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Five Lone Stars. Mess with Texas? Sure. Divide it into five states.
OpinionJournal.com ^ | August 22, 2004 | Austin Powers

Posted on 08/22/2004 9:19:07 PM PDT by John Jorsett

What would you say if we told you we have a way to add as many as eight new Republican senators to Congress? We could also add eight right-leaning votes to the Electoral College. It's simple, it's fun, and it's perfectly constitutional: Texas should divide itself into five states.

Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution says that new states may be created out of existing ones, but only with the consent of "the States concerned as well as of the Congress."

These days, a partisan Congress would never agree to a Texas carve-up, since any resulting new states would surely be politically conservative. But Congress need not take any action at all today: It granted its consent to Texas's potential subdivision 159 years ago. This made sense, as those had been the terms that Texas, a sovereign nation at the time, had negotiated for entering the Union. One provision of the 1845 Joint Resolution for Annexing Texas, passed by Congress and signed into law by President John Tyler, reads as follows:

"New States, of convenient size, not exceeding four in number, in addition to said State of Texas, and having sufficient population, may hereafter, by the consent of said State, be formed out of the territory thereof, which shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the federal constitution."

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


TOPICS: Editorial; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: congress; constitution; largelandmass; moresenators; representation; republicoftexas; senate; texas
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To: Restorer

Not Texahoma?


21 posted on 08/22/2004 9:32:42 PM PDT by ontos-on
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To: John Jorsett

Just divide the pie in 5 parts laterally slanted so that each state has a north, central and south.


22 posted on 08/22/2004 9:32:51 PM PDT by CindyDawg
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To: qam1

Hehe good idea...

Could say the same for Ohio, but I'd have to move as then I'd be in the Socialist part.


23 posted on 08/22/2004 9:32:51 PM PDT by RockinRight (Liberalism IS the status quo)
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To: qam1

I've been looking for a similar map of CA. Do you know where I could find one?


24 posted on 08/22/2004 9:34:34 PM PDT by Restorer
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To: ontos-on

Oklas?


25 posted on 08/22/2004 9:35:39 PM PDT by Restorer
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To: John Jorsett
This could be good. It might actually encourage California to break up in to two or three states.
26 posted on 08/22/2004 9:37:00 PM PDT by Question_Assumptions
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To: des
A lot more Americans have Texas to thank (although their regions went to the US to cover war debts).


27 posted on 08/22/2004 9:37:10 PM PDT by weegee (YOU could have been aborted, and you wouldn't have had a CHOICE about it.)
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To: Restorer
This is from the 2000 Election.

BLUE is Bush, RED is Gore:

From this site:

http://uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/

This is the 1996 Clinton/Dole map:


28 posted on 08/22/2004 9:41:54 PM PDT by weegee (YOU could have been aborted, and you wouldn't have had a CHOICE about it.)
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To: MeekOneGOP; basil; TexasCowboy
Here we go again.....
PING

Maybe instead of splitting it up we should take back all of the original.

29 posted on 08/22/2004 9:43:14 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (This Tagline for sale. (Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: weegee

Thanks a lot! About what I suspected.

My county is red.

Sigh.


30 posted on 08/22/2004 9:44:10 PM PDT by Restorer
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To: CindyDawg

"South Texas would go Democratic."

With my most humble of apologies, Ma'm, Im' sure you meant 'Democrat' rather than 'democratic'.

Just extending a gracious correction.

(he walked right past her, said something, and with a tip of the hat, he was gone.)


31 posted on 08/22/2004 9:45:21 PM PDT by BluSky (Liberalism - destroying live's, one failure at a time.)
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To: Fiddlstix

FWIW, that extreme northern extension is due more to 19th century misunderstanding of the geography than any thing else.

As I understand it, Texas claimed to the headwaters of the Rio Grande, which doesn't put you anywhere near Wyoming.


32 posted on 08/22/2004 9:47:18 PM PDT by Restorer
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To: CindyDawg
Slice the state from "center" like a pie. The resulting lines would somewhat resemble a star.

Population densities would leave major cities El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas-Metroplex, and maybe Austin in different states.

33 posted on 08/22/2004 9:47:30 PM PDT by weegee (YOU could have been aborted, and you wouldn't have had a CHOICE about it.)
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To: John Jorsett

NEVER


34 posted on 08/22/2004 9:49:38 PM PDT by Adrastus (If you don't like my attitude, talk to someone else.)
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To: qam1

I don't suppose that little red dot in the center of Tompkins County would be the People's Republic of Ithaca and environs, by any chance? ;>)


35 posted on 08/22/2004 9:52:31 PM PDT by John Valentine ("The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein)
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Comment #36 Removed by Moderator

To: Restorer

The left will never accept splitting the state veritically down the middle. They know "their half" is expected to drop into the ocean when the "big one" hits. Also, they would be in control of oil off the coast.


37 posted on 08/22/2004 9:52:39 PM PDT by weegee (YOU could have been aborted, and you wouldn't have had a CHOICE about it.)
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To: qam1
Leave out Dutchess County! Or I'll return to liberate it!
38 posted on 08/22/2004 9:52:50 PM PDT by BIGLOOK (I once opposed keelhauling but have recently come to my senses.)
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To: Restorer

Florida has two fairly distinct sections. I wouldn't mind not being in the same state as W. Palm Beach County, among others.


39 posted on 08/22/2004 9:55:54 PM PDT by skr ( A 40 minute brain freeze during a crisis won't get my vote.)
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To: weegee

God I hate liberals. Look what they have done to my beautiful state.... We have got to get them out of San Francisco... it is such a beautiful city... and the Nazis walk freely there. As a true blue CA that gew up in the mountains... we have got to take it back... If you know a liberal, fire them, fire them and make them work in Barstow or Needles... get them away from the coast.


40 posted on 08/22/2004 9:56:01 PM PDT by Porterville (```I need representation against my union~~ They are extorting money~~~)
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