Secession

With the election of the current Socialist-in-Chief the latest form of protest is a rash of petitions on whitehouse.gov for states to "peacefully" secede from the United States.  So I thought I'd weigh in on this subject...

First is the question of whether or not it is Constitutional.  The argument against it is a Supreme Court decision, Texas v. White 1868, that ruled it unconstitutional and, of course, the Civil War that put secession down by force.  In argument for its Constitutionality is the simple fact that the surrender of the South was force, not law.  There is no actual law stating that it is illegal/unconstitutional.  True the Court did rule, but as we see now with Obamacare, the Court can make a mistake and rule in the wrong direction.

Also, how can the Court rule on the Constitutionality of an issue that is not discussed in the Constitution?  The document makes no statement about secession, one way or another.  In this case I would refer to the Constitution's preference for the States over the Federal Gov't.  The 10th Amendment gives all powers not specifically granted to the Federal Govt, and not prohibited to the States, to the States themselves or the People.  I would say the the ability of a State to secede would fall into that category.

Also, I would submit that the Constitution is not a despotic document.  It was adopted in each state only after a consensual vote of its citizens.  It did not force anyone to vote for it.  If it was not adopted against any one's will, why should we interpret it to keep a state in that manner?

That being said, I think these petitions are a stupid idea!

First, they carry no weight.  People are not proposing legislation.  The Federal Govt has no obligation to even read them.  What it does do is put every one's name, who is unhappy and angry at Obama and his administration, on easy to read lists that also have other information such as IP addresses.  All you are doing is saving Obama the time of weeding out dissenters.

Actual secession can only be declared formally by the Legislature of each individual state.  And such an action should not be taken lightly nor without fully understanding the consequences.  If there is anything that history tells us it is that nothing less than civil war will achieve secession.  Just like the previous attempt, the Federal Govt will bring the full weight and force of its resources to bear on the state in question.  The only difference is that this time, a civil war would be much much worse.  In the 1800's the Federal Govt was fighting to preserve the Union.  This time, the Govt would be fighting to suppress the condemnation of this budding Socialist "utopia" that such an action would represent.  Also, they would see it as taking resources from their already hemorrhaging social welfare programs.

If any state declares secession, the Govt will swoop down swiftly and mercilessly to crush them.