[ I know people sometimes say we fought a civil war, which set the standard that states cannot secede from the union.
As you note, there is no procedure for states to leave the union.
I have wondered sometimes, if any state voted to secede, would a president nowadays use military force to keep such a state in the union? Lincoln did so in the 19th century, but would a president today do so? ]
Good question, We used to send the military to SECURE our borders...
But even TRUMP himself didn’t do that...
So I am thinking they WOULD NOT if some state or states wanted to secede.
HOWEVER!!!!
The federal government would be tearing the place apart looking for ANY excuse to do so. They would use the excuse of military bases within those states and national parks etc etc....
“As you note, there is no procedure for states to leave the union.”
Actually, one indisputably legal way to secede would be to amend the Constitution to explicitly allow it. That would require a convention, since Congress would never go for it.
Personally, I think just discussing the issue creates some political leverage.
Short of secession, states could refuse to participate or cooperate in any federal activities. There are nowhere enough federal cops to enforce the law absent cooperation from state and local law enforcement. And it would be hard to enforce the federal tax laws without county clerks helping with tax liens and foreclosures.