this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2023
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[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 136 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (5 children)

They would have 40 electoral college votes in 2024.

If they secede, that would also mean losing 2 Senators and 38 Representatives, changing the balance of power in the House and Senate.

Don't threaten me with a good time!

Edit I also want to see Ted Cruz's face when he learns he's not a Senator anymore because Texas seceded.

[–] plz1@lemmy.world 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)

He would just move to Florida

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] tomatobeard@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

Which he thinks is in Florida

[–] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

Oh no. Democrats would need to find two additional no votes to block anything progressive.

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

If they secede, that would also mean losing 2 Senators and 38 Representatives, changing the balance of power in the House and Senate.

Losing 2 Senators, yes, but the loss of 38 Reps would be temporary. The size of Congress is permanently fixed by legislation to 435, and in the hypothetical case where a state simply goes poof, and 38 Representatives disappear, those seats would be reapportioned to other states after the next Census.

There is precedent for this, when Alaska and Hawaii were added as States, they were each given 1 Representative right away, temporarily increasing the size of Congress to 437, until 2 seats were removed in the next apportionment.

While there is no guarantee on where Texas' seats would go -- it would depend on the next Census after secession -- it is plausible that the new seats would be from less conservative districts than their current makeup.

[–] SCB@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The size of Congress is permanently fixed by legislation to 435

Speaking of which, we should absolutely do away with that. That is specifically capped just to help Republicans.

[–] Rakonat@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

Rafeal Cruz. We must respect this man's choice to only recognize the name on the birth certificate

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 2 points 11 months ago

Cruz would finally have a shot at becoming a president.

[–] satanmat@lemmy.world 63 points 11 months ago (5 children)

lol. Please 🙏

GOP would not win the presidency for 20 years at least

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago

It would also reduce the number needed to win.

538 EC votes / 2 = 269. 50%+1 for the win so 270.

Texas drops out, so now it goes from 538 to 498. / 2 = 249. 50%+1=250 to win.

And suddenly 270towin.com needs a new CNAME.

Just playing around with what something like that might look like:

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[–] Ibex@lemmy.world 60 points 11 months ago (2 children)

One of the top questions asked by Texas residents during their last succession vote was if social security checks were still going to be delivered. I hope they do vote to leave, I want to see the realization sink in and the chaos that ensues.

[–] Tangent5280@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago

lmao literal FAFO

[–] dpkonofa@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

It’s like people don’t learn from history and, in these cases, people don’t pay attention to world history/current politics. This would be “Texit” and it would be called that because it rhymes with another vote where the realization of what was happening sunk in after the fact.

[–] Facebones@reddthat.com 5 points 11 months ago

I hate this timeline but at least I got to see that the #1 internet search in the UK the next day was "What is Brexit?"

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[–] jdrch@lemmy.world 60 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (5 children)

A Texas independence would not only violate the Constitution, it would sink the GOP in the remaining states due to the loss of Texas' electoral votes, thus ensuring a Republican president would never be elected again. This is the biggest reason Texas will never secede, regardless of the state's conservative nativism.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 18 points 11 months ago

it would sink the GOP in the remaining states due to the loss of Texas’ electoral votes, thus ensuring a Republican president would never be elected again

So you're saying we should forget the constitution just this once?

[–] ATDA@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I thought this about roe too. Conservatives are really into catching the tire and not knowing what to do afterwards nowadays...

[–] MrMcGasion@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

I think part of the reason for this is that the old guard GOP that used Roe and similar issues as the "carrot on a stick" or car to chase, used to have the power to keep it from happening, so they could keep campaigning on it. But the "younger" GOP bought the BS for all those years and now they have the power to catch the car, not realizing it was always just a voter motivational tool, never a real plan. They just saw the old guard GOP as "swamp" that wasn't doing what they campaigned on, and rode the Trump wave into power for themselves, and are there to catch all the carrots.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

But they’re republicans. They’ll demand to vote anyway because of some stupid made-up rule like, “Well, we’re touching the rest of the US, so we get to vote!” A /notheonion statement by Cruz if I ever heard one.

[–] TheOctonaut@mander.xyz 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm always baffled by how people point out succession as illegal as if it's expected or common otherwise that bits of a country can break away whenever they feel like it.

Would an independent Texas care if there was never a Republican president of a country they had left? Or would the see it as just rewards for those that those to stay there?

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[–] fluxion@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

TIL I support succeeding from the US (as long as I can still move there afterwards)

[–] Tedesche@lemmy.world 56 points 11 months ago

OMFG I hope they do. They could no longer bus immigrants to other states and would have no other choice but to police their border with Mexico entirely on their own without any federal support. Fucking dumbasses.

[–] qwertyWarlord@lemmy.world 42 points 11 months ago

They do this every couple years. It goes nowhere, never will. It's just for show so shitheads can get support from other shitheads

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 32 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'd love to see that happen.

Do you think the US would leave it's army and it's nukes in a different country just like that? Texas has a fun economy

Then the Republican party would lose a large red state, we would finally be rid of Republican presidents and houses, no more extremist bullshit to deal with.

The US would flourish again and go truly MAGA as it no longer had to deal with the Republican shit.

Texas has shit infrastructure that they don't manage well enough to keep up, it would be a hoot

[–] vivadanang@lemm.ee 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Texas is home to some of the largest military installations on the planet (Fort Bliss and Fort Cavazos) - the federal economic footprint these (and Lackland, and JSB Carswell and a dozen others) bring to their local economies is massive. Hell, the defense industry footprint in texas is ridiculously large (existing and future helos & fixed wing f22/f35 production) - removing them from Texas would crater their economy.

I tend to look at this like another grift to skin more funds from the stupids.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, nobody currently in charge would be stoopid enough to do this, but then again each subsequent Republican generation becomes dumber and starts doing the things the previous generation only threatened for money and power. I see them dumb enough to try this 10 years down the road

[–] vivadanang@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago

depressingly plausible, I can't fault your logic.

[–] BigPotato@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Joint Base San Antonio is essentially three bases that almost surround most of San Antonio.

As if the feds are just going to walk away from that AND NASA? No way.

[–] ATDA@lemmy.world 29 points 11 months ago

New year new secession bill to fail big whoop.

These people killed hundreds because they couldn't keep the lights on. This state would die from people fleeing before the ink dried on the bill even if it passed...

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 27 points 11 months ago

Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

[–] SCB@lemmy.world 26 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

The United States absolutely would not allow Texas to secede.

This is an absurd escalation that is nothing more than theater.

[–] YoorWeb@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

Doesn’t matter, the point is to divide the society.

[–] Rakonat@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

The irony being the elected officials would be the strongest opponents. Can you imagine Rafeal Cruz willing giving up his power so his constituents could pay less taxes?

[–] TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee 22 points 11 months ago

Oh yes please. The next hurricane that hits we won't have to pay for, and when they freeze or melt because their electrical grid collapses we can just watch.

[–] reverendsteveii@lemm.ee 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)

don't let the door hit you in your racist ass. good luck with that whole electricity thing, we're proud to welcome refugee from The Christian Republic of Trumpistan

[–] cheesebag@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Texas was a slave state & fought for the Confederacy. They mustn't secede now for the same reason as back then- they will absolutely terrorize & abuse every minority person they can in that would-be despotic shithole.

If you're going to say "good riddance", look every woman, poor, black, and lgbt person there in the eye as you do, because those are the people you're throwing to the wolves.

[–] BanditMcDougal@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago

I'm not sure Texas is thinking this through. We'd build a wall and make them pay for it...

[–] Olhonestjim@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Best of luck, turds.

Those idiots can't handle independence.

[–] recapitated@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

In tours at the Capitol they brag about how they tried it and they "figured out" that it was a "better deal" for Texas to join the union.

They also brag about building their capitol building "for free" by selling a bunch of unusable territory to a rancher and then regaining it when they gave up or something.

I don't remember the details but the vibe was hilarious.

[–] vale@sh.itjust.works 13 points 11 months ago (3 children)

if I had the money to leave here I would

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[–] nullPointer@programming.dev 6 points 11 months ago

3rd time is the charm!

[–] Thorndike@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

How about you take everything south of the Mason Dixon line as well...

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[–] watson387@sopuli.xyz 4 points 11 months ago

Don't wait. Fuck off right now!

[–] WarlordSdocy@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Probably gonna go the same way as what happened with Catalonia, if it gets that far.

[–] audiomodder@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 11 months ago

My reaction: when Michael Scott finds out that Toby is back, but the exact opposite.

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