Molly Ivins is gone; there’s no reason to keep Tex-ass now.  Good riddance.

Good God!

   I live in Austin, Texas… please don’t take the tiny fraction of one percent of Texas secessionist morons seriously!

Believe me, much of Texas is well worth keeping!

… just laugh and ignore the idiots… I know we have plenty, but Texas isn’t the only state which has them.

Let these infantile pea-brains throw their little temper tantrum, and treat them as you would a two year old who really doesn’t even know what they’re fussing about, but just wants attention… pretend you can’t even hear them.

Take it from a lifelong Texan of 48 years… it’s easy to overlook the worst of Texas when you also well know the best of Texas!

Look to the future, the past few elections, and the changing demographics… Texas will largely be back in the Democratic column within the decade, and you’ll be glad you kept us!

I heard the petition in Texas has reached 150,000 signatures.  In any case, don’t let the door hit you in the lone star on your way out. 

would not the same actions, be the same of the new  same ruler?   aways a up down side side back forth talk dividing class warfare hats’ & cores’ that is the way cap tail gains works, no equalizium allowed.

you can keep up with the jones, greens, browns, blacks, whites, smiths.

but you can’t be equal, same alike, share…    

BYE!

Question: If all of our “ex-es” live in Texas, will succession mean we will no longer have to pay alimony and child support ? Time to give up the locoweed Mr. Cowboy !

My dear departed mother was born in San Antonio and bore that distinction with pride her whole life.  She would be ashamed of her home state’s behavior on this issue.

Isn’t Texas one of the red states that is a net debtor (receiving more in fed benefits than it pays in federal taxes?). Will they have to pay all that back first?

Any government that would attack us for nothing more than the peaceful act of walking away isn’t the kind of government that we want to be associated with.

Let them go. They are frequent purveyors of crazy and extreme right wing. Good riddance.

Please take Arizona with you

 Ok.  So put it to referendum and leave us alone already. 

Let them go. 

 Texas pays more to the federal government than it receives in benefits from them.  We lose 6c of each dollar contributed.

Let them go.  Good riddance. 

Texas gets eighty cents back for every dollar it send to Washington- the opposite of what one uninformed serf said below. The original intent of the founders was a union of independent states. Ever heard of the Tenth Amendment, part of a little something called the Bill of Rights? The populace has been dumbed down by government schools – history has been sanitized. The Declaration of Independence makes it clear that the people have a right and duty to form a new government if their government becomes oppressive. The Commerce Clause does not justify government controlling every aspect of one’s life.

And for God’s sake, it is not about Obama, the Texas Nationalist Movement has been working towards independence for 16 years.

Baloney
Y’all want out because you can’t abide a black president. I am against secession but y’all need to be gone. Mexico will welcome you and good riddance.

Why does anyone who is not in Texas, have any kind of input to this? According to the nay-sayers, Texas is not, in fact, financially stable, we take more from the fed than we give. Well, good, we are a burden, drop us like we are hot. According to some, we will all starve if not leeching off the titts of uncle sam….really…where is the oil. Oh wait.,..that’s why we randomly attack tiny third world countries….we want the oil. THAT is why the US is not going to let Texas succeed without a battle. They know Texas has the oil, and is financially gainful. As far as the welfare leeches that make Texas look like takers, they can move to DC or get a job. If we succeed, they will move or starve. Welfare should never be a career choice. As far as the government structure, we already have it, and it can’t be that hard, look at the idiots in Washington. As far as the taxes..we keep them, we have our own version of the IRS with a 40% flat tax, keep the school taxes and property taxes. We use the state tax(our IRS taxes) for the welfare system that will be locally run by churches, who in turn get to keep their tax free status by doing it. They are allowed to hire and train and educate social workers on the funds also. If it is done from the communities, the people who actually need it will get it. We live around those people, we know who the con artists are. We put them to work for the church(working for the elderly, gardening, etc) for the welfare. We train them as they go for trades. They can do this indefinitely, working a trade learned for the church(local workforce situation) or move into the workforce in another business.  Insurance companies and medicine will be regulated, not the consumer, but healthcare will not be reptitive when it is the consumer that is causing the issues(if you are on O2, have lung issues, you shall not smoke, or you ARE a DNR and healthcare will be pallitive home care only. You can and will be turned away from the ER for BS…hangnail…um..no, that is NOT an emergency…etc) You may obtain better healthcare by taking care of yourself. Proper diet and activity. If you don’t care about your health, don’t expect us to care when it fails you. The highways and post office and all offices will continue for a time with the funds coming from the same money that is staying here as opposed to going to the feds. Over time, we filter out and down the departments we don’t need. We design departments that we do. We do this based on logic and good business sense. We keep religious nuts out of office and put self made millionairs in there….let them CEO the state. If they are not successful, they are out. 2 year terms, may be renewed for good work. If you renew terms, you are entitled to retirement. It increased based on how many terms you manage to get reinstated for. We let logic dictate. We vote. We focus on prosperity and ingenuity. We value hard work and honorable values. For military, we bring home all of our Texas boys in the military who want to come home, and we train using current bases and supplies and guard our own borders. We provide funds to keep our branch of NASA open and we focus on science and medicine and health.

Are these the same Texans who boast of their patriotism and tell people that if they do not love America to leave it?  I would like to see them secede, experience a catastrophe, raise taxes to deal with it, and our media will have something to report as the former state tumbles into anarchy.

They can go as long as they take Alabama and Mississippi with them.

Explain where that right is expressly prohibited ignoramus?

imagine.. what would you say if everyone in El Paso and Austin do not want to be part of Texas… what would you do? huh… that is right. you texas would start a war against these people who want to leave Texas, right?

then.. how would you feel if you declare independence? you bet your butt.. the US will COME AFTER YOU!

i suggest if you do not want to be part of the United States… leave the country. Go to Mexico.. maybe they love you there. or go to the Middle East. I’m sure the iraqis would welcome you.

What would happen, should Texas acually secede, to all the U.S. federal benefits Texans currently and are scheduled to receive?  I’m talking about Social Security, Medicare, Veterans benefits, Medicaid funding, FEMA and emergency services etc?  What about those living in Texas who wouldn’t want to forfeit their U.S. citizenship?  How many people would be displaced or choose to leave Texas and what would the ramifications of this be on the Texas economy?

 It’s not about race….why do you make it about race?

Being in union with other states should involve little more than mutual treaties.  It has become more expensive and oppressive than it’s worth.

The difference between states is so broad when so few controls so many it should be obvious that there is taxation without representation. It is not a matter prejudgement it is a matter of so many red states controlled by so few blue ones. It is one of interest. I do not agree with succession; yet i can see the obvious problem and concern of those not represented.

The petitions at whitehouse.gov  were not started by the Texas Nationalist Movement. TNM has a petition to have a referendum for the people of Texas to vote on secession. The correct process is through one’s state government.

Exactly what form of government would these nutcases secessionists put in place in Lonestaristan? 

They never say and no one seems to ask.

Did the guest just characterize Obama as “a dog returning to his own vomit” for continuing to discuss race (as he rarely does)?  Calling the president a disgusting animal… that answers plenty of questions about this fellow’s views for me.

 Considering I OWN this land, I think not. Why would I just leave land that has been in my family for a couple hundred years? So some no working welfare leech like you can HAVE that too?

Texans are a bunch of right wing whackos. We don’t deserve to be in your Union. You should kick us out!

As a liberal New Englander, I would want our region to secede if the US took a permanent hard turn to the right.  Conservatism is incompatible with American values and will not work in today’s world.  As for the conservative South, the rest of us would be better off without them.

If states do not have a right to secede, the 13 colonies leaving the British empire was an illegal and void act. 

Would Texans seek to secede if Joe Biden (AKA white man) were president? Old white men see their influence (very) slowly waning, so rather than adapt and compete, they dig in their heals and to maintain an arbitrary (skin color) societal advantage. I see all of these dogwhistle racists being flushed out of the woodwork by a black president as a necessary (though ugly) healing crisis.

We have a Black President ?   When did this happen? And has anyone told his mother ? 

AKA human race, ~ nature, ~ competition, ~ action vs reaction. come on be a wo / man about it.   

Is Texas wanting to be their own little country? That would be an interesting experiment. Pull out the U.S. military, and federal entities, and let them fend for themselves. I would imagine that millions would want to move to the United States if they did succeed. Who knows? Maybe Mexico would invade and take their land back!

This strikes me as an amusing proposition, given that demographic changes will likely put Texas in the Democrats control in the next ten to twenty years. You better secede quick! 

117000 signatures on s digital petition that only a small percent of the population actually KNOW about. This is a huge percent of the population THAT IS AWARE OF IT. Put it to a vote, expose the whole population to it, and see what your percent of the actual census is.

Texas does indeed pay somewhat more in taxes than it receives,   according to the Economist, which, since it’s based in London, doesn’t really have a dog in this race.  And it would probably be a moderately successful mid-sized nation.  I’m just pretty sure that there may very well be some really undesirable and unexpected consequences, both for Texas and the US.  There’s a reason for the maxim “Better the devil we know than the devil we don’t know.”

I think this is treason, and should be treated as such!

Mr. Miller keeps bringing up Scotland — yet his movement hasn’t done what the nationalists in places like Scotland, Quebec, Catalonia, etc have done — contested and won elections proving that they have actual popular support.

Until they do that, their movement is nothing more than a fringe freak show gobbling up media attention without any evidence of actual support.

Where’s Jim Hightower?

“Texas received over $40 billion in federal funding in 2010. ” True.. but we paid considerably more than that. So yu keep your $40 and we’ll keep our $50. Sounds like a good deal for Texas.
“Does an independent Texas use its’ own new currency? And what will prevent inflation to pay off debts?” Of course an independent Texas would have it’s own currency. Since it would be based on gold and silver rather than created by fiat at the Federal Reserve Bank it would hedge itself against inflation, which is really nothing more than the interest on the debt instrument that constitutes the American dollar.

“To compensate for the loss of US tax dollars, Texas would probably have to raise taxes” Quite the opposite, in fact. Since Texas would no longer be sending its revenue to Washington City, would have an even greater budget surplus than we presently enjoy. We would probably have to lower taxes because we’re taking in too much now as it is.

“Texas exports could be easily be embargoed and ports blockaded by the US Navy” Embargoes work both ways. Texas can supply all of it’s own energy needs, and all of its own food. If we cannot export our surplus then neither can you import it from us. We’ll see who goes cold and hungry first…

“ I highly doubt the United States would let Texas secede without a fight” America can’t afford the three wars she has right now. How will you fight another on your own border when a third of your military is comprised of Texans? It would be extremely foolish and short-sided for the USSA to oppose Texian independence. We could be allies and trading partners, or we could be mortal enemies. It’s no question which of those would be better for Texas. Which option do you suppose would be better for Washington City?

The lady caller sounds like she would like to live in a Theocracy like Iran.

Lets gives those ignorant racists something to really whine about. Sell the state of Texas to China for the amount of our Federal Debt. Then they can really complain!

Secessionist Texans should think about the possibility of invasion from Mexico, if they leave the U.S.

I think that Wade certainly should have highlighted the economic issues (tariffs favoring manufacturing for one) that were also instrumental in the start of the civil war.

Because we own this one. It’s possible that you don’t advocate private property rights, or maybe you just haven’t really thought this through much, but the people of Texas own the majority of the land here. Why should we have to leave? It’s ours.

A free people should never have any more layers of government around them than is absolutely necessary.  Texas is viable as a sovereign nation and should return to being one.

This is merely a symptom of a more serious problem;  namely, we the people don’t get along.  Some years ago, on the Charlie Rose talk show, I remember this very serious conversation about some big societal issues;  to spell out clearly the troubles stemming from not getting along, Charlie’s guest told a joke, which goes like this:

“Any family with more than one member is dysfunctional.”

Very funny;  but oh boy, it does make you wonder.

We have to work very hard, in general, to agree on how to fix things, etc., precisely because of our natural, basic, tendency to not get along.  But on the other hand, it’s worth considering that maybe we ought to split up in much smaller tribes.  In fact, it’s very surprising that present day societies manage to survive despite the fact that we all diverge in different directions.

As this election showed — but we already knew — there is a huge amount of resources wasted in the process of trying to converge on some common ground.  There is a horrible inefficiency, especially at the very top layers of the government.  But it isn’t the government that needs to be shrunk, because it ought to be large, proportional to the size of our society.  Instead, it’s the society itself that should get smaller, by splitting up in groups.

After all, we do sort ourselves, and congregate into neighborhoods that very homogeneous.  A book has been written on the subject;  cannot recall the name of the author.  Anyway, I see this “big sort” as a manifestation (or a solution) of the not getting along conundrum.

Amen, sister !  I’m trying to figure out, why all the anger  and hatred from those outside of Texas, whom are in disagreement of a Texas Secession? Is it, because they enjoy being ‘subjects’ to an Authoritative Government, that they feel we should also relinquish our sovereignty and personal rights, as Natural citizens? … and as for those having beliefs, that Texas is somehow direly dependent on Federal assistance, and that the Republic of Texas could not survive on its own, or be overrun by Mexico, or what would remain of the States of America.. I can only laugh, at their ignorance, and disconnect from reality.  The True question to be asked, is … How would the the rest of the country fare, without the support of Texas ?  

Part of me wonders if the only reason the Teabaggers aren’t calling for their kind to secede is that they would no longer be able to call themselves Americans. If they leave, they don’t get to take my flag with them.

I live in Tennessee, several of my states heros died defending Texas. I’ve been there. Let them go, we wont be losing much, they couldnt stand on their own then and probably cant do it now. They gave us G.W. Bush, for that we should kick them out.

weve tried it Dan, its a lost cause

and if somone wants to live in a country ruled by religon move to Iran!

Fiscal issues are being kicked around.  I believe Texas owes nothing to Washington, no more than any other state.  If an independent Texas were not the best ally of Washington, then Washington should borrow even more money from China and hand it over to Texas just as they do to Egypt, China, and almost every hostile country on the planet.  Secondly, Texas better prepare for immigration because if this secession comes to fruition, I am moving to Texas, along with every other person who desires freedom and is willing to work for it.

Nobody’s mentioned this yet: Does the GOP (of the United for now States) want to lose the electoral votes of Texas every quadrennium?

I say this should be a fight between Texans and the rest of the right wing. We can stage it in a coliseum. I call dibs on the popcorn and beer concession.

 Who exactly was planning on “cutting and running”? 

Not Texas.  If you did some research, you would know this. 

Sorry to burst your bubble, Tommy-Boy, but I’m not from Texas.  I’m actually from your neck of the woods.

Please make your case that: redistribution of  existing wealth is not Socialist; seizure of control of viable corporations without adherence to federal law is not socialist; creation of 30 non-accountable cabinet-like postitions is not socialist; natiionalization of the health care industry (15 per cent of GDP) is not socialist, etc. etc.

You mentioned textbooks; apparently you should have opened a few and got a grownup to explain their contents to you.  

Freedom means democratic elections, and accepting the outcome like big boys and girls.  You don’t pick up your ball and go home because you don’t agree with the ref’s call.  Or put another way: “America, right or wrong!”  “America, love it or leave it!”  “America, Hell Yeah!”  You can’t scratch these bumper stickers off of your car just because your guy didn’t get elected. . .

Secession will never happen, but it leads to the question of whether this country would be better off as a loose collection of countries. I’m sure the transition would be a disaster as there are all the thorny problems of regulations, sharing the debt, defense, etc. And it would certainly diminish the confidence other countries have in us and therefore decrease their interest in investing in the US, though bonds and other instruments. 

But what about the long term? Reducing the control of this massive, inefficient federal government is a very attractive option. Of course, there would be greater control by local governments and that would vary more from state to state than today. But given how inept governments have turned out to be, is it better to keep it more local. 

In my openion, Obama was re-elected by “hopefulls and the media”. For those who want to keep a (good job) ie Union or “Blue Collar”, good luck. People who wear blinders usually cant see to well! In the 60`s and 70~s a person could purchase a car for a reasonable amount of money! Today the cars are built with the same materials, the same “Blue Collar” workers with cars and homes that the wealthy had in the past! Between the Federal Government, the Unions,the greedy bankers and the Politions,America hasen`t a chance of a snowball in hell for a future! Texas might make it on its own if the Federal Government would just let us do our own thing!

This is the first time that I felt Tom was uninformed and/or wilfully ignorant. Nor did I appreciate his attempts to put words into the mouths of those who expressed their opinions.
I was truly surprised by…was her name Melissa? and hope she is not representative of women her age, race, class in Texas WHO HAVE THE MONEY TO COVER ALL THEIR HEALTH  AND WELFARE NEEDS

Washington has been trashing the constitution for a long time now. Elections and diplomacy has not worked. Calls and pleading to corrupt elected officials have not worked. They are weak, cowardly, greedy, self-serving, corrupt, godless and amoral. It’s time to cut the ties that bind and go our own way, critics be damned.

A country in a country with it’s own unique government by the people for the people, sounds good to me.

Lets see how well the Socialist States of AmeriKa fairs without us. Texas now accounts for 8.7 percent of the nation’s economy. We refine 35% of the nations gasoline. We lead the nation in exports. According to a 2011 Economist ranking, Texas’s $1.224 trillion GDP makes it the economic equivalent of Russia—and the fourteenth-largest economy in the world. Employment is growing at 3.1 percent annually; its manufacturing and export figures are trending up; its unemployment rate currently stands at 6.8 percent, and that’s having to add jobs faster than any state due to a 1000 people a day flocking here…still a full point below the national average. Housing starts are up 17.2 percent over the past year. Texas is the only state in the continental U.S. with its own independent power grid. Texas is also a self-sustaining player in agriculture, aeronautics, computers, energy, high-tech research and manufacturing, telecommunications, transportation and just about any other economic category to which you care to attach a dollar value. It’s home to six of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies, including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhilips and AT&T, not to mention Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Dr Pepper….You’re gonna miss us when we’re gone.

while secession is likely to go nowhere, it might be a nice excuse to stop and think about the benefits the states derive from being part of the union… i’m thinking highways, national defense, national institutes of health, etc… maybe we could spend some time enumerating why those are good, since most of the recent election saw us hearing about dismantling those institutions from within the union (a less ridiculous cause with similar outcomes).

Texas and the entire South should separate themselves from the current regime. Texans and other Southerners are a distinct people and are different from those who live elsewhere. We would be better off without them and they without us. As a proud Southern nationalist from Alabama, I wish all you Texans well. Check out The League of the South at http://www.dixienet.org

Secession didn’t work out real well the first time, and guess what would happen again. Signed, a ‘maggot’ who voted for Obama. As a maggot, I can look forward to a tasty meal.

Pffft … where was Tejas from 2002 on? We were warned well in advance that tax cuts during wartime would lead to crippling deficits … and who are these types who “represent” secession? According to my files, a GOOD CHUNK of Texans had been on the dole due to lost oil jobs before the newest “Black Gold” rush of fracking became widespread.

Cut the cord, fine, but Good Luck defending your own border.