[aquila48]

“I would end the welfare state.”

That would definitely bring things to a head.

“Anybody who wants to start a war/riot/insurrection over it gets shot down dead in the street (or wherever) like the rabid dogs they are.”

It would be a blood shed on both sides. Another civil war with many whites on both sides. It would probably resemble more a left vs right war, an ideological war.

Perhaps secession should be given another chance.

[NorthMountain]

Our present conflict is not regional, as the "late unpleasantness" of the 1860s was. It is, as you say, ideological. It is also urban vs. suburban/rural. No State (even California or New York) is pure 'gibsmedat'; no State (even Texas or West Virginia) is pure "maker".

Secession? Who and what secedes? I'm not sure what I would have been in 1860 (quite possibly a Confederate), but I'm pretty sure I'm a Unionist today.