13 California Counties Look to Secede, Create New State
EmailABC News' Amy Bingham reports:
At a time when partisan politics are so divisive that the federal government seems incapable of averting a government default, polarization of state political parties could literally tear states apart.
Disgruntled voters in both California and Arizona are trying to secede from their respective states to escape state governments that they say are on a fast-track in the wrong direction.
In California, a state ruled by Democrats, 13 southern and mostly Republican counties are petitioning to create their own state.
“Onerous regulations on business” that are driving jobs out of the state and the California legislature’s attempts to balance the budget by “stealing” tax revenue from local governments are two reason why Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone said he is pushing for secession.
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to hold a meeting in late September of representatives from every city and county in California to decide if their grievances can be solved without secession.
If not, the group will hammer out the details of creating a new state.
“Obviously I touched a nerve that is felt not only among Californians but among people around the country who feel their voices are not being heard,” Stone said. “I’m hoping that the nerve that I touch with a lot of citizens will resonate and we will see dramatic changes in the way we do business in the state and the way we do business in this country.”
The break-away counties include about 13 million people or about a third of California’s population. In order to secede they have to first get approval from the California legislature, which is totally controlled by Democrats, then create a constitution and petition the U.S. Congress to approve their statehood.
Despite the obvious obstacle of getting the Democrats who control the state Senate and Assembly on board with his plan, Stone said secession “is not impossible.”
“Is it challenging? No question about it. When the citizens get mad they can do some pretty extraordinary things. No one thought we could recall a governor, but you know what we did it,” Stone said, referring to the 2003 recall election in which voters replaced Democratic Gov. Gray Davis with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In Arizona, a conservative state, the parties are reversed, but the story is similar.
The Grand Canyon State has been inching farther to the right with policies like their immigration law which requires all immigrants to carry proof that they are in the country legally. The law also instructs police to verify people’s immigration status while enforcing other laws if they suspect the person could be in Arizona illegally.
“Over the last two years things have gotten really bad in Arizona,” said Paul Eckerstrom, who is leading the secession effort in Tucson, Arizona. “Our economic future is very very bleak especially with our education system being degraded like it is and that’s ultimately why were doing this. We want it to be different.”
Eckerstrom and the Start Our State political committee is trying to collect enough signatures to put a measure on the November 2012 ballot allowing Pima County to petition both the state legislature and U.S. Congress to create the new state of Baja Arizona.
“We felt if we could get on the ballot and have this vote… it sends a huge message not only to the legislature, and not only to the voters of Arizona, but it sends a huge message to the rest of the country that not everybody in the state is ideological and crazy,” Eckerstrom said.
Eckerstrom blamed the sudden upsurge in talk of secession on politics shifting from being solution driven to being ideologically driven.
Policy is no longer about working toward practical solutions for people. It’s working toward ideological positions and people are so entrenched in that they won’t even consider another path to get something done,” he said. “No one thinks in concrete terms. They think in ideological white towers.”
While numerous groups have tried to create a break-away state in the past, you have to go all the way back to the Civil War to find a group that was successful.
When Virginia decided to join the Confederacy in 1863, West Virginia seceded and created a new state in order to stay in the Union.
A state break-up happened only one other time in U.S. history when Maine gained independence from Massachusetts as a part of the Missouri Compromise in 1820.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry took talk of secession even farther in 2009 when he implied that Texas may consider leaving the union.
At Tea Party rally where supporters waved U.S. flags chanted “Secede,” Perry alluded that his state may revert back to its independent roots because Texans are so fed up with federal policies and regulations.
“Texas is a unique place. When we came in the Union in 1845 one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that,” Perry told reporters at the April 2009 rally. “We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that?”
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Where’s the liberal hate ?
Posted by: Rob | July 14, 2011, 6:20 am 6:20 am
Let em go! When they’re broke, hungry, and dying, we can laugh and wave from across the ‘border!’
Posted by: Toots McGee | July 14, 2011, 7:50 am 7:50 am
There is a word for what these counties want to do: TREASON. I say the federal govt. should round up the leaders that are spewing this nonsence and throw the in jail for treason.
Posted by: Johnnyc | July 14, 2011, 8:10 am 8:10 am
They tried this sort of thing years ago when Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan wanted to seperate into another state becasue the seats of power were ignoring them and concentrating all the money closer to the politicians.
In the end, the politicians provided some cosmetic interest and everything fell back into the status quo.
Just a bunch of noise wihtout the real guts to get the people to comprehensivly control the people they elected.
Politicians will always do what is in their best interest, not the peoples.
Posted by: Wayne | July 14, 2011, 8:16 am 8:16 am
Sounds like a lot of grandstanding, but in the end it will do no good. It’s called politics and you’re stuck with exactly what you’ve elected.
Posted by: mijoje1 | July 14, 2011, 8:25 am 8:25 am
Texans can talk all they want to about going back to being their own country all they want. I wish them a lot of luck. You think things are bad now, let’s see what REALLY happens when the U.S. Government funds disappear. Those U.S. highways now all belong to you. You have to hire border guards to ring the ENTIRE “country”, not just the border with Mexico. Are you going to build a “national” military (that would include a Navy and Coast Guard)? Oh, just wait until the screaming starts when taxes are raised to pay for all of that nonsense. You have over a $25 billion state deficit NOW. Happy landing!
Posted by: Bob | July 14, 2011, 8:25 am 8:25 am
Can I secede my house in Tennessee from the nut job politicians there that are trying to pass legislation that would forbid the word “gay” from being used in middle schools and secure death certificates for aborted fetuses?
Posted by: Eric | July 14, 2011, 8:47 am 8:47 am
I could see San Francisco becoming ‘Browneyedaho” with the State Motto “Home of the Hershey Highway”.
Posted by: Aaron | July 14, 2011, 9:07 am 9:07 am
Obama won’t allow it. It’s a blue state.
Posted by: LongT | July 14, 2011, 9:07 am 9:07 am
This is new? I’ve heard California separating i two for over 15 years, the state of Nortnern California is what it was going to be called. Even New York for the same amount of time being called the State of Western New York with all counties that make up NYC staying as the State of New York. It was said that Upstate exists only to support the Big Apple.
Posted by: Shawn | July 14, 2011, 9:14 am 9:14 am
This is new? I’ve heard California separating i two for over 15 years, the state of Northern California is what it was going to be called. Even New York for the same amount of time being called the State of Western New York with all counties that make up NYC staying as the State of New York. It was said that Upstate exists only to support the Big Apple.
Posted by: Shawn | July 14, 2011, 9:14 am 9:14 am
CA is not going to gain enough support for secession. CA is too important for the feds and the country to break up. As the 8th largest economy of the world, it makes every other state in the union look like small fry. No other state in the union comes remotely close as to the amount of import/export goods that move in/out of LA/Long Beach harbors. It has the busiest military base in the country. It has 1 of only 2 Marine boot camps in the country. It has the only SEAL boot camp. If CA were to dissolve, you standard of living would collapse.
Posted by: raggmopp | July 14, 2011, 9:16 am 9:16 am
Even if they secede that wouldn’t make them a 51st state. Wouldn’t they have to rejoin the US for that?
Posted by: SaxChick | July 14, 2011, 9:19 am 9:19 am
I don’t blame them. Nancy Pelosi’s Kalifornia is a disaster.
Yet, they should be able to stay in this country and KICK the other part out. They have our Founders rolling in their graves. In fact, if our Founders were alive today, I know the liberals of today wouldn’t be in power and many would be tried with treason.
Posted by: Kate | July 14, 2011, 9:44 am 9:44 am
I’m OK with secession but please join the 31 Mexican states. We’ll send foreign aid.
Posted by: ray | July 14, 2011, 9:44 am 9:44 am
I’m OK with secession but please join the 31 Mexican states. We’ll send foreign aid.
Posted by: ray | July 14, 2011, 9:44 am 9:44 am
Let everybody secede … let Texas be it’s own country … and let them deal with there own “national” problems … Like Mexico, military protection, importing of food, etc … the “south” should be it’s own country now … and would have had to abolish slavery anyway – since their benefactor at the time – England required it. I don’t see dividing up this gridlocked and disjointed country as being a bad thing. Maybe then all of these “I want MY country back” types – would actually have a point.
Posted by: 1enlightened | July 14, 2011, 9:50 am 9:50 am
This is what happens when the federal government gets too big.
Were we ever supposed to have this big of a federal government? No. That is why we have states.
Our Founders were very smart. We need to reduce the size and scope of the federal government and return power to the states. If you don’t like a particular state, move. Wow, what a concept.
Posted by: Juice | July 14, 2011, 10:13 am 10:13 am
GREAT NEWS! The people, in any state, have a right to govern themselves and not let the thugs who run Calif and many other states tell them to pay and pay while the thugs play and play. Power to the people who stand up against all manner of State Tyranny and demand their freedom and human rights to govern themselves.
Posted by: rockychance | July 14, 2011, 10:16 am 10:16 am
BIG DIFFERENCE this time. People are more fed up by government than any time in our history post civil war. It is more like the fight against the British who used tyranny against the people to extract their ill gotten tax gains!
Posted by: rockychance | July 14, 2011, 10:19 am 10:19 am
I don’t blame them but I think Texas is the only state that can divide up and secede from the union also.
Posted by: Freedom | July 14, 2011, 10:19 am 10:19 am
It’d be easier if all the folks who want to secede just physically leave the continental US. Canada is a nice place, and there are already lots of US ex-pats in central America. We had a very long and bloody war mid 19th century that demonstrated that secession doesn’t work all that well. And given the costs of running a country (when so many can’t handle a county) it’d be good for a laugh for the rest of us if you try. Go ahead.
Posted by: Floretta | July 14, 2011, 10:28 am 10:28 am
Perfect example of a state of career unemployed and welfare recepients. Ran by yours truely,,,,,,Demoncrats. lol
Posted by: succab | July 14, 2011, 10:32 am 10:32 am
@Eric – OMG R U serious? Wow. No wonder nuts like Palin & Bachmann do so well there! Holy cr*p. That is one scary state my friend! I’d seriously be running to get out of there ASAP. lol
“Can I secede my house in Tennessee from the nut job politicians there that are trying to pass legislation that would forbid the word “gay” from being used in middle schools and secure death certificates for aborted fetuses?”
Posted by: superdeeduper | July 14, 2011, 10:33 am 10:33 am
Nova Scotia is starting to look pretty appealing to this native New Englander. Since my father is a native of Canada I believe I can now assume a duel citizenship. Yup…NS is looking REAL good to me.
Posted by: superdeeduper | July 14, 2011, 10:37 am 10:37 am
The Deficit could be quickly eliminated by selling California to the Chinese. Most of the people in California would be more comfortable under a Communist government!
Posted by: Voice_Reason | July 14, 2011, 10:40 am 10:40 am
Its not treason, morons. They want to create an additional state IN the union. The issue they have appears to be the state government. As far as Texas is concerned, you tell me who is gonna fight your wars for you when all the Texas boys come home.
Posted by: able | July 14, 2011, 11:11 am 11:11 am
So who’s running the 8th largest economy in the world??
The president of the California senate is the former political director of the SEIU. The speaker of the assembly is the former political director of the UFCW (food and commercial workers union). The CCPOA (prison guard’s union) put $2 million into Jerry’s election campaign. He gave them a $600 million contract. The CTA (teacher’s union) has pledged $60 million in propaganda funding for a tax increase election.
The public employee union death grip on California is absolute. They have ruled the state for decades. It has the worst credit rating in the country and the highest paid public employees, and some of the highest taxes. There are more employees working in government than in manufacturing. California has 12% of US population but 33% of US welfare cases.
John Perez, speaker of the assembly and former union political director: “It’s absolutely clear the only permanent solution for California’s problems is to elect a two-thirds majority of Democrats in each house of the Legislature.” They will then be able to raise taxes at will.
This means just 2 state senate seats and 2 assembly seats have to flip to democrat. The unions have put all the pieces are in place to make that happen: They have packed the new redistricting commission with democrat and union operatives; the “jungle primary” system they have put in place will result in two democrats facing off in general elections in many districts; the SEIU has announced a plan to buy the election of “moderates” in Republican districts; they will continue to pump hundreds of $Millions into the election campaigns of democrats who operate for them and into primary challenges to those who do not.
California is doomed.
Posted by: Ventura Capitalist | July 14, 2011, 11:17 am 11:17 am
In response to saxchick: The 13 counties in California do not want to secede from the United States. They want to secede from California. If that were to happen they would be their own state which would make them the 51st state. I just wanted to clarify that for you.
Posted by: californiasleuth | July 14, 2011, 12:14 pm 12:14 pm
Texas ignores one LITTLE fact of history – the 9 years they were a Republic were among the worst in their history. They couldn’t hack it then, they can’t hack it now. As for California and Arizona – won’t happen because their state legislatures are just as bad as the feds; NOBODY agrees!!
Posted by: kay | July 14, 2011, 12:39 pm 12:39 pm
So what we are seeing are dying nests of conservatives who are not willing to compromise, not willing to share, and not able to deal with their shrinking numbers.
Posted by: DewyB | July 14, 2011, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm
heres how sad it is. when in graduate school 30 years ago i gave a speech on the great state of california. at that time its was the 5TH largest economy in the world.30years later with socialism illegal immigrants and over regulation its now the 8th largest economy in the world. thats progress for democrats.i say suceed or split the state and give los angles back to mexico and stay away from northern california.
Posted by: catman | July 14, 2011, 1:23 pm 1:23 pm
This article contains incorrect information. The last time a state separated was in 1863, when certain western and northern counties of Virginia seceded to form the state of West Virginia.
Posted by: defreem | July 14, 2011, 2:02 pm 2:02 pm
Well we can see Jerry Browns Policies finally coming into fruition. ” A State divided against itself cannot stand”
Posted by: Fezzy Bear | July 14, 2011, 3:09 pm 3:09 pm
Um, did the reporter actually call anyone about this? 13 counties are NOT pushing to secede. ONE elected rep is pushing this idea. This is such a poorly reported story. It’s a joke.
Posted by: Mark | July 14, 2011, 6:47 pm 6:47 pm
These counties are not the only counties that want to leave the more liberal side of the state!!! In fact the conservative counties want the liberal side to slide off into the ocean..
Posted by: jos Brian | July 14, 2011, 7:27 pm 7:27 pm
The history is as good one. Following the Civil War Confederate officers came to Southern California. The Democrats in the Southern States became know as the Dixiecrats and they registered as Republicans and took over the Republican party.
As in the plantation days, the classes were the farm owners and the field hands. The process is to create a state with out educated voters.
Posted by: John E McCue | July 15, 2011, 11:45 am 11:45 am
Just what we need is 4 California Senators!
Posted by: Voice_Reason | July 15, 2011, 5:54 pm 5:54 pm
The absurd logical conclusion to 40 years of propaganda.
Posted by: Mike | July 16, 2011, 7:20 am 7:20 am
One third of San Diego County is Hispanic and we have had an all White Republican Board of Supervisors for 20 years. By controlling resdistricting the powerful keep their power and minorities get the shaft. Now they want a new White Republican state? Over my dead body!
Posted by: Unrepresented | July 18, 2011, 2:44 pm 2:44 pm
I’m from northern CA and I don’t blame them at all. But where are they going to get their water?
Posted by: tom | July 19, 2011, 12:10 am 12:10 am