Two Cultures, One Country

A poll has found that 52% of Trump supporters favor seceding from the Union. Interestingly, 41% of Biden voters feel the same way. It makes one wonder how the percentages would look if Trump had won and Biden had lost - - would there be more support for secession among Biden voters than Trump voters in such a scenario?

Unfortunately there's no real provision in the Constitution for the Union to be broken up, other than perhaps the Article V "Convention of States." Given the Civil War precedent, it's unlikely that any president, current or future, would wish to go down in history as the person who allowed the Union to dissolve peacefully. And how would it even work? Presumably a vote would be taken to dissolve the federal government, allowing the individual states to resume sovereign power with the governors as heads of government. The various states could then form smaller unions as they see fit, or not. California, New York and Texas, for example, might wish to exist as separate nations rather than join with smaller states and have to compromise. It's difficult to see how the smallest states, such as Rhode Island and Delaware, could avoid being invaded and absorbed by larger neighbors.

A lot to ponder.