Which state will be the first to secede

[malaise]

in this millennium?

Reword subject

[quinnox]

1. I'm hoping Texas

I'm gettin' tired of the politicians they inflict on the country down there. Texas is its own special place and they deserve their own country.

[SammyWinstonJack]

9. Like it's already not unbearable enough living here.

:shrug:

[Cirque du So-What]

18. Well, guess what? Texas doesn't GET to secede!

Not unless they figure out a way to pay back the federal government for all the infrastructure we Americans have paid for over the years. It's not like we can take physical possession of roads & bridges & power distribution systems & buildings & telecommunications & aviation facilities, yunno. Besides, I don't think Texans would be too pleased if all the defense contractors moved and built new facilities in the USA...can't be doin' the defendin' of 'Murica with a bunch of damn furriners, after all.

[jwirr]

40. Not to mention military bases we have all paid for. We are not leaving

the bases to any particular state to use against us.

[kentauros]

22. And maybe every single dormant volcano on the Pacific Northwest

will suddenly go off at once. It's not like y'all produce anything useful, other than more hateful DU-ers :eyes:

[quinnox]

26. what the heck, why can't you guys take a joke

I thought it was pretty obvious my response was tongue in cheek. You Texans always jump all over me.

[kentauros]

29. No, we "jump all over" DU-ers that are constantly bashing Texas.

While Parry said we should secede, I haven't met a single individual here that agrees with him on that. And yet, to DU, because "we" elected him, he represents 100% of us. The "secede" meme appears to be permanent in the minds of many DUers, even if it's really impossible.

I would love to know how often you have to put up with nearly as much bashing as we do. Because it's likely to not even approach 10% of the time. So, yeah, we're sensitive to this issue.

[Ishoutandscream2]

31. +Infinity. Thank you.

[cordelia]

32. Thank you, and I'm not from Texas.

But I am from the much maligned South.

[kentauros]

35. I find it really weird around here.

As much as we liberals embrace education and staying informed, and then try to educate and inform our fellow DUers, the resistance to actually being educated about our place of residence appears to go way up. Better to remain ignorant in order to keep the hate going, I guess...

[WolverineDG]

45. It's ok to remain bigoted & ignorant about places, people, & topics

that are not in favor on DU.

Jeez, haven't you learned that by now? ;)

dg

[kentauros]

46. Oh, I've learned it!

But I still find it weird ;)

Or maybe I should say that I find it hypocritical :P

[WolverineDG]

43. marry me nt

[kentauros]

48. I don't think my NZ girlfriend would like that very much.

They may be all nice and polite and have a really cool accent on the outside, but, they do have to put up with tsunamis, earthquakes and tropical cyclones down there. Not to mention the fact that they play rugby :P

[WolverineDG]

42. In order to qualify as a joke, you need something called a "punch line"

And besides, if you have to tell people it was a joke, then it wasn't a joke.

dg

[newfie11]

2. none

their all bluff.

Then again maybe they are that stupid!:shrug:

[Javaman]

47. I agree. The first one that does will become a pariah. nt

[hobbit709]

3. The ones that want to secede would instantly achieve Third World status.

[LWolf]

4. Maybe the left coast can secede and leave

theocracy, neoliberalism, and neoconservativism behind.

[socialist_n_TN]

16. That's what I was thinking..........

:) I'd move there and then we wouldn't have to send all of our tax dollars to the Red state welfare cheats.

[mac56]

5. Alaska

[no_hypocrisy]

6. A Red State would not want to give up

federal subsidies and protection by the federal military. Not to mention federal economic protections.

Secessionists want to eat their cake and have it too.

[treestar]

17. And a Red State would not want to give up the power associated

with the US as a whole. There is no way any such state, say, Texas, really wants that. The Texas military might not even have access to WMD. Texas wouldn't be able to attack other countries and call itself the most powerful nation in the world.

They make noise, but they want to take over the huge US power and apparatus. No way do they want to stand on their own stately feet as a nation!

[no_hypocrisy]

33. Texas also doesn't have the financial or police forces necessary to

enforce its borders with Mexico or from the rest of "the Union".

[tomg]

7. Vermont, simply because they

seem to be the sanest. I hope after they do, I can emigrate there.

[cali]

12. We are sane- and we won't be seceding.

In fact, no state will.

[glinda]

19. I am with you.

[CBGLuthier]

8. As a nation we have pretty much decided our position on this

The last time it really was not clear whether or not states had the right to secede. Perhaps a glaring omission in the Constitution but the course and outcome of the Civil War have replaced the need for the Constitution to address the issue.

States do not have the right to secede and secession will not be tolerated. Despite any claims to the contrary, that even includes Texas.

[asjr]

10. SC again would be nice. Then

we would not have Lindsey Graham looped around our necks.

[raccoon]

21. Yes, by george, we did it before and we'll do it again. :sarcasm: nt

[HappyMe]

11. None. nt

[kentauros]

25. Right.

Maybe, for once, we can learn to live with each other, promoting our strengths, instead of always focusing on our weaknesses.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

13. I hope California. n/t

[Johonny]

14. East Dakota

[HopeHoops]

15. The state of Reality already did.

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. Thread winner

[malaise]

41. DUzy

:applause:

[slackmaster]

20. Puerto Rico

I hope that settles it.

[chrisa]

24. Puerto Rico is actually a common wealth, but yeah, I don't see why

the US keeps them as a part of its unofficial territory.

[slackmaster]

27. There are still more than 990 years left in the millenium

Plenty of time for Puerto Rico to achieve statehood, then secede.

[The2ndWheel]

23. It won't be a voluntary act

If it gets too expensive to keep it all together, it'll just happen.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

28. District of Columbia

First, it has to be named a state.

Then, it can secede and become a little country, like Singapore or Lichtenstein.

[Bluenorthwest]

30. The States most prone to such things can not afford to do it

they get most of their money from the States they hate.

[Ganja Ninja]

34. I'm afraid Florida will be underwater before it has a chance to secede.

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. It won't be the one that threatened...

Well the guv did, and I will leave it at that.

[dmallind]

38. None forseeable, but considering it raised a question for me

Since I live in a state which is much more likely to secede with Texas than Vermont, it made me consider what choice I would make, and what those in the Civil War did when faced with that in reality.

Surely there were abolitionists in SC and "states' rights" slavery fans in PA. Even though then it may have been easier to move than now (not physically, but as in a limited number of ways to make a living, with most of them saleable anywhere) it would still have been a major cost and risk. What did abolitionist southerners do if they were not of military age or health? How were they treated by their neighbours? This may be old hat to some, but about all I know about the Civil War is the years and who won.

[Literate Dragon]

39. Think it can't happen?

What if the Republicans totally win the 2012 election, and the Tea Party agenda dominates not only the House but also the Senate and the White House? What if in 2013 they dismantle Medicare and Social Security, abolish the income tax and replace it with some sort of regressive tax, outlaw unions, and start on privatizing public education? Those of you who live on the West Coast, in the Northeast, in the upper Midwest, would you perhaps reconsider the possibility of seceding then?

I've been thinking that this may be the only way to break the current impasse, in which both parties are dominated by politicians on the corporate take. The Republicans are more extreme than the Democrats, but neither party represents a solution as it is presently constituted. Democracy in the U.S. is a sham. It may be necessary to resort to some sort of radical solution, if not secession then perhaps a new Constitutional convention to create a new government that will be free from corruption. The states have this right under the Constitution, although it has never been done. 2/3 of the states must vote to request a new convention; if so requested Congress MUST call the convention, which may then propose amendments to the Constitution up to and including rewriting the entire document. The proposed amendments would then have to be ratified by 3/4 of the states.

We are in a crisis situation here. It may take extreme measures to resolve it.

[Romulox]

44. Michigan, if we can get pre-approval from our friends in the Great White North.

One can dream, eh? :shrug: