Texas Secession Could Be on GOP Primary Ballot
Over a century and a half after Texas first voted for secession from the Union, the question of Texas independence could be voted on again in the March Republican primary.
The Texas Nationalist Movement, a Texas independence group, is working on a petition to get the question of independence listed on the upcoming GOP primary. The group hopes to get 75,000 signatures from registered voters by December 1st, though the Texas Secretary of State's office states that the group only needs just short of 69,000 signatures to get the issue on the ballot. Daniel Miller, the Texas Nationalist Movement's president, has stated the group is doing this without the endorsement of the Texas GOP due to previous interactions with the party,
We have had our hand slapped. We have been rebuffed, and not just us as an organization, but essentially anyone in any position inside the party that has advocated for this position has been rebuffed.
Texas GOP communications director Aaron Whitehead has said that the GOP takes issue with outside groups attempting to influence the party's ballot, equating the reception to the Movement's plans to a ballot measure promising everyone a unicorn.
The question of Texas independence has many critics, especially those who cite the post-Civil War Supreme Court ruling, Texas v. White, as prevention of any future succession attempts. Miller believes the Texas State Constitution supersedes the Supreme Court's ruling, which states that Texans have the right to "alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient." Miller is optimistic of his group's cause, saying they have more than 200,000 members,
The end game for us is to have a binding referendum on Texas independence, much like the people of Scotland had in November of last year.
Texas and Washington, D.C. are on very different paths, and the people of Texas obviously recognize that. The Texas Nationalist Movement message has been one not of reaction to grievance but one of a future we can build as an independent nation.
via Valley Central