 The Texas GOP is holding their convention and they're always incredibly unhinged and they broadcast to the rest of the country how extreme they are, but it really feels like in a multitude of ways they're trying to up the ante this year. For example, they've adopted a platform that refers to homosexuality as abnormal and they pledged to oppose validation of transgender people and they've also approved a measure explicitly denying the 2020 election, calling Joe Biden an illegitimately elected president. And as patriotic as they purport to be, they also have adopted a measure calling for a vote for Texas to secede from the United States in 2023. Yeah, so this year it seems like they're really going above and beyond to broadcast their extremism to everyone. But let's take a look at specifically what they say about secession. This is according to Newsweek. The demand for Texans to be allowed to vote on the issue in 2023 was one of many measures adopted in the Texas GOP's party platform following last week's state convention in Houston. Under a section titled, State Sovereignty, the platform states pursuant to Article 1, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution, the federal government has impaired our right of local self-government, therefore federally mandated legislation that infringes upon the 10th Amendment rights of Texas should be ignored, opposed, refused and nullified. In another section on state governance, the platform states that Texas Republicans want the state legislature to pass a bill in its next session requiring a referendum in the 2023 general election for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the state of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation. Now for a second, just imagine Texas seceded. This would catalyze a massive refugee crisis because I think that thousands if not millions of people would rush to leave because we all know what type of government Texas would be. It would be a theocratic Christian nationalist totalitarian regime. It'd be the Christian equivalent of Saudi Arabia. It would be absolutely miserable as much as they talk about freedom, right? But this is not necessarily a new phenomenon. I mean, the Texas secession movement has been around for a while. It's recently known as Texas after Brexit. But what's different was changing with regard to talk of secession is that politicians are pandering to crowds of people who do want to secede. For example, insurrectionist Marjorie Taylor Greene called for a national divorce between blue and red states. And in 2021, Ted Cruz was talking about Texas potentially seceding after he was asked about this. And at first he says no, but then he kind of talks himself into supporting it under certain circumstances that are completely made up and based on conspiracy theories. Take a look. I understand the sentiment behind the question. I'm not there yet. And we actually had a debate over drinks last night after the show. Listen, I think Texas has a responsibility to the country. And I'm not ready to give up on America. I love this country. And I think without Texas. We're brash, we're not shy, we're sometimes larger than life. But Texas is right now an amazing force keeping America from going off the cliff, keeping America grounded on the values that built this country on the values of freedom. I think we have a responsibility. Now, listen, if the Democrats end the filibuster, if they fundamentally destroy the country, if they pack the Supreme Court, if they make DC a state, if they federalize elections and massively expand voter fraud, there may come a point where it's hopeless. We're not there yet. And if there comes a point where it's hopeless, then I think we take NASA, we take the military, we take the oil. Take me. Please take me. What about Joe Rogan? Are you going to take him? Joe Rogan, he might be the president of Texas. Actually, Joe Rogan would probably be too liberal to be the president of Texas, because he at least supports legal weed, but the Texas GOP does not. So they claim that they have more freedom in Texas. But here in the Pacific Northwest, we can walk into a store and buy weed. We also, more importantly, don't hunt down parents with trans children. So I'd argue that we have more freedom here than you have in Texas. But freedom to them means an entirely different thing. Freedom to them means that they get to impose their Christian nationalist views on everyone else in the state. And to them, having their own country would give them the opportunity to go crazy and support their theocratic agenda. But Ted Cruz, notice how he says, well, you know, I'm not ready to give up on America yet, but under certain circumstances, if, you know, they keep cheating and doing election fraud and they keep ruining the country. If they get rid of the filibuster, I mean, you might as well just say, sure, I endorse it if MAGA chuds do determine that this is where we should go because you are completely beholden to the Trump wing of your party, Ted Cruz. And you're an extremist yourself. You've been pandering to them. So what he's doing there is giving himself leeway. So that way, if this does become a popular thing, well, he can say, look, I said that I supported it like he's trying to very intentionally give himself plausible deniability, and it's so slimy and disingenuous. But this is who Ted Cruz is. This is how he operates. Now, the question is, can Texas legally secede? And the answer is no, they cannot. The myth that Texas can secede from the U.S. continues because of the state's history of independence, according to the Texas Tribune. Texas declared independence from Mexico in 1836 and spent nine years as its own nation before becoming a U.S. state. Texas then seceded from the Union in 1861 before being readmitted following the end of the Civil War in 1870. The U.S. Constitution makes no provision for states to secede. And in 1869, the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White that states cannot unilaterally secede from the Union. If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede the late Justice Antonin Scalia once wrote. So legally, they cannot secede. But then again, they don't really care about the Constitution. And they only cite the Constitution if they can weaponize it to take away rights from Americans and marginalized people. So, you know, that's not going to stop them from fighting for secession. And this article citing Antonin Scalia as a way to kind of, I don't know, get them to think that it's unacceptable or not constitutionally permissible because another hyper conservative said it. I don't think they're going to find that persuasive because by today's GOP standards is Antonin Scalia, even conservative. I mean, he says that we all have a constitutional right to burn the flag. So by their standards, I'd imagine that if Texas became a state, they would give people the death penalty if they burned their flag. So I mean, is he a Libcuck now, too? It's hard to tell based on how extreme the GOP is becoming. But what we see now is more and more national politicians, state politicians. The GOP in Texas is pushing for the end of the United States. This is them saying we want to vote on this and they know that legally they're not going to be able to secede, but this is their way of throwing red meat to the base saying we represent you. So it's interesting to see if this trend continues. Legally, they won't be able to do this, but that's not going to stop this cause from gaining momentum if more national politicians adopt this stance. So we'll just have to watch and see where this goes. Do you enjoy watching independent news shows like the Hewness report the rational national and the majority report? But oftentimes YouTube doesn't deliver our videos to your subscription box. Well, I've got a solution for you. It's called the opt out app available right now in the iOS app store coming soon to Android opt out as an app made by and for progressives where they take all of the most popular independent news shows and they put them in one convenient location. You'll find all your favorites on there like the humanist report, the rational national, the majority report and the app is updated multiple times per day. So your news feed is constantly up to date. 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