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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Destroyer of Worlds
We are ideologically closer to Canadians than we are to most of America.
We could be Canada's power arm pushing the US aside.
Also we wouldn't be Americans. We'd be fellow Canadians, eh.
Come on, we'all even make more movies set in Canada and we give you guys a warm vacation spot in So Cal when you want to get away from your cold environments and we have the Silicon Valley. 
A real bad hombre
I feel like our state is an integral part of the United States, and should remain. Ditching would make us look really bad, I think. Also the practical concerns of never ever getting another Democrat to the White House ever again, and all of that Democratic representation in the House gone too, as well of us having to sit on the border of a much larger and potentially hostile superpower.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Edison
Guys, can we quit mentioning secession like it's a thing that's really going to happen? Things would really have to fall apart for any of that to actually be feasible. Like, it is really a fucking fringe solution, no matter how loud proponents are. You guys are basically sounding like you're writing a sci-fi script.
Plus, California would have to negotiate for all its water rights: It's dependent on other states right now for that. It's also part of the western power grid. All of our infrastructure is very deliberately tied together.
edited 12th Nov '16 7:27:41 PM by AceofSpades
Destroyer of Worlds
It's a fun scenario but seriously I'm starting to understand how Catalonia feels about Spain.
Maybe we could push for California and maybe the entire West Coast to become a more autonomous region at the least.
edited 12th Nov '16 7:30:59 PM by MadSkillz
"You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty."
A real bad hombre
I know it's a fringe idea and will never happen. I was just talking about why it would be bad, in the hypothetical scenario.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Edison
Part of me is thinking that Trump might just resign. He got what he wanted, but now that he's got it, he's no real clue what do with it, and is only now just realizing this fact. He's being overwhelmed from being faced with the reality of the situation, and would probably be a lot more comfortable just sitting pretty in Trump Tower, which he cannot do as President of the United States. Hence why he's probably handing the actual Presidential duties to Pence, but if he's going to go that far, than why not take that to its' logical conclusion? He might as well just resign, leaving Pence to be President both in power and in name, instead of just the former. It's too early to tell for sure just what route he's going to go down, but it sure seems like he's becoming more and more reluctant to do what a President is actually supposed to do.
edited 12th Nov '16 7:31:41 PM by kkhohoho
More states right's bullshit is kind of the last thing we need right now, Madskillz.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Pride and ego wouldn't let him. Plus, if he can hand off the adult responsibilities to Pence, he might just be able to handle things.
Of course, there'd be the inevitable confusion about what to do in that case, and it'd probably be handed to Pence because he was on the ticket. Seems like it'd be the most obvious decision in that case.
edited 12th Nov '16 7:31:32 PM by AceofSpades
IMO secession is the coward's route, regardless of ideology. If they want to contest the results they should have the courage to remain and fight for change from within rather than throw a hissyfit and run off to do their own thing because they can't deal with being under the yoke of a government that wants to do different things than they intended.
@Trump resigning
It's entirely possible for him to pull a Sarah Palin, claim that pressure and self-preservation caused him to abdicate for his own wellbeing if he wants to save face.
edited 12th Nov '16 7:46:27 PM by AlleyOop
With all of this talk it seems like the speculation about Pence wielding much of the power and responsibility seems very plausible.
I wonder how his base would react if Trump just resigns on the first day.....
Cape Malleum Majorem
This whole Presidential thing has been nothing but an ego trip for Trump. Now that Reality is rearing its ugly head, he's falling back on his familiar old friend: Denial.
He wanted the power, the prestige, the perks and the privileges of being POTUS, but with none of the corresponding duties and responsibilities. (Just like his various companies: he was the front-man, but he dumped all the actual work on somebody else.)
Sorry Donald, it doesn't work that way. It's not a part-time job that you can do only when you feel like it. You wanted it so badly, and now you're stuck with it. The only way out is to resign, and that's a one-way ticket.
edited 12th Nov '16 7:38:25 PM by pwiegle
This Space Intentionally Left Blank.
It would make for a glorious ending to this whole shitshow of an election.
Destroyer of Worlds
@Ace I just want it for my state. There's the problem that if you give one state more power to itself that others will follow so yeah I see the problem.
Still I'm not a fan of the cyclical 8 years of despair and 8 years of some hope that entails being part of the US. And it feels like Republican and corporate claws are far too dug into America to begin to remove it anytime soon.
"You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty."
Visiting from the Hoag Galaxy
If Trump really pushes wanting to stay in Trump Tower, maybe the Secret Service or whoever can demand that he pay for the security required out of pocket, without resorting to the Trump Foundation.
That would shut him up really fast. I'm also wondering how Trump will react to the "gifts given to the President are given to the office, not the person. You don't get to keep them" thing.
Not Three Laws compliant.
A real bad hombre
I just think that any state leaving would look bad on them, and that goes double for us at this point. It makes us look childish. We're all in the same boat as Americans together, whether we like it or not.
I would like to go write that sci-fi story now though.
edited 12th Nov '16 7:36:13 PM by LinkToTheFuture
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Edison
Speaking of which: incumbent presidents aren't obligated to run for re-election, correct? If so couldn't Trump just resign then if he so chose?
Cape Malleum Majorem
You're assuming Mister Short-Attention-Span will actually last four years until the next election.
edited 12th Nov '16 7:40:56 PM by pwiegle
This Space Intentionally Left Blank.
The law in the night
Well, being the POTUS is a job that shaves several years of the life span of whoever was in the position for a full term.
Compare G.W. Bush and Obama when they started and when they finished, never mind how Bush actually kept a healthy life style and so did Obama.
Inter arma enim silent leges
@Draghinazzo:
It's not just talk. Again, Trump promoted Pence to the leader of his transition team, booting Christie out of the position. If that doesn't say 'Mr.Not President', I don't know what will.
edited 12th Nov '16 7:44:24 PM by kkhohoho
Pence terrifies me. You could make an argument that Trump is just a generally racist crowd-pleasing parrot with no real designs on the office, but Pence has goals and those goals are scary.
It's been fun.
Probably has undiagnosed mild autism
Re secession: I don't know about you guys but it seems to me like the United States is approaching a point were regional cultural differences are reaching a boiling point. In that rural and urban states could be past the point of where reconciliation is possible.
Pence and Trump, I think, are both equally terrifying but in different ways. Between one and the other, they basically cover the full spectrum of a dictator. Trump is the crowd pleaser, the tyrant whose focus is Despotism Justifies the Means, he doesn't actually give a shit to any belief system, he'll just use whatever he sees fit to get him more power. He's Palpatine, the opportunist with zero morals or beliefs of his own other than sheer unrelenting greed.
Pence is the dogmatic, uncompromising hound of his own conception of justice.with ardent belief in his own faith and no goals of pleasing anyone except those who follow him. He's Voldemort, the man trying to subjugate all in his way to his dark designs.
If you do a Fusion Dance of the two, you get the perfect tyrant (flexible enough to milk the masses and convince them he's on their side, dogmatic enough to impose his will on all who oppose him), and that's a disturbing thought.
"All you Fascists bound to lose."
Except what happens if the latter ends up superseding the former so that only the latter actually matters?
If you ask me which of the two is worse it's Trump. Simply because he's got a not-zero chance of starting a war over an insulting tweet.
Yep, the last time California actually changed the result of an election was sometime in the late 1800s. The rest of the elections, our votes in the presidential election didn't do much. And it's one of the few states that could pull it off, considering the size of its economy.