How seriously should we take talk of US state secession?
Of course, the many unresolved questions and complex challenges mentioned above indicate that secession remains an unlikely scenario. (We also argue in a previous FixGov piece that while worrying factors exist there are existing geopolitical forces keeping the country unified and limiting the chance for widespread conflict.) Yet secession s mere mention in public discourse reveals the dangers facing American democracy right now. The deeply rooted polarization that is fueling public mistrust of the other side is opening people to far-reaching possibilities that otherwise might not be considered; ideas once considered impossible may now fall within the realm of possibility.
I’m hoping we can pull this off within the framework of federalism. We are supposed to be a federal republic, you know.