Tag: secession

California Secessionists Just Took Their First Major Step Towards a Bid for Independence

The California secessionist movement is fast becoming a political reality, even though it stands no realistic chance of ever succeeding.

In a crucial first step towards their long term goal, secessionists have successfully filed a ballot initiative proposing that the state become its own country and secede from the United States.

The initiative has now been cleared for signature gathering and will require 546,651 valid signatures by July 22nd in order to become a formal ballot initiative.

If successful, voters would be asked in 2028 the following question: “Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?”

According to the guidelines set out by its organizers, if over 55 percent of voters said “yes” on a turnout of over 50 percent, would constitute “a vote of no confidence in the United States of America.”

It would also then declare that the “will of the people of California” is to become an independent country.

On this basis, state authorities would be required to create a commission on the viability of California becoming an independent country.

The cost of this initiative and the associated commission is estimated at around $10 million, as well as $2 million in annual state costs to keep the commission going.

There are currently no provisions for secession under the U.S. Constitution.

In 1869, The Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White that unilateral secession is unconstitutional, meaning that Congress would have to approve any departure.

Keep reading

The Era of Secession

Secession as a concept is regularly scoffed at by most individuals who have wielded power through the years. The general line one hears is, “How could the people possibly keep the peace without rulers deciding things for them?” As the world falls apart more and more thanks to the inept ruling classes, it is becoming clearer to common people that such disdainful rhetoric has no basis in fact. Many people are opening their minds to rediscover a principle which helped give birth to the American nation – that ordinary people can govern themselves. Newcomers to self-determination in the wider world will start exploring how to put their ideas into practice, and they are bound to discover the American founders achieved self-governance with separation from a corrupt system – in a word – secession.

In recent years, not many ordinary people paid attention to secession movements such as Scotland in 2014 or Catalonia in 2017. Today, however, the corruption and hubris of elites has resulted in rapid deterioration of societies across the world. It is motivating people to search for solutions that cut directly to the root of problems which are now becoming quite painful to them. The origin of these pressing problems lies in the political realm, and while ruling classes stifle the traditional avenues of political change, namely elections and electoral opposition, citizens have been forced to look for other means to effectively address the problems. It is this development more than anything else, which is now driving the rising popularity of “secession as a solution.”

Noteworthy secession movements and overall sentiment for independence are both growing at a rapid pace across the world. Some secession movements have progressed to more advanced stages than others, but they are all on the rise. Across Europe, where citizens are obviously suffering from the failures of elite classes, secession sentiment is rising so fast that, in many cases, the rulers of old empires are being forced to pivot from intimidation to negotiation as their power structures crumble.

In Spain, Catalan independence has undergone a dramatic transformation in fortunes over the last eighteen months. It was an object of mockery for the Elitist classes in January 2023, but their position was reversed upon becoming the “kingmakers” in forming Spain’s new government following the 2023 elections. This resulted in an amnesty law which decriminalized the practice of calling for independence from Spain and gave new life to the Catalan separatist movement. It also seems to have inspired rising support for separatist movements in other parts of Northern Spain such as the Basque Provinces and Galicia.

France also faces a future which seems destined for breakup. After being unceremoniously ousted from it’s position of influence in central Africa, the French elites have tried to keep up the nation’s pose as a player on the world stage, especially in regards to the conflict in Ukraine with their bellicose rhetoric towards Russia. It seems to be an act covering a very fragile domestic situation where protests on multiple issues from farming to immigration have shaken the country to its core. Emboldened, separatists on the island of Corsica have taken this opportunity to force President Macron to the bargaining table to discuss their demands. Meanwhile, separatist movements in Brittany, French Catalonia, and other areas have been revived and will likely be in a position to make similar moves in the near future.

Keep reading

Left-Wing Nation Essay Calls for ‘Blue-State Secession’

An article published on Wednesday in The Nation presents a thorough case for a “blue-state secession,” claiming it is “the only way to ensure democracy and equal justice” for all citizens.

The essay, penned by writer and CUNY Professor Nathan Newman and titled “The Case for Blue-State Secession,” claims that despite “demands for secession by red-state leaders and conservative commentators” it is actually blue states that possess “the real case” for secession.

Newman explains that American politics “systematically tilts money and power to smaller and more conservative states” which undermines “the interests of the majority of the population.”

He adds that “[o]ur current constitutional arrangements are not just undemocratic; they starve blue states financially, deny human rights to their residents, and repeatedly undermine local policy innovation,” before referencing GOP candidates who “took the presidency,” or came close to doing so, despite losing the popular vote; and a Senate controlled by “a minority of the population” filling the Supreme Court “with a supermajority of Republican justices.” 

“Given the undemocratic power of the Senate to entrench its own minority rule, the threat of secession is the only viable route to restoring democracy and equal justice, not just for blue-state residents but for Americans in all 50 states who are hurt by our undemocratic political system,” he writes.

Keep reading

Democrats’ ‘War Game’ for Election Includes West Coast Secession, Possible Civil War

In one scenario, John Podesta — the former chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and a leading figure in party circles — played former Vice President Joe Biden, and refused to concede the election.

The result: the threat of secession by the entire West Coast, followed by the possible intervention of the U.S. armed forces:

But conveniently, a group of former top government officials called the Transition Integrity Project actually gamed four possible scenarios, including one that doesn’t look that different from 2016: a big popular win for Mr. Biden, and a narrow electoral defeat, presumably reached after weeks of counting the votes in Pennsylvania. For their war game, they cast John Podesta, who was Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, in the role of Mr. Biden. They expected him, when the votes came in, to concede, just as Mrs. Clinton had.

But Mr. Podesta, playing Mr. Biden, shocked the organizers by saying he felt his party wouldn’t let him concede. Alleging voter suppression, he persuaded the governors of Wisconsin and Michigan to send pro-Biden electors to the Electoral College.

In that scenario, California, Oregon, and Washington then threatened to secede from the United States if Mr. Trump took office as planned. The House named Mr. Biden president; the Senate and White House stuck with Mr. Trump. At that point in the scenario, the nation stopped looking to the media for cues, and waited to see what the military would do.

Notably, on Election Night in 2016, Podesta publicly refused to concede the election to President Donald Trump.

Keep reading