Dear people signing secessionist petitions . . .
Stop. Just stop.
If you haven’t heard, a number of pro-secession petitions have cropped up on the White House website’s page for public petitions. When I checked earlier today, there were petitions for “peaceful withdrawal” from the U.S. by 20 states. Not all of them went for Mitt Romney last week, or are in the South: There were also petitions for such states as Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Oregon.
It should go without saying that these petitions a) aren’t going to lead to any kind of action and b) aren’t supported by the vast majority of people who voted against President Obama. If you could cross-check the two groups, I suspect there would be a lot of overlap between the petition signers and birthers.
To those who are signing these petitions out of a sense of anger or exasperation or desperation, let me say this:
Maybe you believe all hope is lost now that we’re getting four more years of Obama. There are a lot of possibilities for his second term that I’m not happy about, either. Quite the opposite, as should be clear from pretty much everything I’ve written on this blog.
But the election, while not all that close in terms of the margin in the Electoral College, was rather close to producing a different outcome. By the count of National Review’s Jim Geraghty, Romney fell short by a combined 407,000 votes in four states that, had he won them, could have pushed him to 275 electoral votes and the White House. I point this out not to engage in wishful “what ifs,” just to observe that it was very much possible to have gotten an outcome that would have had the left in a fit of apoplexy instead.
And when the nation is that closely divided, the conclusion in my view is not to decide it actually needs to divide in two. Rather, it’s that it wouldn’t take much next time to earn a more amenable outcome.
To do that, Republicans have to make some necessary but hardly revolutionary changes. But it does not help them do that when there are people signing petitions that confirm the worst stereotypes the left can dredge up about the right. Let’s face it: In light of the need to appeal to a wider swath of the electorate, comparisons to the Civil War do not aid the cause.
So, please: Find another outlet for whatever energy you’re expending on this kind of junk.
NOTE: The comments thread on this post has long since devolved into mostly personal attacks, so I’m shutting it down. A new post will be up soon, and a number of you may be facing some time away from the blog. I’m not sure yet which will happen first.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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504 comments Add your comment
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 12th, 2012
4:41 pm
Lynnie Gal, despite your juvenile post, wanting an America that was founded more on the principles of freedom and individual responsibility than one of dependency on government has nothing to do with racism.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 12th, 2012
4:43 pm
I posted a new petition:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/sell-state-texas-mexico-and-use-funds-reduce-debt-add-puerto-rico-new-50th-state/6WWF2gmV
Progressive Humanist
November 12th, 2012
4:47 pm
You’re wrong, Billings. This year’s popular vote count was more decisive than 2004. The only reason it was closer than 2008 was because that was such a landslide, but it should have been closer now because Obama was a vulnerable incumbent. Obama actually had more raw votes than any candidate in history except for one- his own vote count in 2008. If you want to continue believing this was a close election then go ahead and keep living your delusion. It was an electoral college drubbing and the popular vote margin was wider than any Republican victory in a generation.
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
November 12th, 2012
4:48 pm
Physically impossible if we are the same person.
Nope.
Two separate browsers with the same page open in each. Type a comment in both browsers, and hit submit on each within a minute.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 12th, 2012
4:48 pm
“Perhaps if they hadn’t been screaming ” the end of America” since day one of Obama’s presidency”
Idiots like jasper need to actually read what some people write, rather than making erroneous assumptions about them.
I haven’t been “screaming” anything, nor have I been doing it since Obama got elected.
I’ve been writing about this for about a decade or so as our country becomes more divided along hyphenated-Americans rather than the melting pot we used to be. We have also become more dependent on government to solve out problems; a trend that has grown steadily since FDR, but accelerated since LBJ. It has been a calm and reasoned argument, worked out long before this current disaster ever thought of destroying his first political opponent with lies and innuendo.
Stephenson Billings
November 12th, 2012
4:48 pm
America’s Ruling Class — And the Perils of Revolution
“The only serious opposition to this arrogant Ruling Party is coming not from feckless Republicans but from what might be called the Country Party — and its vision is revolutionary.”
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/16/americas-ruling-class-and-the/print
East Cobb RINO, Inc (LLC)
November 12th, 2012
4:51 pm
Texas would be the one state with the location and resources (oil revenues) that could theoretically survive as an independent country. At least until a cat 4 or better hits their coast line. Maybe their neighbors to the south would offer aid.
East Cobb RINO, Inc (LLC)
November 12th, 2012
4:54 pm
Two separate browsers with the same page open in each. Type a comment in both browsers, and hit submit on each within a minute
A little bit too much knowledge of the scam perhaps?
Georgia
November 12th, 2012
4:54 pm
Apoplexy? Great stuff. Wow. When Kyle is the one sounding level headed …. his constituency is repulsive even to him? Ouch. I wont pile on.
Old School Girl
November 12th, 2012
4:55 pm
So sad to hear of such juvenile comments about succession from the hard right fringe. Their behavior and comments are exactly the reason why the Republicans lost the election. Reasonable Democrats look forward to the day when we see some of the reasonable Republicans again….we value their input and perspective…the country would like to work with them again. . However for those that are screaming succession…Delta is ready when you are…because the state land if I am correct belongs to the government. See ya!
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
November 12th, 2012
4:57 pm
A little bit too much knowledge of the scam perhaps?
Not really, I was having problems with FF and the AJC blogs so I opened up Chrome to see if the problem still remained and had an epiphany about how some people can post so fast.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 12th, 2012
4:58 pm
“Two separate browsers with the same page open in each. Type a comment in both browsers, and hit submit on each within a minute.”
Written like someone with actual experience, Kamchak.
Stephenson Billings
November 12th, 2012
4:59 pm
“This year’s popular vote count was more decisive than 2004″
From Wikipedia:
2004 election – Bush got 62,040,610 votes (50.7%). Kerry got 59,028,444 (48.3%).
2012 election – Obama got 62,156,980 (50.6%), Romney got 58,805,060 (47.8%).
In the raw, I’d say the two elections were very similar popular vote-wise.
jasper
November 12th, 2012
4:59 pm
Tib:”I haven’t been “screaming” anything, nor have I been doing it since Obama got elected.”
Now that’s a real scream. Scream, wail, gnash teeth, bully.
Hillbilly D
November 12th, 2012
5:00 pm
Did the traitorous Regressives who threatened to move to Canada as a result of Our President Obama’s reelection ever leave?
Sort of like when Alec Baldwin and Robert Altman were going to do it if Bush won in 2000? Getting the vapors isn’t the exclusive domain of either side.
Dusty
November 12th, 2012
5:01 pm
I don’t worry about secessionists having their day by writing petitions. Silly stuff.
I worry about people who come to a conservative blog just to insult conservatives and strut around like perky little roosters.. More silly stuff.
The USA is a free country (thanks again, vets) and everybody is free to be a nuisance if they so wish.(See last weekend.) But that does not make anybody want one around.
Take a hint, flameouts. There are plenty of other blogs where you can expound sullenly with your dubious intellect and lack of grace and charm. Toodles!!
East Cobb RINO, Inc (LLC)
November 12th, 2012
5:01 pm
Just messing with ya Kamchak. I use a different handle on sports and other blogs so as to keep the politics where they belong. But prefer to have my conversations with myself done away from the public spectrum.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 12th, 2012
5:03 pm
“Their behavior and comments are exactly the reason why the Republicans lost the election.”
No, Obama’s personality, his paying off of unions and the willing assistance of the media won the election.
“Reasonable Democrats look forward to the day when we see some of the reasonable Republicans again….we value their input and perspective”
No actually, you don’t. There are just as many unreasonable Democrats as there are unreasonable Republicans. The problem is that the Democrats are convinced they are the the reasonable ones.
Stephenson Billings
November 12th, 2012
5:07 pm
“Sooner or later, well or badly, that majority’s demand for representation will be filled. Whereas in 1968 Governor George Wallace’s taunt “there ain’t a dime’s worth of difference” between the Republican and Democratic parties resonated with only 13.5 percent of the American people, in 1992 Ross Perot became a serious contender for the presidency (at one point he was favored by 39 percent of Americans vs. 31 percent for G.H.W. Bush and 25 percent for Clinton) simply by speaking ill of the ruling class. Today, few speak well of the ruling class. Not only has it burgeoned in size and pretense, but it also has undertaken wars it has not won, presided over a declining economy and mushrooming debt, made life more expensive, raised taxes, and talked down to the American people. Americans’ conviction that the ruling class is as hostile as it is incompetent has solidified. The polls tell us that only about a fifth of Americans trust the government to do the right thing. The rest expect that it will do more harm than good and are no longer afraid to say so.
While Europeans are accustomed to being ruled by presumed betters whom they distrust, the American people’s realization of being ruled like Europeans shocked this country into well nigh revolutionary attitudes. But only the realization was new. The ruling class had sunk deep roots in America over decades before 2008. Machiavelli compares serious political diseases to the Aetolian fevers — easy to treat early on while they are difficult to discern, but virtually untreatable by the time they become obvious.”
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
November 12th, 2012
5:08 pm
But prefer to have my conversations with myself done away from the public spectrum.
Meh, I talk to myself all the time.
When I start answering, then I will know I have a problem.
Progressive Humanist
November 12th, 2012
5:09 pm
I love the fact that what we’re arguing about is the relative size of President Obama’s win. Was it a landslide? Was it kinda sorta somewhat close? No matter, I’ll take 50.6% of the vote, winning by 3,000,000 votes nationally, and 332 electoral votes any day. And it appears that Republicans are still in denial and will insist on keeping the status quo. Good for them. I like winning elections and I really like the Democrats’ policies. They’re right in line with the views of this socialist, atheist college professor.
namejack
November 12th, 2012
5:11 pm
If one really wanted to parse numbers, a good place to start would be the elections for the US House, where Democrats actually received more votes than did Republicans but still trail in members to congress, i.e. the people’s house, thanks to Republican gerrymandering. 2010 was a bad election to not show up for. Please note, I’m not saying Democrats don’t also gerrymander.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/house-candidates-votes_n_2096978.html
Aquagirl
November 12th, 2012
5:13 pm
No, Obama’s personality, his paying off of unions and the willing assistance of the media won the election.
And the follow up to this is the assertion Republicans are the “reasonable ones.” Riiiiiight. have you considered medication for these kind of erratic thoughts?
Dusty
November 12th, 2012
5:14 pm
And then comes our pal., Lynnie Gal….
Oh well, I need to get busy . No more play time with the kiddies…
Joe
November 12th, 2012
5:15 pm
Dear Kyle: please stop writing. You should find another outlet for your support of the constricting socialism that is threatening the people of this country.
Dusty
November 12th, 2012
5:15 pm
And then there are our nuts and squirrel and Aquagirl…
WTF?
November 12th, 2012
5:15 pm
Dear people signing secessionist petitions: PLEASE GO. PLEASE. Can you imagine how much better America’s stats would look without Texas?
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 12th, 2012
5:17 pm
Sister Sarah
November 12th, 2012
4:25 pm
————————-
Nice try. What Rush actually said is that he’d go to Costa Rica for health care, since that’s where doctors would have the freedom to treat patients as they saw fit, without government interference.
md
November 12th, 2012
5:18 pm
Did some snooping after reading that story Tibs posted about voter fraud and here is the election results that show the inaccuracies:
http://www.slcelections.com/Pdf%20Docs/2012%20General/GEMS%20ELECTION%20SUMMARY%20REPORT.pdf
Seems someone certainly has some splainin to do when there are 73,541 votes that just miraculously appeared. And if I’m not mistaken, Obama also carried Fl by only 74,000 votes. And this is just one county.
Somethings seems awful fishy………..
Glenn Beck
November 12th, 2012
5:21 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Costa_Rica
Dusty
November 12th, 2012
5:21 pm
WTF 5:15
Please return to your mother ship. Your slip is showing.
Sister Sarah
November 12th, 2012
5:22 pm
“No, Obama’s personality, his paying off of unions and the willing assistance of the media won the election.”
ROFLMAO!! Ha!! No trooper, a bold spirit of NEVER AGAIN, won the election for Obama. Nothing more, nothing less. One of metro Atlanta’s tride and true red counties is now BLUE. I will leave it up to you to figure out which one. The people who stood in line for 2,3,4 HOURS did so willingly with the chant playing in their heads, NEVER AGAIN!
Regardless of endless attempts of FLAs governor to disenfranchise its voters especially in specific geographic areas, they stood in lines winding up the road 6,7,8 hours…some even voting as late as 1 and 2 am… they sang in their heads NEVER AGAIN!
In Cleveland… and Philadelphia both ground zero for voter suppression of minorities they braved ridiculous lines and did so with RESOLVE, only two words repeated themselves over and over in their heads – NEVER AGAIN.
All those young people and WOMEN who realized that the clock was attempted to be turned back on them as far as their issues braved the sport that was voting – NEVER AGAIN!
If you want to go on believing that people voted for Obama and helped him win, simply because he was Black, giving away “stuff”, “cool”, “great orator” or whatever, go on believin’! I am here to tell you a whole mess of us in this country REFUSE to go back to the days of old, where only certain groups of people called the shots and controlled everyone else’s destiny. NEVER again. Call it the “truly pissed off vote”!
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 12th, 2012
5:23 pm
Aquagirl, your reading comprehension skills are as lacking as usual.
I never said Republicans were the reasonable ones. In fact, I stated clearly that both sides have equal shares of unreasonable people in them. My assertion is that it is the Democrats who consider themselves reasonable, when they are just as guilty as the Republicans.
Pay attention to what people write, not what you think they will write, OK?
And Obama DID pay off his union buddies with stimulus and bailout money. Bailed out GM with Federals funds (yet to be paid back), payed off his teachers unions with Stimulus funds (never to be paid back), paid off his auto unions again with Cash for Clunkers. Paid them off up and down the line, Aquagirl. Sorry those facts elude you.
Dusty
November 12th, 2012
5:23 pm
Daniel
Please return to the lion’s den. They want to comb your pushover.
Stephenson Billings
November 12th, 2012
5:25 pm
“One untold story of Tuesday night was the continued Republican success at the gubernatorial level, where they held every seat up for re-election, and won North Carolina. They now hold 30 states—the biggest majority for a party in 12 years.
The majority of these offices are held by reform Republicans who were elected on the pro-growth GOP platform on spending and taxes. Voters are clearly open to that message, if delivered competently. ”
http://online.wsj.com/article/potomac_watch.html
md
November 12th, 2012
5:25 pm
Evidently, they stood in line so long in St Lucie County that they had time to multiply……and turn 18.
Too funny……….
Dusty
November 12th, 2012
5:26 pm
Sister Sarah,
Women are already free. Please return to the back room with granny.
Glenn Beck
November 12th, 2012
5:29 pm
md
Let us now when the Republican Governor of FL holds a press conference and speaks of this fraud you allege.
Thanks
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 12th, 2012
5:30 pm
Daniel: His reasoning was that the GOP would not be able to carry enough votes outside of angry, old, white, men. Not surprisingly, that is the only demographic Willard won.
——————————-
Incorrect. Romney won married white women. He also won members of the military. He no doubt won other demographics. Do you know what a demographic is?
carlosgvv
November 12th, 2012
5:31 pm
Tiberus – 4:14 “Traitors are Presidents who go to bed while their ambassador is pleading for rescue”
Will this be verified in the hearings?
If is isn’t, will you make a public retraction here?
That’s what I thought.
Stephenson Billings
November 12th, 2012
5:32 pm
Among other things that were up for vote last week:
“1. Republicans retained control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
2. Voters in Alabama, Montana, and Wyoming all passed measures limiting Obamacare.
3. Tea Party candidate Ted Cruz, one of the conservative movement’s brightest rising stars, overcame establishment GOP opposition to clinch a U.S. Senate victory in Texas.
4. Corruptocrat Beltway barnacle Rep. Pete Stark was finally kicked out of office in California.
5. Despite entrenched teachers’ union opposition, a charter school initiative in Washington state triumphed.
6. Despite entrenched Big Labor support, a radical collective bargaining power grab in Michigan failed.
7. Oklahoma voters said no to government race-based preferences in college admissions, public contracting, and government hiring.
8. Montana voters said no to boundless benefits for illegal aliens.
9. Washington state approved taxpayer-empowering limitations on its state legislature’s ability to raise taxes.
10. For the first time since Reconstruction, the GOP won control of the Arkansas state house.
11. Voters rejected tax hike ballot measures in Arizona, South Dakota, and Missouri.
12. Louisiana voted to protect gun rights.
13. Kentucky voted to protect hunting and fishing rights.
14. Parental notification for minors’ abortion prevailed in Montana.
15. North Carolina Republicans claimed the governor’s office, congressional gains, and control of the state’s general assembly.
16. Paul Ryan will return to Congress after winning re-election and continue to carry the torch for entitlement reform and budget discipline.
17. Conservatives won big victories in the Kansas state legislature.
18. Republicans won historic supermajorities in Tennessee.
19.Across the country, Republicans reached a post-2000 record number of gubernatorial victories.
20. Conservatives who were devastated by the national election results demonstrated how to lose with dignity and grace.”
http://michellemalkin.com/2012/11/07/20-things-that-went-right-on-election-day/
Don't Tread
November 12th, 2012
5:33 pm
“Seems someone certainly has some splainin to do when there are 73,541 votes that just miraculously appeared. And if I’m not mistaken, Obama also carried Fl by only 74,000 votes. And this is just one county.”
The end justifies the means, according to Democrats.
Sister Sarah
November 12th, 2012
5:34 pm
Not at all a “nice try”. If you LISTEN to the exchange and the context in which the questioner asked, the time that passes and Rush ultimately coming back and declaring he’s going to leave the country outright and altogether you wouldn’t possibly try to spin it into the garbage that you are. I mean…I hear crow is pretty rank to consume so I feel your pain.
What could Rush be possibly referring to? Going to restock his Viagra or Oxy? He can do that via mailorder. So is he going to CR when he gets the flu? Maybe a nosejob? There is ONE type of “job” I understand he has really taken a liking to down in those parts. Seems unreasonable to me. COME ON MAN! Why do I even waste my time?
Stephenson Billings
November 12th, 2012
5:36 pm
Dear Kyle @ 5:30 – Kinda sad. But hey, you get what you vote for. Enjoy the future or crushing debt and part-time temp. jobs
East Cobb RINO, Inc (LLC)
November 12th, 2012
5:38 pm
Romney won married white women
Key word there still being white. There is a joke in their about winning the married white women demographic and the Mormon stereotype about polygamy. But I am too lazy to write it.
Dusty
November 12th, 2012
5:39 pm
Carlos
Why do you always rhyme with GROSS? And almos’ DROSS?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 12th, 2012
5:39 pm
“Will this be verified in the hearings?”
Depends. Will the hearings be open to the public, and will the administration release ALL files and documents on the weeks before and the night of Sept 11, 2012?
“If is isn’t, will you make a public retraction here?”
Yes, if the above happens. Unlike you, carlos, I admit to my mistakes.
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
November 12th, 2012
5:40 pm
There is a joke in their about winning the married white women demographic and the Mormon stereotype about polygamy. But I am too lazy to write it.
md
November 12th, 2012
5:42 pm
“Let us now when the Republican Governor of FL holds a press conference and speaks of this fraud you allege.”
I’m not alleging anything, merely posting the info that’s out there. There very well may be a valid reason for it…….as there is also a chance it may be something else entirely.
BUT, the facts remain that the county has 175554 registered voters, and there were 249095 ballots cast…..according to the results.
I didn’t make up the numbers…..did you?
Dusty
November 12th, 2012
5:43 pm
East Cobb Rhino,
Too lazy to write It? Do us a favor. Stop all writing.