Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Secession petitions surge after Obama win?

Seceding from the United States? One pundit wise-cracked, "Hasn't that been tried before?"
Yes, but a story Monday pointed out that North Carolina had collected more than 10,000 signatures on a petition introduced by Randy Dye of Pittsboro to secede from federal government as a separate and sovereign entity. On that day, it was said to be one of 24 states with petitions on the White House website  website
http://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions. The website is a vehicle
established by the Obama administration to allow citizens to take their
concerns directly to the White House. If the petitions get 25,000 signatures the Obama administration will issue a formal response to them.

As this week nears an end, reportedly all 50 states have now secession petitions on the website. Some like South Carolina have two or more, worded slightly differently but with the same intent.

Petitions from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, according to the Inquisitr, had received at least 25,000 signatures as of Wednesday. Palm Beach Post writer Frank Cerabino said the secessions were sparked by President Obama's presidential win: "Since President Barack Obama was re-elected ... online petitions of secession have popped up in more than two dozen states," he wrote.
It's not clear when the petitions started or whether Obama's win was the impetus. But it's wishful thinking to hope the petitions will result in any secessions. Remember, we had a Civil War to settle that issue nearly 150 years ago. The new movie "Lincoln" could be a good flick to see as an apt reminder. Better yet go online or get a book and read the Gettysburg Address, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldier's National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pa., four months after the Battle of Gettysburg which helped end the war.  
Particularly poignant are these words: "Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure...It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion."
The Civil War ended and the union was kept intact. Even Gov. Rick Perry, who has talked about a Texas secession in the past, now speaks more circumspectly: “Gov. Perry believes in the greatness of our Union and nothing should be done to change it," his spokesman said this week. "But he also shares the frustrations many Americans have with our federal government,”

 The petitions appearing on the White House website do affirm a basic tenet of the U.S. government that was preserved in that great war. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees every citizen's right to petition your government. On the website is a ragtag array of petitions. There's one to outlaw offending prophets of major religions - 37,134 have signed that; there's one supporting mandatory labelling of genetically engineered foods - 43,065 signed that; there's even one to deport anyone who has signed a petition to withdraw or secede from the U.S. -16,374 signed that. The ones supporting federal legalization of marijuana get the most signers - more than 85,000 have signed the three or more petitions on that subject.
A perfect union, this is not. But it's still pretty good.

What do you think about secession talk?
Posted by Fannie Flono

10 comments:

Laura said...

This is the most ridiculous thing. These people need to get a life and stop being such sore losers.

Garth Vader said...

When Benjamin Franklin emerged from Independence Hall at the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 18, 1787, a woman asked him, “Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”.

Mr. Franklin replied, “A republic, madam – if you can keep it.”

The BushBama presidency has moved us so close to monarchy - Kill Lists, signing statements, warrantless wiretaps, PATRIOT, TSA, indefinite detention, assassination of citizens without charge or trial, worthless paper money emitted via fiat rather than coined from metal as required by the Constitution - that we might as well recognize that we have NOT kept Franklin's beloved republic.

I wonder if those baffled by the secessionist petitions even know that name of this country actually MEANS something, that it is STATES which CHOSE to UNITE. Which means they can choose to disunite as well.

From Federalist 45 written by James Madison:

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite."

Alexander Hamilton - no foe of central government - argued against the need for a Bill Of Rights because it was implicit in the constructionist language of the Constitution that Congress had only the seventeen enumerated powers:

"Why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?"

I invite Laura and others to read Federalist #45 and #84.

Anonymous said...

I do just want to say that the people who are signing these petitions are exercising their freedom of speech, so technically they are doing no wrong. On another thought does anyone else see the irony of the possibility of the country splitting the same way twice. I know that things happen but this appears to be history repeating itself maybe the government needs to back up and punt the current ideas start over in a way that includes the thoughts of states nd counties and see if we can get this country back together.

Old Rebel said...

" Remember, we had a Civil War to settle that issue nearly 150 years ago."

So, constitutional law is settled by brute force? By that reasoning, John Wilkes Booth legally ruled Lincoln's election invalid.

"The Civil War ended and the union was kept intact."

Wrong. The Civil War destroyed the voluntary union of free people, and established the supremacy of the federal government, backed by the subsidy seekers in industry and banking.

Unknown said...

I believe the term is "butt-hurt." Geez, get over it. You want to leave, leave. Go to Greece: same economy, better weather. But it's Greece.

chupacabra said...

I'm fine with all these people giving up their citizenship. Clearly anyone signing these petitions is a far right crazy so they're just holding the rest of us back. Actually, we could chip in to buy two islands somewhere, one for the crazy right and one for the crazy left. They could spend their time building fences or glaring at each other while the rest of us have some adult conversations and get the country moving again.

Unknown said...

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants.

Shamash said...

The actual Liberty Tree would be illegal today.

It would be considered a hate crime.

Political correctness is the new king.

Shamash said...

The Civil War pitted North against South.

If you look at the voting patterns of the last presidential election, this new secession would probably pit both sides against the middle.

Garth Vader said...

How many "civil wars" occurred when Soviet republics seceded?

How many "civil wars" occurred when Norway seceded from Sweden?

How many "civil wars" occurred when Slovenia seceded?