If at first you don't secede...

By Jeff Orvis

Well, it didn't take the Tea Party kooks to resurface. Just days after a slim majority of us gave President Obama a hesitant vote of confidence for another four years, a campaign was started to sign petitions to allow some states to secede from the union.

Apparently there's a spot on the White House web site where residents may petition the federal government to allow for secession. The site indicates that when there are at least 25,000 signatures from any state, the White House will comment on the petition. At last count, there were 11 states with at least 25,000 signatures.

Not too surprising, Texas leads the way with 117,373 signatures. I wasn't surprised, since I have relatives there who reflect the traditional independent nature of Texans. In fact, when we visited Dallas a few years ago, I was informed that the Texas constitution allows for the state to leave the United States whenever enough voters wanted to. This was while we were still languishing under the failed presidency of a former Texas governor who somehow was elected president twice. My immediate response was that if that happened, I had a suggestion on who they could get as their president...”W,” enter stage right!

The days after the election, I heard a few people who voted for the other guy grumble that they were thinking about moving to Canada. But a lot of those people were strongly against the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare). As soon as they realized that Canada is even more progressive when it comes to providing health care to all of its residents, the talk of heading north faded away.

Then came this secession movement. More than 1 million of our friends and neighbors have signed the petition. Of the 11 states who have had at least 25,000 signatures, 10 of them are south of Iowa. That may explain another reason why they have taken on this form of protest and frustration rather than the move to Canada talk. This is the time of year when a lot of people move to Texas and points south. There's already a lot of snow in Canada.

At the very least, this talk of secession has provided plenty of fuel for discussion by professors and students of constitutional law. The possibilities and potential problems are enough to easily spill over to another column. The next time a major hurricane hits Texas or Florida, if those states were no longer part of the United States, how long could they go it alone? Even in peaceful weather times, how many billions of dollars would be lost if the United States suddenly pulled out all military personnel from bases in those states? No more Medicare or Social Security. If Texans are upset with the federal tax rate now, what would they pay in state income taxes if they suddenly had to go it alone?

I can empathize with those who were frustrated with the election. Some of the points made by the Republicans, specifically the dire warnings of our sick economy, have plenty of merit. It's just that most of the messengers the GOP put out there, especially several of the presidential candidates, were merely prime ammunition for Saturday Night Live skits and Leno and Letterman. When the other party can promote a sensible candidate who is not afraid of the word “compromise,” then things could be different next time.

Let's just hope there are still 50 states voting in 2016.