a partner" process in one jump - become the 11th province. Of course, many of those states went for Obama, so they'd have no reason to secede. Also, if any state did that, there'd be a precedent - and as soon as Harper got booted out of Ottawa (until then, there's no incentive because he supports them at the expense of the other provinces), Alberta would secede and become the 50th state (since the seceding state that set the precedent would cut the count back down to 49).

[bex1218]

Or maybe 51st if Puerto Rico has joined .

[violiav]

Texas could not stay afloat without Federal funds.
Texas ranks 9th on this list
FRom Politico

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Not to mention that since most states were only one by a slim margin, that means that about half the people in the state wouldn't want to secede, and if the state did, they'd probably pack up fast and book it to a state that was still part of the USA. There are also plenty of people who didn't vote for Obama, may or may not have voted for Romney, that will react with, "WHOA WHOA WHOA. Secede?! NO WAY!" So they'd probably book it out of there too.

Why be part of a new country-state with a failing infrastructure and economy when they can continue being part of a country that has a recovering economy and already establish infrastructure?

[Panacea]

Obama shouldn't even dignify it with a direct response to be honest.

He has to comment on it, or rather the administration does. It's on a White House website. If it gets enough signatures in 30 days, the WH has to respond. It doesn't matter if the signatories are not from the state in question because the petition is not binding even if Obama had a stroke and said, "OK."

Which he won't. And it would still take legislative action in the states involved to actually secede, or try to. And I doubt the political will is there. It's all just rhetoric. It's not 1860 all over again.

One of the things these secessionists don't think of: can their state survive as it's own country?

There are only a few states that have enough in the way of resources, access, and business that could manage it, and even the best of them would have a difficult time on their own.

I honestly believe that any state that actually succeeded in seceding wouldn't last even 20 years before having to get some other country to play big brother, and in most cases, that would end up being the US.

^-.-^

Quoted for Truth. The things you point out are the very reason we ditched the Articles of Confederation (in which the former colonies were independent nations) in favor of a central government with the Constitutional Convention.

Or maybe 51st if Puerto Rico has joined .

They have to have a state Constitutional Convention first. But their local government can now call for one, draft a constitution, and if it is approved by the voters and ratified by Congress they will be come a state. It's about time, really.

[Rapscallion]

Another problem with these petitions is that it doesn't matter what state you are from, you can still sign a petition. Look at New Jersey's petition. Most signers aren't from the state. While Texas's petition seems to have more people from in-state, plenty aren't from Texas.

These petitions are worth NOTHING if anyone can sign them.

Maybe several people from other states just don't want the other states in the union?

I suspect there's no real planning of this nature involved, but the thought amuses me.

In other news, there's a heady aroma of butthurt in the air.

Rapscallion

[Greenday]

Maybe several people from other states just don't want the other states in the union?

Maybe but I suspect that it's about the same people signing every petition. So God forbid a state actually put it to a vote, it'd get shot down by a gigantic majority.

[Tanasi]

How about kicking New York out??? Surely we can get salsa from another state!!!

[crashhelmet]

Governor Perry told the Dallas Morning News this morning that Texas would not secede. He believes in the "Greatness of the Union," a term being parroted by a lot of people in the Republican party.

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