Progressives: Should we let some states secede?

[R.P. McM]

Honestly I’m trying to think of what the downside to this could be.  Perhaps it should require affirmative votes in two consecutive referenda spaced a couple years apart.

The inevitable denial of basic rights to marginalized groups in those states by bigoted governments that would no longer face any federal oversight?

The states that might secede all have tiny populations compared to the tens of millions of people whose rights would be enhanced in a slightly smaller and reformed union.

Anyone who thinks the GOP wouldn't just adjust and be able to win in an America that has 2-3 safe GOP states spun off into their own nations is either kidding themselves or in delusion.

Yeah, that's precisely the point — the GOP would have to adjust. As in, make itself palatable to a majority of the electorate. The reason Republicans are so bats**+ crazy at the moment is that they can still wield power with the support of a demented minority. Remove a good chunk of their safe Senate seats, and they'd be forced to reacquaint themselves with reality.

[R.P. McM]

This is a terrible idea and one that used to be confined exclusively to right wingnut circles. The left is catching up, I see.

Honestly I’m trying to think of what the downside to this could be.  Perhaps it should require affirmative votes in two consecutive referenda spaced a couple years apart.

The inevitable denial of basic rights to marginalized groups in those states by bigoted governments that would no longer face any federal oversight?

Some states in the deep south would probably straight up bring back Jim Crow if they could get away with it. Guess the blacks down there aren't the black lives that matter.

That's certainly a compelling consideration. But let's not pretend the status quo is without risk. If Republicans continue moving in an authoritarian direction, it's not implausible that the entire country is eventually ruled by a quasi-fascist regime. With dire consequences for both domestic residents, and the broader human population. Alternatively, were a handful of a blood-red states to leave the union, this nightmarish scenario would become virtually impossible. Which seems like a pretty attractive option, given that the GOP is currently in the process of purging the anti-insurrectionists.  

[R.P. McM]

Honestly I’m trying to think of what the downside to this could be.  Perhaps it should require affirmative votes in two consecutive referenda spaced a couple years apart.

The inevitable denial of basic rights to marginalized groups in those states by bigoted governments that would no longer face any federal oversight?

The states that might secede all have tiny populations compared to the tens of millions of people whose rights would be enhanced in a slightly smaller and reformed union.

Anyone who thinks the GOP wouldn't just adjust and be able to win in an America that has 2-3 safe GOP states spun off into their own nations is either kidding themselves or in delusion.

Yeah, that's precisely the point — the GOP would have to adjust. As in, make itself palatable to a majority of the electorate. The reason Republicans are so bats**+ crazy at the moment is that they can still wield power with the support of a demented minority. Remove a good chunk of their safe Senate seats, and they'd be forced to reacquaint themselves with reality.

Tbh, if you endorse the shrinking of the United States on such grounds*, there is a good case to be made that you are worse or just as bad as the GOP or at least that your modus operandi is worse than the GOP. At least the GOP hasn't harmed the territorial integrity of my country.
Imagine looking Marjorie Taylor Greene look positively sane!
*=except if it's a joke. I do hope this thread is one big joke

You're deflecting. Republican Senators haven't represented a majority of population since 1999. Increasingly rarely do they earn a plurality of the national vote. If failing to garner majority support consistently relegated them to minority status, the party would have to adjust. Absent WY, WV, ND, SD, KY, MS, AL, etc., it's almost inconceivable that the GOP would currently constitute the cult of someone who committed treason and incited an insurrection. You may not like it, but it's the truth.  

[R.P. McM]

Friendly reminder not to re-post moderated content and to maintain a level tone when posting. Inserting excessive adjectives when your point is already clear is a very questionable practice to say the least and is arguably in contradiction to the second bit of my first sentence.

Is there some way for me to tell whether one of you folks altered my comment on the baseless grounds of ... using too many (accurate) adjectives? You'll have to point me to that subsection in the forum policy. Unless, of course, "the rules" are an arbitrary joke.