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Silicon Valley is one step closer to being its own state. No, really.
Washington Post ^ | 07/16/2014 | By Andrea Peterson

Posted on 07/16/2014 7:07:52 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Silicon Valley-based billionaire venture capitalist Timothy Draper has a dream: Six Californias. He's the major backer of a proposal that would split the nation's most populated state into six parts -- creating the new states of Jefferson, North California, Central California, South California, West California and Silicon Valley.

And now his dream is a teensy bit closer to reality: A petition for "Six Californias" has reached the 808,000 some signatures needed to get a referendum on the ballot in 2016, spokesperson Roger Salazar tells Reuters. But that doesn't mean it'll be happening anytime soon: Even if the proposal is approved by voters, it would still need congressional approval to move forward -- likely a pretty hard sell.

“Splitting California into six states would raise all sorts of concerns about the partisan balance of the Senate,” Brendan Nyhan, assistant professor of government at Dartmouth College told ABC News about the plan back in February. “I can’t imagine this would ever go anywhere.”

But perhaps more interesting than the plan's chances for success is just why Draper is so interested in slicing and dicing the Golden State -- and what it says about the civic interests of tech investors.

The proposed boundaries of the "Six Californias" plan would segregate some of the highest earning parts of California from the less prosperous agricultural areas. In fact, a report on the plan from California's non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office from earlier this year says the proposed Silicon Valley state, which would include the San Francisco Bay area along with the associated tech corridor, would have the highest per capita personal income of any state. Meanwhile, Central California, which would include Fresno and some of the most fruitful agricultural land, would have a per capita personal income that ranks dead last in the country

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; siliconvalley; sixcalifornias; statehood; timdraper
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1 posted on 07/16/2014 7:07:52 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

This is all an effort to get 10 more liberal senators. Look at the way it is divided up. The conservative portions of the state are connected to large liberal enclaves that will guarantee the liberals will control them.


2 posted on 07/16/2014 7:09:58 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (The cure has become worse than the disease. Support an end to the WOD now.)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Yep, Gerrymandering on a grand scale.


3 posted on 07/16/2014 7:10:39 AM PDT by dblshot (I am John Galt.)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Polling shows a majority of Californians OPPOSED to this proposal.

In other words — IT WON’T PASS.


4 posted on 07/16/2014 7:11:00 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

If Heather can have two mommies why can’t Mexifornia not have six states? Not that I’m for it. I’m not. That’s just more senate seats for the ‘rats.


5 posted on 07/16/2014 7:11:05 AM PDT by BipolarBob (Obama - The Scandal a Week President.)
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6 posted on 07/16/2014 7:13:01 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: SeekAndFind

Sounds good to me as long as we divide Texas into 10 conservative states.


7 posted on 07/16/2014 7:13:34 AM PDT by ArcadeQuarters ("Immigration Reform" is ballot stuffing)
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To: SeekAndFind
Meanwhile, Central California, which would include Fresno and some of the most fruitful agricultural land, would have a per capita personal income that ranks dead last in the country . . .

A generation or so ago, this part of California supplied much of the nation's food and was reasonably prosperous. Then the libtards cut off the water for the benefit some irrelevant subspecies of fish, flooded it with illegal aliens and turned the people who used to farm it into people dependent on government checks and drugs.

The more ambitious among them abandoned the dust bowl thus created and fled east in the same direction their ancestors once came three quarters of a century or so ago.

8 posted on 07/16/2014 7:15:16 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

An obvious attempt by leftist kooks to hijack the Senate, but is this even allowed under the Constitution??

Don’t new states have to be admitted in by Congress?


9 posted on 07/16/2014 7:15:35 AM PDT by canuck_conservative
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To: SeekAndFind

I have a digital response to his plan for 10 more favor senators. Being from Silicon, Valley, he should understand digital communications.


10 posted on 07/16/2014 7:18:07 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: Still Thinking

Democrat senators. Stupid Android.


11 posted on 07/16/2014 7:19:52 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: canuck_conservative

Yes, new states have to be admitted by Congress.

If this thing passes, then Congress would still have to pass bills admitting the new states into the union. If Congress doesn’t act, then it would not take effect.


12 posted on 07/16/2014 7:20:07 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego (s)
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To: Still Thinking

Yes I can see Democrats wanting this to add Democrat senators.

Currently, California has 2 Democrat senators.

If this were enacted, there would be a total of 12 senators from these states. It is quite likely that a few GOP could get elected in some of the states, but overall, it would probably be a 9-3 or 10-2 split of Democrat senators from the former California states, in the US Senate, if this ever happens.


13 posted on 07/16/2014 7:22:54 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego (s)
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To: canuck_conservative

They won’t get what they’re looking for unless Congress approves as well as the government of California.

“New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States 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.”

Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1


14 posted on 07/16/2014 7:25:22 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Still Thinking

Many other states have distinct regions of states, just as California does.

Suppose this idea catches on with liberals.

They might say that Chicago should secede from Illinois and be its own state. Automatic 2 Democrat senators if that happens.

Ditto, with New York, if New York City and environs became its own state, separate from upstate. Another 2 automatic Democrat senators always in the Senate.

Then there is the ongoing threat that the District of Columbia could be granted statehood. If that ever happens, another automatic 2 Democrat senators.


15 posted on 07/16/2014 7:28:04 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego (s)
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To: canuck_conservative

Perhaps an equal number of states can leave the Union when the 6 states of California are admitted, just so everyone doesn’t have to replace their flags.

/s

(maybe)


16 posted on 07/16/2014 7:31:53 AM PDT by BwanaNdege ( "For those who have fought for it, Life bears a savor the protected will never know")
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To: SeekAndFind

The reason the Democrats didn’t pull this off prior to the Civil War, to maintain their control of the senate, was that the Republicans fought them every inch of the way. For example, in “Bloody Kansas”. The Democrats desperately wanted it to be a slave state.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas


17 posted on 07/16/2014 7:34:09 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." -Obama, 09-24-11)
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To: SeekAndFind

Ping


18 posted on 07/16/2014 7:42:27 AM PDT by Sivad (NorCal red turf)
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To: SeekAndFind

Stoopit.

We can’t add more stars to flag.


19 posted on 07/16/2014 8:12:24 AM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
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To: Sivad

Do people live in Silicon Valley or do they just work there ?


20 posted on 07/16/2014 8:37:44 AM PDT by molson209 (Blank)
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