The Republic of Texas

[homersapien 11,347]

Hey, works for me.   Go for it. 

 

Texas Republicans want to secede? Good riddance.

By Dana Milbank

 

 

The Lone Star State does not have the best track record as a sover- eign power. The Republic of Texas survived only 10 years from independence to annexation by the United States in 1845. Texas seceded during the Civil War — and, with the rest of the Confederacy, was crushed.

But, as the saying goes: If at first you don’t secede, try, try again. The Texas GOP now wants the state to vote on declaring independence.

And the United States should let Texas go! Better yet, let’s offer Texas a severance package that includes Oklahoma to sweeten secession — the Sooner the better.

Over the weekend, while many Americans were celebrating the 167th anniversary of Juneteenth (when Union Gen. Gordon Granger, in Galveston, Tex., delivered the order abolishing slavery) the Texas Republican Party voted on a platform declaring that federal laws it dislikes “should be ignored, opposed, refused, and nullified.”

The proposed platform (it’s expected to be approved when votes are tallied) adds: “Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto.” It wants the secession referendum “in the 2023 general election for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation.”

Of course, protections would have to be negotiated for parts of Texas that wish to remain on Team Normal. Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and parts of South Texas would remain in the United States, and they will need guaranteed safe passage to New Orleans or Santa Fe, along with regular airlifts of sustainable produce, accurate textbooks and contraceptives.

But consider the benefits to the rest of the country: Two fewer Republican senators, two dozen fewer Republican members of the House, annual savings of $83 billion in defense funds that Texas gets. And the best reason? The Texas GOP has so little regard for the Constitution that it is calling for a “Convention of the States” to effectively rewrite it — and so little regard for the United States that it wishes to leave.

In democracy’s place, the Republican Party, which enjoys one-party rule in Texas, is effectively proposing a church state. If you liked Crusader states and Muslim caliphates, you’ll love the Confederate Theocracy of Texas.

The Texas GOP platform gives us a good idea what such a paradise for Christian nationalists would look like. Texas would officially declare that “homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice.” It would redefine marriage as a “covenant only between one biological man and one biological woman,” and it would “nullify” any court rulings to the contrary. (The gay Log Cabin Republicans were banned from setting up a booth at the convention.) It would fill schools with “prayer, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments” but ban “the teaching of sex education.” It would abolish all abortions and require students to “learn about the Humanity of the Preborn Child.”

The Texas Theocracy, which maintains that President Biden “was not legitimately elected,” would keep only traces of democracy. It wants the Voting Rights Act of 1965 “repealed,” and it would rewrite the state constitution to empower minority rule by small, rural (and White) counties. It would rescind voters’ right to elect senators and the Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship.

The Texas Theocracy would probably be broke; it wants to abolish the federal income tax, “Axe the Property Tax” and do away with the estate tax and various business taxes. Yet it is planning a hawkish foreign policy! The platform argues that Texas is currently “under an active invasion” and should take “any and all appropriate measures the sovereign state defines as necessary to defend” itself. It imagines attacks by a “One World Government, or The Great Reset” — an internet-born conspiracy belief — and proposes “withdrawal from the current United Nations.” The Theocracy would put the “wild” back in the West, abolishing the minimum wage, environmental and banking regulations, and “red-flag” laws or waiting periods to prevent dangerous people from buying guns.

Above all, the Confederate Theocracy of Texas would be defined by thought police. It would penalize “woke corporations” and businesses that disagree with the theocracy over abortion, race, trans rights and the “inalienable right to refuse vaccination.”

Government programs would be stripped of “education involving race.” Evolution and climate change “shall be taught as challengeable scientific theories subject to change.” There would be a “complete repeal of the hate crime laws.” The Texas Revolution “shall not be ‘reimagined’” in a way the theocracy finds “disrespectful.” Confederate monuments “shall be protected,” “plaques honoring the Confederate widows” restored, and lessons on “the tyrannical history of socialism” required.

In their platform, the Texas Republicans invoked “God” or the “Creator” 18 times and “sovereignty” or sovereign power 24 times. And the word “democracy”? Only once — in reference to China.

Edited June 21, 2022 by homersapien

[CoffeeTiger 5,075]

Texas would declare independence and then immediately get invaded and annexed back into Mexico.

 

 

[aubiefifty 16,660]

i grew up admiring tejas. i often wish i had lived instead of alabama often as a child. now i do not care so much. these people are over reaching so much as to force religious bias back into the schools. their laws to whitewash { pun intended } racism and throw it under the bus is awful. it sends a clear signal that folks of color do not count. they make it hard on the lgbt community and have added this language to the republican platform.

"But what Texas Republicans had to say about gay rights and homosexuality and transgender people really stands out. First and foremost, the party wrote that homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice. They also included language that says there shouldn't be any special legal protections for gay, lesbian and bisexual people, and they oppose any criminal or civil penalties against people who oppose homosexuality. "

For this record this was taken from npr two days ago and i will post the whole article at the end of my talking points.

So now we are making it easier for violence to be brought against gays with little little to no protection? if it is in their platform you can bet you sweet azz they will do their best to put it into law. it is just sickening. man is made in gods own image right? is god fallible? is he dead? so what gives you the right to crap on people god decided to create? he works in mysterious ways. are you going to worship the bible or are you going to worship god himself? people ignore or never consider the bible has been changed to reflect certain things and i believe this is why we are supposed to move on from the old testament. you can google it and find out for yourself as their are hundreds of articles. here is a statement "Absolutely. The evidence that the Bible has been altered is overwhelming. I recommend you read the works of critical scholars like Bart Ehrman and Robin Lane Fox. You will see just how altered the texts are." now these are just two out of hundreds or maybe thousands. King james is not the only one for a fact.

jesus is love. too often religion is hate. we see it all the time in the country and the world. and yet the repukes think it is ok and god approves? i wonder how many rednecks or idiots say well lets go kill us a homosexual because the republican party seems think it is ok.

and for them to leave these united states would cripple us and make us vulnerable to all our enemies. so much for patriotism right? they want what they want and screw the rest of the country. it is sickening and it is wrong. get your crap together texas i would love to admire you again.

 

[creed 1,628]

Not sure if it’s good or bad  thing for texas to secede from the US but it would be a fun and interesting exercise for each of us to list one pro and con concerning the idea.

Edited June 24, 2022 by creed

[creed 1,628]

12 hours ago, creed said:

Not sure if it’s good or bad  thing for texas to secede from the US but it would be a fun and interesting exercise for each of us to list one pro and con concerning the idea.

Pro: Texas gets to keep all their oil and refineries.

Con: Texas would take on providing services such as Social Security and etc. for it's citizens.

Edited June 25, 2022 by creed

[Cardin Drake 1,805]

Texas seceding from the Union is a wishful fantasy of both the far left and far right.  Ain't gonna happen.  But joining OPEC and having Biden beg us for oil would be kinda fun.

[wdefromtx 3,159]

2 hours ago, Cardin Drake said:

Texas seceding from the Union is a wishful fantasy of both the far left and far right.  Ain't gonna happen.  But joining OPEC and having Biden beg us for oil would be kinda fun.

Let’s just say that the TX Railroad Commissioner is already on a first name basis with leaders in OPEC. Lol

[homersapien 11,347]

4 hours ago, creed said:

Pro: Texas gets to keep all their oil and refineries.

Con: Texas would take on providing services such as Social Security and etc. for it's citizens.

Actually, the "North American Saudi Arabia" is not a bad analogy, on several levels. 

Edited June 25, 2022 by homersapien

[wdefromtx 3,159]

4 hours ago, creed said:

Pro: Texas gets to keep all their oil and refineries.

Con: Texas would take on providing services such as Social Security and etc. for it's citizens.

Texas by way of federal taxes sends way more money to the federal government than the state gets back in return in grants/etc. 

I’m sure it would manage a way . lol 

[wdefromtx 3,159]

Another pro:

 

We could just open back up old Texas embassies in other countries.