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Why not let the Southern US be its own country?

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Horns

Member
How so? Please explain.

Collapse is an overstatement, but there would be serious issues in the south, not to say the north wouldn't have its own issues. Financially, red states have depended on more federal tax dollars than blue. Then there's the whole discrimination thing, which would eventually lead to strife. I'd imagine that religion would guide many decisions, forcing those with different religions to conform or be discriminated against. Southern state and city governments would put in place repetitive functions of government that the current federal government handles (i.e. different standards everywhere.) Even more lax gun laws would lead to higher firearm death rates and suicide rates. Schools would teach slanted views on history, Barack "Hussein" Obama and Reganomics works and god was responsible for x or y. Worker rights would be diminished, wages would fall for the poor and safety regulations would be relaxed in the name of profits.

Kind of like what's happening now, only on a larger scale.
 
True. I'm curious to see how the GOP adjusts to deal with that.

The electoral college serves at the pleasure of the state legislature by allowing the electorate to choose the electors. The state legislature is far redder because of it being far more gerrymandered than an at-large district. If the Texan electoral college turned blue there are three ways the state legislature could go about it:

1) Elect the electoral college based on congressional districts won (which are also gerrymandered) plus two votes for the winner.
2) Elect the electoral college based on proportion of popular vote
3) Supply explicitly republican electors to the college without even being included in the presidential vote.
 
The electoral college serves at the pleasure of the state legislature by allowing the electorate to choose the electors. The state legislature is far redder because of it being far more gerrymandered than an at-large district. If the Texan electoral college turned blue there are three ways the state legislature could go about it:

1) Elect the electoral college based on congressional districts won (which are also gerrymandered) plus two votes for the winner.
2) Elect the electoral college based on proportion of popular vote
3) Supply explicitly republican electors to the college without even being included in the presidential vote.

Logistically, yes, but I was thinking more in terms of how the republican party would adjust their national platform to account for having lost Texas as part of the electoral math in presidential elections. Without Texas, how do they maintain a path to 270 is what I'm asking.
 

Ryuuroden

Member
No, the US should just fucking get rid of gerrymandering. Implement a law requiring competitive districts. Congress is fucking moronic because the majority of house representatives have uncompetative districts allowing the most extreme, vitriolic, asinine, destructive, pandering to the fringes, representatives to be elected and spread their poisonous venom into our national discourse. The majority of country does not have the same beliefs as snakes like Ted Cruz.
 
No, the US should just fucking get rid of gerrymandering. Implement a law requiring competitive districts. Congress is fucking moronic because the majority of house representatives have uncompetative districts allowing the most extreme, vitriolic, asinine, destructive, pandering to the fringes, representatives to be elected and spread their poisonous venom into our national discourse. The majority of country does not have the same beliefs as snakes like Ted Cruz.

Why not just do direct democracy? That way companies will have to buy the people's vote directly.
 

dsister44

Member
No, the US should just fucking get rid of gerrymandering. Implement a law requiring competitive districts. Congress is fucking moronic because the majority of house representatives have uncompetative districts allowing the most extreme, vitriolic, asinine, destructive, pandering to the fringes, representatives to be elected and spread their poisonous venom into our national discourse. The majority of country does not have the same beliefs as snakes like Ted Cruz.

Eh? You can't really use gerrymandering and Ted Cruz in the same example. Unless you are imlying he won because of gerrymandering. In which case I would love to hear your argument
 

Ryuuroden

Member
Eh? You can't really use gerrymandering and Ted Cruz in the same example. Unless you are imlying he won because of gerrymandering. In which case I would love to hear your argument

Lol no, it's a bad example for obvious combatability reasons. But there can only be limited numbers of guys like him in the Senate, while the house can artificially inflate his type of extreme on both sides using gerrymandering. That's what I mean
I was using him as a representative of fringe beliefs because he is well known. I was also trying to have fun with hyperbole since that's what this thread is.
 
The land belongs to the United States. If the people want to leave and start their own country, that's fine though.

Ironic if it's a Northerner saying it since in SP

ANEEKdP.jpg
 
The key is "all" of the people, not "some" of the people.
The whole idea is dumb
but if a huge majority(90%+) of a state's population was in favor of it, then that is that.

However Alaska I would say is a different story, even at 100% i'd say the population/state government doesn't have enough of a claim.

But while at a single thought it could sound good to the crazy people out there who think they are better of isolated, once they put actual thought into this they would realize how stupid it is.
 

Yoda

Member
The outcome wouldn't go as you are describing. Compared to most democracies are political parties aren't really that far apart (when you examine their voting record). Most likely overtime the new nations would simply find a different difference to hyperfocus on as opposed to governing in harmony and ending the non-stop theater we see in Washington and increasingly in state capitols.

Also larger nations can leverage their position in the global economy to greater effect than smaller economies. Canada is probably the greatest example of a relatively stable economy being punished for its size (declining currency). Compare this to the EU which is a cluster-fuck beyond belief in terms of fiscal policy, yet they still command a stronger currency, which effect the day-to-day lives of every single citizen.
 
Logistically, yes, but I was thinking more in terms of how the republican party would adjust their national platform to account for having lost Texas as part of the electoral math in presidential elections. Without Texas, how do they maintain a path to 270 is what I'm asking.

Losing 38 EV would be almost a permanent democratic president.
 
In case you haven't been paying attention, there's a mass migration in the US to the South.
Most of the babies born in this country are in the south. We aren't very far away from having the majority of people in this country living in the south and speaking with that lovely southern drawl.
How ignorant is that Boston and New York accent gonna sound then. It's already so goddamn cringe worthy.
 
I reckon lots of southern folk wood oblige. I myself love the south. The only problem we gots here is that its hotter than a goats butt inna jalapeno patch.
 

Futurematic

Member
We aren't very far away from having the majority of people in this country living in the south and speaking with that lovely southern drawl.

You mean the drawl that sounds like British people fighting Napoleon in 1800? Well, fair enough, I fully support archiac English if not the policies of the southern lords/plantation owners/CEOs that kept it going.

(Yes if you time travelled, everyone in London in 1800 would sound like a Southerner.)
 
You mean the drawl that sounds like British people fighting Napoleon in 1800? Well, fair enough, I fully support archiac English if not the policies of the southern lords/plantation owners/CEOs that kept it going.

(Yes if you time travelled, everyone in London in 1800 would sound like a Southerner.)
Is that really true?
 

samar11

Member
The thing I love about US is that each city is like a country on its own lol. NYC, LA, Miami, Vegas, so different from one another. Can't wait to go back!
 
Implement a law requiring competitive districts.

There's a reason no liberal democracy in the world does this. Urban cores and outstate rural areas often have different demands from government and accordingly deserve independent representation. Drawing a district to include a sliver of New York City that extends out into nowhere just so the district can be "competitive" would be a disaster.
 
Collapse is an overstatement, but there would be serious issues in the south, not to say the north wouldn't have its own issues. Financially, red states have depended on more federal tax dollars than blue. Then there's the whole discrimination thing, which would eventually lead to strife. I'd imagine that religion would guide many decisions, forcing those with different religions to conform or be discriminated against. Southern state and city governments would put in place repetitive functions of government that the current federal government handles (i.e. different standards everywhere.) Even more lax gun laws would lead to higher firearm death rates and suicide rates. Schools would teach slanted views on history, Barack "Hussein" Obama and Reganomics works and god was responsible for x or y. Worker rights would be diminished, wages would fall for the poor and safety regulations would be relaxed in the name of profits.

Kind of like what's happening now, only on a larger scale.

And this would be hilarious to you because...?
 
They're more likely be underwater due to their anti-levee, climate-science denial-ism than they are to successfully succeed. They failed once; twice would put them in a economic chronic-depression mode. It won't happen.
 
Texas was once Blue and it will turn blue again, give it 8 to 12 years and it will be Blue for a 50 years
Yeah but let's be fair, those Blue politicians were significantly different than those of today.

And I get the feeling that if Texas seceded from the US, Austin would secede from Texas and become a Vatican/Morocco-like city state. XD
 

TheJLC

Member
If only the states in the OP would secede, I doubt it would work. However, if we were talking about all the red states, it would work. Red states hold the oil, natural gas, natural resources, farm land, military industry, factories, ports, and infrastructure. While the Blue states mostly have cities and population but very little of the infrastructure that won the Civil War.
 

Arcia

Banned
Yeah but let's be fair, those Blue politicians were significantly different than those of today.

And I get the feeling that if Texas seceded from the US, Austin would secede from Texas and become a Vatican/Morocco-like city state. XD

Why just Austin? I'm pretty sure Houston and San Antonio would join up too. There are enough liberals here that would want no part of a seceded conservative run Texas.
 
In case you haven't been paying attention, there's a mass migration in the US to the South.
Most of the babies born in this country are in the south. We aren't very far away from having the majority of people in this country living in the south and speaking with that lovely southern drawl.
How ignorant is that Boston and New York accent gonna sound then. It's already so goddamn cringe worthy.

Nod. I love the fact that more and more northerns are moving south, plus immigration. Shit's turning blue at a much quicker pace.
 

LOLDSFAN

Member
No. Also sections of America aren't as homogeneous as you think.

I don't have any study to cite here, but my gut says yes. The GOP already throws around a lot of dog whistles: "real" america, states rights, referring to dems as "liberal elites" in "big cities", confederate flags, etc. There's a lot of us vs. them terminology that's directly linked to the Civil War to this very day.

Lol.
 

Spinluck

Member
I just find it rather interesting how the north always claims to be more for equality and understanding and yet looks down on an entire region, whether deserved or not, as if they are subhuman garbage.

Its just interesting.

The South is great. Why the hate, OP?

GAF is still 5 years old when it comes to this discussion. Let them keep thinking that racist only exist in the South, along with weirdos.
 

rbenchley

Member
The midwest will finally have a reason to exist again instead of being a giant cornfield that nobody wants.

Real nice attitude. You should realize that the coastal states need the midwest more than the midwest needs the coastal states. The midwest feeds the rest of the country, has enormous fresh water reserves via the Great Lakes, provides a lot of the manufacturing jobs in this country and has huge oil reserves.
 

akira28

Member
Real nice attitude. You should realize that the coastal states need the midwest more than the midwest needs the coastal states. The midwest feeds the rest of the country, has enormous fresh water reserves via the Great Lakes, provides a lot of the manufacturing jobs in this country and has huge oil reserves.

did you get this from a rest stop pamphlet or something? we're being cynical here.

Yes i'm sure the declining rust belt and bread basket are still great.
 
If only the states in the OP would secede, I doubt it would work. However, if we were talking about all the red states, it would work. Red states hold the oil, natural gas, natural resources, farm land, military industry, factories, ports, and infrastructure. While the Blue states mostly have cities and population but very little of the infrastructure that won the Civil War.

California says hi to bolded
 

Fnord

Member
yeah, because everyone in the south thinks like this.

what the fuck

Thank you. I was born and raised in South Carolina. While we have our share of theocratic dimwits, it's not like the South is some hive mind controlled by the religious right.
 

rbenchley

Member
did you get this from a rest stop pamphlet or something? we're being cynical here.

Yes i'm sure the declining rust belt and bread basket are still great.

No rest stop pamphlet. I'm just not an ignorant jackass, unlike some people in this thread.
 

Fnord

Member
I don't have any study to cite here, but my gut says yes. The GOP already throws around a lot of dog whistles: "real" america, states rights, referring to dems as "liberal elites" in "big cities", confederate flags, etc. There's a lot of us vs. them terminology that's directly linked to the Civil War to this very day.

Just because some of us in the South want to maintain some of our Constitutionally mandated sovereignty and not bow down to the federal government at every turn doesn't mean we want to become another country. We'd just prefer the federal government stick to what it is Constitutionally mandated and permitted to do and leave the rest to the states. You know, the way the founders of the country intended. "States Rights" isn't some code phrase for anything other than what it says.
 
As much as we Southerners aren't the caricature some people see us as, there's no reason to swing the pendulum all the way in the other direction and pretend as if there aren't significant issues (especially those of race and class) that continue to fester to this day.

The fact that the fringe has gained such momentum in our states doesn't give me much hope that things will get better in many, many areas in the near future.
 

Xyrmellon

Member
I'd reckon that the closet racists in the north would love to dump the Hispanic and African flavored states, and blame it on the evil white southerners.
 
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