As the far-right MAGA contingent of the House of Representatives becomes more vocal and seeks greater control over the government of the United States far beyond their actual numbers, the idea of some states seceding from the Union has gotten more attention.
Recently, Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) tweeted: “We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat’s traitorous America Last policies, we are done.”
Most politicians, including many Republicans, railed against her idea, calling it "insane" and "evil." Many people also reminded her of what happened the last time several states seceded from the Union: it didn't end well for the secessionists.
Others have posted these facts:
Georgia itself is at least a "purple" state. While the local government is Republican, Georgia voted "blue" in 2020 and 2021, with Democrat President Joe Biden winning the vote in 2020, and Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock winning in 2021. In 2022, Senator Warnock won his election for a full term, winning four elections in two years.
Most of the "red states" have far smaller populations than the "blue states," and in fact, the blue states give far more revenue to the federal government than the red states do, and the red states receive far more federal funds than they give.
Although recently many of the southern states have secured manufacturing plants, etc., by allowing non-union employment contracts, the manufacturing sector is still primarily in blue states, just like in 1860.
In 2001, Grover Norquist, who founded Americans for Tax Reform in 1985 at the urging of President Reagan, declared in 2001: “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.”
The same Republicans who downsized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 14,000 to 800 working employees in an attempt to shrink the size of the federal government are now complaining that the EPA isn’t “doing enough” to help the residents of East Palestine, OH. The residents are suffering from a train derailment that released toxins into the air and water because the regulations for improved braking systems were rolled back by Donald Trump (again to reduce “government interference into businesses”).
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), signed into law on August 16, 2022, directs new federal spending toward reducing carbon emissions, lowering healthcare costs, funding the Internal Revenue Service, and improving taxpayer compliance. However, almost all Republicans voted against the IRA, yet they show up for the ribbon-cutting celebrations when new construction or new manufacturing comes to their red states.
So, just as in the 19th century, the "red states" represent a lot of mostly rural land while the "blue states" represent a lot of people. Yet the right wing is still trying to force minority rule, including using the idea of states’ rights being placed above federal laws.
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Actually, yes they can definitely try. States have threatened to secede repeatedly since the founding of this country.
It may surprise you to learn that the U.S. Constitution does not specifically say anything about seceding. Before and since the Constitution was ratified, there have been those who believe that states' rights supersede federal laws ("Anti-Federalists") and those who believe that the federal government is the last word ("Federalists").
Tenth Amendment
The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution (the last amendment in the Bill of Rights) states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Although the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v White (1868) that secession is unconstitutional, many have used this amendment as the basis for strong states' rights, including the right to secede.
However, the ruling made clear that a state (or states) can begin the process of seeking a mutually agreed upon parting of the ways. It concluded that a state (or states) could secede by gaining the approval of both houses of Congress and then obtaining ratification by three-fourths of the nation's legislatures. Not exactly an easy process.
Texas v. White alsosuggested another way a state might secede: “through revolution." If civil unrest becomes extreme, the state and the nation can simply agree to part ways to minimize the damage.
It seems as if "revolution" is the goal of many of the far-right politicians, media hosts, and domestic terrorism activists. From the "Tea Party" Republicans to the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, many are trying to bring about a "1776 Revolution" or another actual civil war to overtake the current United States government and re-mold it into their idea of what America should be and stand for.
Does the Constitution that they are trying to destroy or are practically ignoring altogether actually on their side of this debate?
Do you think that recent threats of secession are something to worry about?
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I saw a rather extensive Tweet thread discussing things like the TN bill to prohibit companies that recognize trans rights from practicing in TN. This could set up a "trade" war where the states prohibited by TN prohibit commerce with TN and all hell breaks loose and the union divides.
I saw a rather extensive Tweet thread discussing things like the TN bill to prohibit companies that recognize trans rights from practicing in TN. This could set up a "trade" war where the states prohibited by TN prohibit commerce with TN and all hell breaks loose and the union divides.