A loud minority of Texans call for Independence, which is not really possible as far as I know, BUT could the Rest of the USA just kick another state (Not necessary Texas) out? Or is this also not possible?
The US Constitution currently has no mechanism to break any individual State out of the Union. Throughout our history, this has been interpreted as a sign that the Union is perpetual, and not able to be dissolved. This got put to the test in our Civil War, where a bunch of states up and said “We’re Leaving” and the Federal Government said “You can’t just do that”. They fought a war over it, and the Federal Government won, proving its position correct by force.
With that said, the US was founded as a government of the People, and so if the people want to carve out a way for States to leave, they must first establish a mechanism via amending the Constitution, which requires a 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress (or a Constitutional Convention) coupled with 3/4 of State Legislatures ratifying it.
There is a provision, though, to make States out of other States. Maine and West Virginia were both formed out of land that belonged to Massachusetts and Virginia.
It’s laid out very explicitly in the COTUS (Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1):
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The funny thing is that during the civil war, West Virginia seceded from Virginia, and Congress voted to allow it and they were accepted into the union. There are a lot of people who argue that when that happened it was unconstitutional. However, it has never been tested, as far as I know.
That would almost imply the Confederacy had legally left the USA, and Wrst Virginia legally left the Confederacy and joined the Union. Basically you could say none of this was un constitutional if the Confederacy was not a part of the USA at the time.
You could just pass an amendment…
But specifically for kicking a state out I don’t think the bar is that high. If the legislature and executive agreed then it could be done very quickly.
Oh, but there are all sorts of details to work out…
- are citizens of the state no longer US citizens?
- if so, what happens to their Social Security? Medicare? I don’t want to keep paying for those freeloaders
- if they treat it like renouncing citizenship, they make those people pay taxes on all their assets and 401(k) holdings before leaving
- Do armed forces members from those states now get kicked out of the US armed forces and go to the new state’s armed forces?
- Does the new state get to take over any military bases and Federal buildings?
- Can the rest of us build a wall on the border and make them pay for it?
There’s a lot to iron out. The Brits got screwed with Brexit, and they weren’t even leaving a country.
it was worse than that and even dumber the UK was a founding member and had extra perks. That other EU members didn’t get and they threw all that away. Even if they do join back they will never get that deal again.
No lol your second statement is literally just wrong. The only way to do anything like this would be through an Amendment, which equated to literally changing the rules bc the current rules do not allow for it.
“Just” passing an amendment requires more than 75% of states to ratify the amendment. So even if all of Congress decided nuts to Delaware, we’re moving them out, it would still go to the state of legislatures to be formalized
Oh no the amendment is for if a state wants to leave. Since there’s no standard around kicking a state out at all, it defaults to 50+1 votes in Congress and a President willing to enforce it
Eh. They just leave. Not being prohibited to do so isn’t the same as not being allowed to, that’s why they had a war last time. There is a very strong argument that Abraham Lincoln was a war criminal, he just wasn’t philosophically wrong and also won.
Anything is possible with a constitutional amendment.
To further add, there is nothing in the Constitution which allows for having a state leave and the Constitution is where that process would be to be laid out. So, if a state wanted to leave and the rest of the country agreed, you would need a constitutional amendment to spell out that process.
Given the high bar required to amend the Constitution, having a state leave would need to be very popular politically.
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Dems suggest texas can texit if the GOP drafts it.
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GoP doesn’t want to blink, crafts it in a way that gives Texas power when it leaves, to please the howling magats
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Dems say "cool. These 31 states on both coasts are seceding. Using the process laid out, each coastal block will reorganize into its own group.
Now the red states are booted. Miller time.
There is no “gives Texas power” about that. If Texas were to leave, the big bargaining issues would be on water rights and what to do about social security.
Or if most of the population just decides to ignore the constitution. But how likely is that?
Except for denying a state equal representation on the Senate without its consent; the Constitution explicitlyforbids that.
And yet that provision is itself still part of the constitution so really an amendment just needs to have an initial sentence to override that limitation first. If there’s actually support for a change, anything can be changed.
If it were really so easy to bypass that restriction, then what was the point of putting that sentence in in the first place?
Any amendment to the Constitution to show secession or for a state to be removed would obviously change that, too.
As a Texan who is working to create change in this state, please don’t kick us out. We aren’t only the bad things you see on the news. We can offer you:
Brisket
Big Tex
Cowboy Hats
Willie Nelson
Chuck Norris
Fried (insert any food group)
Everything cool about Austin
Czech kolaches
Boots galore
And so much more.
Help us. We are a lot more purple than the news makes it seem, and we have been gerrymandered to the point that we need more than a simple majority to create change. If you can find it in your hearts to assist us in becoming a swing state, the whole nation stands to inherit all the things that made Texas an iconic part of the country in the first place. We are worth the effort.
Chuck Norris
No thanks, we got enough Christofascists.
We also got enough fried food and brisket.
Big Tex is dead he caught fire roughly 10 years ago. the one there now is an impostor
Spent a lot of my formative years in Tx… dude…
Texmex. If we lose texas, we lose the fusion of meat and cheese and guac and tortillas that is texmex. It’s worth saving all on it’s own.
Otherwise to your list I’d add: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Austin City Limits, H-Town / dj screw pantera’s Pantego and so much more.
and fuck chuck norris, he’s a fundie chode.
Taco Bell is not texmex, it’s not even amerimex it… it’s what I eat when I want to go #3 in about 4 hours.
Every Texan I’ve ever met has been a good person. The only time I ever see the Texas represented in the media is in the media.
I’ve seen Texans in the wild go on tirades when the attendant at the store checkout says “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”…
The vast majority are definitely good people, but just want to point out that the people you see in the media are real. They are here, and they are loud.
It’s also easy to forget that living in the cities doesn’t represent the people everywhere in the state either. As long as I’m in a city, anywhere in the US, I’ve never seen extremely blatant racism. But go to the wrong areas in small towns and you get jeered at for not being white.
But go to the wrong areas in small towns and you get jeered at for not being white.
I’ve seen this even in California. Oildale, CA is the most racist place I’ve ever been, including Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas. But it goes the other way too. There are small areas that are predominantly black or Mexican that aren’t very safe to be in if you’re white. It’s a real shame, man, especially since it seems to be getting worse, not better.
But you do realize, Ted Cruz is real? Abbot is real?
Just because you haven’t met absolute scumfucks doesn’t mean they aren’t ruining our country.
Goddamn I miss Ann Richards.
Oh yeah, for sure. Ted Cruz is definitely a human.
I feel like a lot of people in Joe Rogan’s circle have been moving to Austin, and with his current influx of cash it seems centered around that, which means he’s most likely been looking for what benefits the ultra rich, and will vote and promote accordingly.
Like when Chappelle jokingly said we should give Trump a chance because he was trying to get those tax cuts on the horizon. For the rich. Which didn’t really sound like a joke. Which was followed by bringing Musk onstage and laughing at the poor. Left and Right aside, it’s about the money for these guys, and I’m a little bit wary about a place so willing to accommodate.
I could be wrong, but the wealthy tend to know exactly where to know and why, but it could also be envy on my part.
If it gets to that point, I think its more likely to declare the state in insurrection or rebellion and send in the army to passify it, rather than trying to expunge it.
There’s some pretty valuable infrastructure in TX and many other states. They’d definitely take it back and give the idiots who are responsible for the trouble a token fine and gentle slap on the wrist. It’s an American tradition. They’ll probably execute the derps doing the actual funding though.
