A poll about secession
There appears to be a stupidity problem with polls and surveys. Either the people who run them are getting more stupid, or the people who respond are giving stupid answers.
That may be harsh, but it’s the only honest way to look at the results of a poll that says significant percentages of Americans — of all political persuasions — would support having their state secede to join a smaller, regional nation of several neighboring American states.
The survey of 2,750 people was conducted on behalf of Bright Line Watch, which polls the public and political scientists to monitor attitudes about democracy. It found that secession is a popular idea all around the country.
Secession is particularly popular in conservative Southern states at a time when Democrats have most of the power in Washington. Christopher Ingraham’s story on TheWhyAxis@Substack.com wryly added, “It sure is a good thing there aren’t any troubling historic precedents for what happens when large numbers of Southern conservatives, motivated in large part by a sense of grievance and victimhood, want to break away from the Union.”
Bright Line Watch said it started asking the question, with a reference to the concrete alternative of regional countries, because it wants to measure the public’s commitment to the American political system. Perhaps it’s no surprise that for now, the commitment is lacking.
At least 35% of those polled nationally said they support secession. The South had the greatest number of advocates, 44%, including a whopping 66% of Republicans.
What’s interesting is that in each of the four other regions of the country, secession had 30% or more support. In the Pacific, which includes big-boy liberal California, 39% liked the idea of splitting up — as did a surprisingly high 47% of Democrats polled.
It’s no wonder that some Republicans would like the idea of leaving the United States when their party is out of power in Washington. However, it is a surprise that significant numbers of Democrats polled say that despite the party’s gains in 2018 and 2020, there’s no hope for our country.
So how realistic is this talk of secession? In two words, not very.
The poll clearly indicates a significant level of frustration with today’s politics. But the respondents who like the idea of secession are bonkers if they think that’s the best solution.
For starters, both states and individuals are addicted to federal cash from Washington. Starting new, smaller countries from scratch would reduce money for farmers, highways, disaster relief and education. What if the federals declined to release existing Social Security and Medicare funds? And so on, and so on.
Secession deserves a big, fat thumbs down. Let’s not be so stupid. The idea of just walking away from a grand political experiment that has succeeded tremendously, and that has made the United States the literal envy of the world, is exceptionally short-sighted.
— Jack Ryan, Enterprise-Journal
