The number of states with petitions to secede from the union has reached 47, according to the Daily Caller. The only three holdouts are Maine, Vermont, and Washington, all blue states in this year's election.
The secession petitions have been posted on Barack Obama's We the People website,
which encourages citizens to let their feelings be heard on various
government issues. However, the president was probably not
expecting so
many Americans who are upset about the most recent election results to
take out their anger on this website.
The President has previously promised to review petitions on the site
when they reach over 25,000 signatures. Unsurprisingly, Texas'
secession petition reached that threshold on Monday night and was up to over 69,000 signatures by Tuesday morning.
The Houston Chronicle reports that the Texas secession petition in
particular blames the government's lack of spending reform as the reason
for the continued economic downturn. The secession petition also argues
that American citizens face "blatant abuses of their rights." As
examples, they cite the Transportation Security Administration, known
for its thorough searches of passengers before they board planes, and
the National Defense Authorization Act, which allows possible terror
suspects to be detained indefinitely.
However, at least one local politician does not support Texas succession. According to the Dallas Morning News, Governor Rick Perry thinks Texas should stay put.
"Gov. Perry believes in the greatness of our Union and nothing should
be done to change it," Perry's press secretary said in a statement.
"But he also shares the frustrations many Americans have with our
federal government. ... We cannot allow Washington's tax and spend,
one-size-fits-all mindset to jeopardize our children's future, undermine
our personal liberties and drive our nation down a dangerous path to
greater dependence of government."
Meanwhile, a petition requesting Louisiana
permission to create its own government also hit the 25,000 signature
threshold and sat at over 28,000 signatures by Tuesday morning. Florida is the next most popular with over 21,000 signatures.
Several states also have multiple petitions going, including New
York and California, two historically blue states. Pennsylvania,
meanwhile, has three separate secession petitions on the website.
It also seems that some conservatives on the We the People site
refuse to accept the result of the 2012 election. Over 37,000 people
have signed a petition calling for a recount. No word yet on whether
President Obama will respond to this movement, either.
Meanwhile, those who prefer to keep the union intact have fired back on the same website. Over 1,700 people have signed a petition to strip the citizenship of anyone who signed a secession petition. Meanwhile, over 2,100 people have signed a petition to deport anyone who wants their state to secede.
