Will secessionists succeed in New Hampshire?
The crazies are knocking at the statehouse door
The libertarians-gone-wild wing of the New Hampshire Republican Party has played the secession card by filing a state constitutional amendment in the legislature to peaceably declare independence from the United States and become a sovereign nation. Yes, you heard that right.
New Hampshire requires a public hearing for all proposed constitutional amendments, so of course, there was one last week. I can imagine the spectacle at the legislative offices. Libertarian winter soldiers and sunshine patriots wearing tricorner hats picketing and singing the New Hampshire version of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” I am not making this stuff up.
The only reason to pay this any attention is to point out how dysfunctional Republicans are becoming. Do not underestimate the number of folks under the conservative banner who are lock, stock, and barrel tilting at windmills Don Quixote style. The targets are mask and vaccine mandates and stolen elections, instead of windmills.
It is insulting to our common heritage to speak of a New Hampshire secession in the same manner as our southern states exit resulting in our Civil War. Masks and vaccinations during a pandemic cannot compare to slavery and abolition.
Let’s be serious. The coterie of libertarian activists spawning political gorilla tactics like secession knows that it is never going to happen. Sadly, I have actually voted for some of these folks. I thought they were serious folks with good conservative values, but times and tactics have changed. These days seriousness is out and grandstanding is in.
This latest stunt is a play for attention with the goal of taking over the state GOP agenda. If enough of the libertarian Republicans vote in the primary elections, then traditional Republicans and right-leaning independent voters will be saddled with a choice between Trumpy candidates and liberal opponents in the general elections.
Renny Cushing, Democrat House Minority Leader and long-time activist, characterized the secession amendment as follows in a press release:
Republican lawmakers are so caught up in their disdain for America that they seem to think Granite Staters share their contempt for our country. This proposal to secede from the United States is the most unpatriotic piece of legislation I have ever seen come through the New Hampshire House
I’ll bet a few Republican legislators agree with Cushing. Maybe it is time to start hearing from them too.
If the state legislators behind this amendment really believe that the governor is a tyrant, elections are rigged and that masks and vaccines infringe on our liberty, then they should immediately resign their seats. I will not hold my breath waiting for that to happen.
A separatist movement to pull N.H. from the United States gets a hearing in Concord
NH House Constitutional Amendment
If you like what you’re reading, please consider sharing!
If you haven’t subscribed to the Racket yet, click the button below to do so while it’s still free. And remember, with the Racket you get MORE than what you pay for!
You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
As always, we appreciate shares. If you see something here that you like, please send it to your friends and tell them that all the cool kids read the Racket!
I don't think I'd mind seeing one of these states, be it New Hampshire or Texas, decide to stage their own version of Brexit just to demonstrate the value being a member of the United States brings them. Let NH or TX exit, admit Puerto Rico at the same time (so we don't have to redo the flag or the Senate seating arrangements). We can let them see how well they do raising their own armies, negotiating their own trade deals, etc.
Texas might have a fighting chance of being a sustainable nation in their own right - what do the folks in New Hampshire think will keep them afloat / relevant?
A hypothetical secession of a US state or two would have me comparing and contrasting that with how some of the post-Soviet republics fared after they became independent countries. I think like the post Soviet states, a seceded US state would find themselves economically dependent on the remainder of the US, and experience many inconveniences they wouldn't experience as a US state. Since it would be a breakaway state from a country with a market based capitalist economy, I don't think their economy would experience a devalued free fall like post Soviet Russia as it transitioned from a centrally planned economy to one market based. A big difference is that these Soviet SSRs were politically constituted based on ethnic groups(Ukrainians, Estonians, Kazakhs, etc), which isn't the case with any of the 50 US states. So there wouldn't motivation to secede or remain seceded due to ethnic or economic resentment. Everyone knew the RSFSR(Russia) ruled the show in the Soviet Union, and many of the smaller SSRs were far more impoverished. No US state suffers such economic disparity like that. In short, the post Soviet states had many justifiable and rational reasons to secede and become independent countries. There was no real incentive to for these countries to not declare independence. But for US states, the benefits of staying in a country constitutionally premised on Federalism would far outweigh any potential benefits of being an independent seceded country.
So even if the unthinkable happened and a state or two seceded today, it won't be long before they beg to be reinstated in our great country.