Good riddance to neo-secessionists
April 29, 2009 at 11:04 am by Andisheh Nouraee in NewsWhen Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry earlier this month insinuated Texas might attempt to secede from the United States, it was the most extreme expression so far of the Republican Party’s juvenile sore loserdom. They’ve been so thoroughly rejected by voters in two straight elections, the GOP is basically saying “Nevermind, we quit.”
Honestly, my first thought upon seeing the words “Texas” and “secede” in a headline this month was “good riddance.”
I don’t want the U.S. to break up, but it makes me smile to imagine a new USA, liberated from the millions of staunch Republicans who think the solutions to all society’s ills can be found in Leviticus.
The New Yorker’s Hendrik Hertzberg had a similar thought, only he’s smarter and a superior writer.
In his latest column, he imagines the win-win resulting from Texas and the rest of the Republican south splitting from the rest of the U.S.
The leftover United States, he says, would ”briskly enact sensible gun control, universal health insurance, and ample support for the arts, the humanities, and the sciences.”
And the new Confederacy?
“[It] could get on with the business of protecting the sanctity of marriage, mandating organized prayer sessions and the teaching of creationism in schools, and giving the theory that eliminating taxes increases government revenues a fair test. Although Texas and the other likely [secessionist] states already conduct some eighty-six per cent of executions, their death rows remain clogged with thousands of prisoners kept alive by meddling judges. These would be rapidly cleared out, providing more prison space for abortion providers.”
Next time a Republican “leader” hints at secession, don’t mock him. Encourage him.
April 29th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
As long as Atlanta is made into a city-state, like New Orleans, as this guy suggests….
April 29th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Uh, this will not do. Both Texas and Georgia will be purple soon and blue soon after that.
Look around, the demographics(age, race, ethnicity, income, level of education, etc..) mostly all favor what has happened in all the other large states.
These states could’ve gone purple in 2008 had their respective state parties not conceded the election for the get-go.
No,let Texas and Georgia stay. Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, West Virginia and Alabama can all go though.
May 3rd, 2009 at 11:51 am
The neo-secessionists should be careful what they wish for, cuz they might not only get it this time, they might have it crammed down their throats whether they like it or not. I wouldn’t mind at all seeing South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama be forced to secede (to get it over with in an orderly fashion). Then all the right wing nut jobs will have a place to go, and the rest of us can live in peace.