Further thoughts on the unlikeliness of “Texit”

The cartoon below notwithstanding, there is really no comparison between Brexit and the screaming I’ve been seeing over the last 24 hours for “Now Texit!!!!one!111eleven!!!”

For one thing, the EU constitution provides explicitly for a member state to leave the Union.  It’s that Article 50 that’s been bandied about in the media lately.  The state that wants to leave invokes Article 50 and some convoluted, arcane process that is to take no more than two years starts creaking along as the exiting state severs ties.  The US Constitution has no such provision; once you’re in, you’re in.

For another, nobody is going to fight a war over Brexit, for the very reason pointed out above.

On the other hand, Texas keeps talking about seceding, conveniently forgetting that they tried that once, and failed, and we’ve been an indissoluble Union ever since.  (Some historiographers note that the change from writing “The United States are” to “The United States is” dates from the end of the Civil War, and indicates clearly the mindset that joining the Union was considered an irrevocable act.)  If you think for one minute that the assholes in Washington are going to let the 12th largest economy in the world by GDP simply take a walk by virtue of a referendum victory, I think you are smoking some of that stuff you bought up in Colorado last weekend.

I will reiterate my strong and lasting belief that, one of these days, flyover country as a group is going to tell the bloodsucking, wallet-hoovering, imperialistic elitist coasts to take a hike.  But I think that has more likelihood of success than a single state saying fuck you and trying to walk away from the other 49.  There is strength in numbers, whether Texans want to admit it or not.