On July 26, the California government cleared the way for proponents of independence for California to begin circulating their new initiative petition. If it gets on the ballot, the ballot would say, “California Autonomy from Federal Government. Repeals provision in California Constitution stating California is an inseparable part of the United States. Directs Governor, in consultation with those members of Congress who represent California, to negotiate continually greater autonomy from federal government, up to and including agreement establishing California as a fully independent country, provided voters agree to revise the California Constitution. Creates new state commission to research and make recommendations on ways of increasing California’s autonomy and independence.”
The initiative needs 585,407 valid signatures in the next six months.
Elephants wiil be very happy to get rid of the CA SSR
— esp the super leftwing CA USA Reps – Pelosi, etc. and the 2 CA USA Senator Donkeys.
Good riddance.
This is the most stupidest thing I have heard of. People shouldn’t leave the U.S. Just because they hate the president. California sucks anyway. We have the toughest smog laws that make it hard for people who are poor to register their cars. California needs to relax and all you stupid asses need to suck it up and deal with what our wonderful president is doing. Already he has the balls to do what other presidents didnt. So quit your damn crying and that stupid talk about leaving the union because that probably won’t happen even if you brain wash people into signing your dumb petition. All you guys are is a bunch of winning idiots. So quit acting like a 2 year old who got put in time out.
Good-bye, California. My wallet will thank you every April 15th.
But we will miss you every 4/20.
Daniel Price… “Already he has the balls to do what other presidents didnt.” …. what’s that be more authoritarian the most authoritarian shit bag to ever be president?… aka the Bushs. The current state of the country is the exact state we were in when the colonists rebelled against Britain… if you keep sucking up to authoritarian shitbags and we keep seeing more of them in office, we will see another rebellion and people like you will be screwed.
Michael Skaggs… California contributes a majority of the income tax in the country…. they get back less than they pay.
@Aiden James
Bush, Obama, and Trump have all been EXTREMELY Authoritarian, and to the point about the fiscal situation, while CA gets less than they put into the fed gov’t without the liberal CA Reps and Senators the fed gov’t as a whole would probably be MUCH smaller.
A substantively similar proposal was blocked by the Alaska Supreme Court on the grounds that secession is unconstitutional, even though the proposed initiative would have done nothing more than direct the state gov’t to start pursuing efforts to obtain federal consent for a potential peaceful future secession. Of course that was just an AK state court decision (and I think an incorrect interpretation of Texas v White), but interesting that apparently the California SoS reached a different conclusion.
1787 U.S.A. Const. Art. VII – *establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same.*
See the effort to UN-ratify in 1860-1861 — about 750,000 DEAD on both sides (2011 estimate) in 1861-1865 with many. many thousands more maimed for life – NO eyes, hands, etc.
@Demo Rep,
The Articles of Confederation established a Perpetual Union. The Constitution established a More Perfect Union. So even though accession to the Constitution was presumably voluntary, it was not, since North Carolina and Rhode Island had already joined the Perpetual Union, which the Philadelphia Coup of 1787 undid, rather than perfected.
See specious reasoning in Texas v White
How about that 4 July 1776 piece of paper — last paragraph ??? —
IE secession from intolerable regimes at ANY time.
How many of the current regimes on Mother Earth are the result of civil / international wars ???
IE the world belongs to the living and NOT to the dead (with the EVIL schemes of EVIL monarchs and oligarchs).
Remember, it was the states that created the Federal government.
The U.S. Constitution preamble implies that the people created the federal government. It says, “We the People of the United States…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
True, Richard — and I too wish the Preamble were taken more seriously. OTOH, the Constitution took effect after it was ratified by states — and I don’t think any of them had a referendum on the question.
@ John Anthony: I believe that the Constitution was originally ratified by special state conventions – not by the state legislatures – which, in effect, means that the elections of delegates to such special conventions were referenda.
I notice that the language of the referendum suggests that forms of autonomy short of independence would be considered. Perhaps California would like to join Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau as associated states.
In 1787 “United States” would have been understood as a plural noun as is “United States of America in Congress Assembled”
The Constitution was established by the sovereigns of the several states, their People, who established a limited federal government to exercise authority in matters that the individual States could not, such as the common defense, and the general welfare of the states.
Calexit would be no more remarkable than Brexit from the EU superstate, or Ukrexit from the USSR.
@JALP and WZ,
The convention in 1787 was extra-constitutional. The Articles of Confederation had been agreed to by the legislatures of the states, and any amendments would have been agreed to by the states.
The convention finessed this by having George Washington, President of the convention, send a letter to The Congress of the United States which was meeting in New York City, requesting that they forward it to the states for possible ratification, and to keep score as to whether any of the states had ratified the proposed Constitution. Thus, Washington’s prestige was used to bypass both Congress and the legislatures.
1787 USA CONST Article VII
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/articles.html
SOME 1777 AC HISTORY – WHILE THE USA ARMY / STATE MILITIAS WERE BARELY SURVIVING
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/artconf.asp
XIII.
Every State shall abide by the determination of the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions which by this confederation are submitted to them. And the Articles of this Confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the Union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every State.
—-
IGNORED BY THE OLIGARCHS IN CONTROL IN THE 1787 TOP SECRET FED. CONVENTION.
1787 USA CONST Article V
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Can the rest of the 49 states do a Petition to kick them out
How about the left / right States demand an Art. V convention to expel the right / left States respectively ??? — Mutual expulsion.
i.e. exchange left/right minorities *peacefully*
— and see which group survives even 4 years
— the left communist regimes or the right fascist regimes.