Will California succeed in secession?

American Thinker ^ | 01/30/2025 | Mike McDaniel

[SeekAndFind]

Kurt Schlichter has a series of novels—eight thus far—based on the premise America has split into blue and red countries. In his first book—People’s Republic--his protagonist Kelly Turnbull, formerly Army Special Ops, makes a good living spiriting people out of the blue. That novel focuses on California where every bit of contemporary wokeness has run to its obvious, lunatic extreme and California is a totalitarian hell hole.

Graphic: Book cover scan. Author.

Now it seems Californians consider their burning state to be so successful and progressive they can go it alone:

There’s a new secession effort on the horizon, and just like the Confederates of the mid-19th century, Democrats are behind it. Newsweek reports that California’s secretary of state has given the green light to a movement to gather signatures for a petition to put California’s secession from the U.S. on the ballot in 2028. [Skip]

To have an independence vote included on California's 2028 election ballot, campaigners must gather 546,651 signatures—constituting 5 percent of the total votes cast for Governor Gavin Newsom in November 2022—and submit them to county elections officials by July 22, 2025.

The question proposed by the campaign is "Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?"

According to the campaign, if at least 50 percent of registered Californian voters cast their ballots, and at least 55 percent of participants vote "yes," it would constitute "a vote of no confidence in the United States of America" and an "expression of the will of the people of California" to become an independent state.

Apparently, the recently allocated $50 million to “Trump proof” California was merely a down payment on their bold resistance to the American republic’s constitutional tyranny. 

[BenLurkin]

New California will stay with the USA

[antidemoncrat]

I believe they will eventually secede and ask China to come in and help them “govern”.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Might as well be the bee. Come on.

[PGR88]

California survives as a one-party, bloated woke/welfare state only on printed, fiat, Federal Reserve money and massive debt at State and Fed level.

The first day of so-called “independence,” it will be forced to go Zimbabwe-style with money printing. Then political oppression and outright theft will be required, then bankruptcy, then collapse, all in rapid succession.

[null and void]

On the bright side, we can close the border.

Can’t now because of the sanctity of interstate trade.

But a separate nation? Yeah, we can do that.

We have quite enough Californians bringing California politics here as it is. Quite enough!

[Wuli]

It would be economic disaster for the “separatists” due to the many and large retalitory messures the United States could take. They could in effect be cut off entirely, in every way from the rest of the United States and the United States could control all land, sea and air access to them, cutting them off from the rest of the world as well.

[grumpygresh]

Would be nice. Because they’ll never be able to do it. But if they try, and secede on paper, the following benefits will ensue:
Military governor
All congressional reps booted out by 2/3 vote as in CW1
Conservative state(s) secede from CA. A lot of territory here.
CA not re admitted to Union until conditions met such as voter ID, fire safety, lower taxes.
China is not in a position to occupy or protect CA.

The blue areas that would be able to secede would not be able to defend or feed themselves. A blockade would cut them off from potential allies.
In CW1 at least the confederacy had an agricultural base a military structure and even enough of an industrial base to compete (though at great disadvantage) with the north.

[SoConPubbie]

I hope LA, San Francisco and every other left wing commie county are successful.

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

[null and void]

Hmmmm. I'd re-label that, coastal California becomes California Nueva

The rest remains California, and is welcome to stay in the union...

Bonus: CN won't be confused with NC.

Double bonus: CN - California Nueva will be confused with CN - China

[null and void]

Might as well be the bee. Come on.

Tagline...

[mikey_hates_everything]

If just the western counties from SF to LA, sure. Let them enjoy their Marxist and gender-free utopia without Flyover Country interference.

[Yogafist]

If they really want to be successful, they should allow the entire country to vote.

[Jim W N]

No, it should not succeed. The Declaration of Independence has persuasive authority to show what is needed to secede from gov’t and those requirements are not met here.

CA’s biggest problem is CA’s own entrenched Leftist governance.

It’s possible the feds have constitutional authority to interfere with CA’s governance if it can be proved that CA no longer has a republican (representative) form of gov’t (U.S.Const., Art. IV, Sec. 4). Things like “ranked choice voting” and the like.

[null and void]

LOL! Too true!

[fruser1]

Well, if they do succeed that’s 40 million folks off the social security and medicare books, which may actually make those programs solvent for a few more days.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I believe the 1869 SCOTUS decision settled that.

Texas v. White, (1869), U.S. Supreme Court case in which it was held that the United States is “an indestructible union” from which no state can secede.

Now if 50 states tried to secede from Washington DC it might be different.

[FLT-bird]

Yep. My condition for allowing California to depart in peace would be holding and respect the results of plebiscites in each county. The outcome would look very much like that map.

It would be the same in Oregon, Washington, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New Mexico, Michigan, etc.

[wild74]

Would love to get rid of a couple of their Senators and a bunch of their house members and add two new Senators. I wish them well on their endeavor

[Mariner]

It’s silly to even ask the question.

The country simply will not allow it.