CalExit 3.0: New Petition Calls For Cali Secession...3rd Time's A Charm?

A new group of CalExit activists are hoping they can secede (see what we did there?) where two predecessor groups failed in efforts to force California"s independence from the United States of America.  Ironically, you would think that removing California from the union would be something that Republicans and Democrats could actually agree on...so we remained perplexed as to why this process is proving so difficult.

So, what"s their plan?  Well, rather than pursue a ballot measure, which requires 585,407 signatures, the CalExit 3.0 group has petitioned California"s Attorney General to call for a Constitutional Convention of the States so they can, among other things, amend the U.S. Constitution to allow for a "clear and reasonable path for individual States to become independent, so that CA can secede, if they so choose."

But, secession isn"t all they"re after...the CalExit 3.0 group enumerated a litany of Leftist grievances which they would like to address with constitutional amendments...here"s just a couple of our favorites (spelling mistakes below are not ours):

1. Given that "California is - and must always be - a refuge of justice and opportunity for people of all ages, backgrounds and aspirations - regardless of how you look, where you live, what language you speak, or who you love;"

2. Given that the world has changed dramatically since 1787, and over the next Century California will continue to invent the future, be it in Entertainment, IT, Medical discoveries, Environmental Protection, Global Climate Disaster Mitigation, or Civil Rights & Liberties;

3. Given that a Californian"s vote has one seventieth the weight of a citizen of Wyoming in the US Senate and has become functionally irrelevant in presidential elections;

5. Given that the US federal govermnent has seen increasing gridlock and citizens across the country feel poorly represented by the federal government;

6. Given that California"s government and people increasingly want to chart their own path on issues ranging from - but not limited to - immigration, civil representation and environmental protection and, given the US Constitution expressly designates states as sovereign entities;

20. Given that Californian"s believe in the equality and inherent dignity of all persons;

22. Given that California was seized undemocratically and annexed by the US in 1846 in an act of naked imperial aggression;

Not surprisingly, the petition also calls for a whole bunch of very expensive entitlements...

8. Provide free, reliable and safe Universal healthcare for all citizens, regardless of medical history.

9. Provide free, high quality, Universal education.

...but then also calls for Federal taxes to be abolished...

Modify Federal tax law to render Federal taxes negotiable:

1. State tax becomes primary.

2. Federal tax secondary and negotiable, based on the needs of each State - to be determined by each State and the voters.

3. State govermnent negotiates Federal Taxes on its voters, and their respective communities, behalf to fairly and equally represent voters" values and needs, and those of their respective natural environments.

...which we presume means that they"re planning to rely on the entitlement fairy?

Here is the full petition filed with the Attonery General"s office:

The Time Has Come for 51, the State of Jefferson

By John Steinreich    February 11, 2017

After nearly three decades in L.A. County, Nestlé will soon move its headquarters from California to Virginia.  This food services giant with an estimated $235 billion in assets worldwide will by the end of 2018 remove 1,200 jobs from a state that relies heavily on income taxes to fund its massive public sector.

Nestlé’s exodus follows other big employers, including Toyota, Campbell’s Soup, Dunn-Edwards Paints, and eBay – which took with them tens of thousands of jobs – and mirrors the flight of mom-and-pop operations, entrepreneurs, families, and individuals who have ditched the once Golden State for places where the weather is less clement but the business and tax climate is welcoming.  With Republicans, conservatives, and Reagan Democrats hightailing it out of high-priced California, the remaining statist majority has a voice that is progressively increasing in volume, and with it, the call for a “Calexit” secession from the Union grows louder.  With some cynicism and a bit of righteous indignation, many Americans long to look westward to San Francisco, L.A., and Sacramento and wave goodbye and good riddance.

Because the values of California’s popular majority are diametrically opposed to individual liberty, religious freedom, and the unimpeded pursuit of one’s own personal happiness, the idea of an independent country being formed from the 31st state is attractive to both progressives and conservatives.  The left would love to run a new socialist nation in North America, where it could tax brutally and spend wildly on transgender bathrooms, climate change initiatives, high-speed rail boondoggles, and a host of other agenda items championed by the purveyors of identity and environmental politics.  The right would like to see California’s 55 electoral votes, which give the Democratic presidential candidate a big head start every four years in the Electoral College, removed from the equation.

(snip)

For patriotic Californians who relish their constitutional liberties, Calexit would create an international barrier between them and their natural rights.

The powers that be in Sacramento have increasingly impaired the ability of the state’s rural residents to benefit from their regions’ water, timber, and mineral resources; saddled them with onerous taxes; and disregarded their petitions for an audience to air their grievances.  As a result, some 21 Northern California counties, with a combined population of almost two million people, have developed a plan to exit California and apply to become the 51st state in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, Article 4, Section 3.  State of Jefferson advocates have been working diligently to get the attention of their legislators; sadly, their requests have gone unheard, as attested to at the 25:59 mark of this video.  Thus, while the left seeks to withdraw California from the U.S., the concerned citizens of the would-be State of Jefferson wish to emulate the words of the Declaration of Independence:

That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Like our revolutionary forefathers who fought to leave Great Britain, the Jeffersonians are pursuing separation from California at least in part because they are not adequately represented in the statehouse.  Between 1926 and 1964, California’s rural areas enjoyed healthy representation in the legislature based on Proposition 28, which provided for a government model similar to the federal government’s construction.  There was roughly one state senator for each county (with only the most sparsely populated counties sharing a senator), while the assembly was seated largely with urban representatives, thus California’s bicameral legislature had checks and balances between country and city interests.  With the 1964 Reynolds v. Sims case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state legislative voting districts must represent roughly equal populations, thereby cementing the idea of “one person, one vote”  set in motion by the 1962 Baker v. Carr and 1963 Gray v. Sanders cases.  The Reynolds ruling opened the door for the neutralization of Proposition 28.  The result: thirty-six percent of California’s counties now have less than eight percent of the representation in the legislature. 

(snip)

California today is effectively a socialist democracy, with lopsided representation.  This defies the republican tradition of the United States.  If the legislature continues to ignore the state’s rural quarters and persists in implementing policies that crush economic productivity, the Jeffersonians will only enjoy increased justification to sever ties with the state and do what Vermont, Maine, Kentucky, and West Virginia did in breaking away from New York, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Virginia, respectively, to join the Union as separate states.  Thus, as they are wont to say in the fledgling State of Jefferson, the time has come for 51.

Soon There Could Be Only 49 States in America

January 27, 2017   |   Carey Wedler

(ANTIMEDIA) Activists in California have just taken an integral step that could leave America with only 49 states in the near future. Yes California, a pro-secession organization, received approval Thursday to begin collecting signatures from residents to put “Calexit” on the ballot for a 2019 special election.

Yes California has been working toward secession for some time, but with President Donald Trump’s election last year, their efforts gained momentum as frustrated residents questioned their willingness to bow down to a president they don’t support.

The organization submitted their ballot proposal to California’s state government in November, and on Thursday, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla gave them the green light to begin collecting signatures. They need 585,407 people to sign their petition by July 25. If they succeed, the referendum will make it onto the 2018 ballot. If it passes, the state will hold a special election the following year. The Sacramento Bee reports:

“The proposed measure would strike language from the California Constitution defining the state as ‘an inseparable part of the United States of America, and the United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land.’ If it passed, there would be a statewide special election in March 2019 to ask voters if they want California to become an independent country.”

Many Americans often joke about California leaving the union, highlighting how wildly different residents of the Golden State are from those of America’s heartland. Indeed, Yes California appears to agree.

“America already hates California, and America votes on emotions,” Marcus Ruiz Evans, one of the group’s founders, told the Los Angeles Times. “I think we’d have the votes today if we held it.”

In a recent post on their website announcing their progress, they wrote:

“In our view, the United States of America represents so many things that conflict with Californian values, and our continued statehood means California will continue subsidizing the other states to our own detriment, and to the detriment of our children.”

It’s understandable why secession has become a proposed solution considering California has long struggled with many systemic problems. As Yes California points out:

“Although charity is part of our culture, when you consider that California’s infrastructure is falling apart, our public schools are ranked among the worst in the entire country, we have the highest number of homeless persons living without shelter and other basic necessities, poverty rates remain high, income inequality continues to expand, and we must often borrow money from the future to provide services for today, now is not the time for charity.”

Though Yes California points out practical reasons for secession, they also argue the underlying justification for their movement from a philosophical standpoint:

“However, this independence referendum is about more than California subsidizing other states of this country,” they write. “It is about the right to self-determination and the concept of voluntary association, both of which are supported by constitutional and international law.”

Further:

“It is about California taking its place in the world, standing as an equal among nations. We believe in two fundamental truths: (1) California exerts a positive influence on the rest of the world, and (2) California could do more good as an independent country than it is able to do as just a U.S. state.”

California has the sixth largest economy in the world, bolstered by the film industry, Silicon Valley, agriculture, and the state’s biggest cash crop — cannabis — which voters legalized in November.

While the practical and philosophical reasons for secession are compelling, it’s doubtful many residents are looking beyond President Donald Trump. California leans heavily to the left, and Democrats hold a supermajority in both houses of the state legislature. California was largely responsible for Hillary Clinton’s popular vote victory.

Further, though Yes California stresses the importance of voluntary association, it’s doubtful an independent California government would ask taxpayers what programs they’d like to fund. Ultimately, though California as a country would certainly be beneficial for decentralization and localization efforts, it would operate as a government and, as such, force Californians to participate.

Nevertheless, the movement reflects undeniable divisions within the United States, especially in the era of Donald Trump. Other states are also eyeing secession, including Texas, Washington, and Oregon.

As Anti-Media observed shortly after the election:

“People are rioting and protesting over Trump’s win throughout California but celebrating in Alabama, and against the backdrop of an ever-encroaching federal government, it appears these differences are growing difficult to reconcile.”

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This article (Soon There Could Be Only 49 States in America) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Carey Wedler and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article to edits@theantimedia.org.