Texas can’t run from the nation’s problems

Every biennium as the Texas Legislature prepares to meet there is the traditional blizzard of pre-filed bills.

Hidden among the mundane are local pork projects and items of political importance to legislators and their constituents. Some are clanging attention-getters with no real intent of ever being acted upon. This year the resounding gong comes from our own Rep. Kyle Biedermann. He put forth the so-called Texit bill that would have voters deciding if Texas should remain part of the United States of America or secede and become its own country.

To a lot of Texans fed up with the direction this country is heading and the liberal takeover of the federal government, the idea of striking out on our own has a sweet sound to it. It’s only when you listen to the facts that it becomes clear that Biedermann’s bill has a hollow ring to it.

The biggest problem with House Bill No. 1359 is that it is illegal. No matter how disgruntled we become with Uncle Sam, Texas is permanently and irrevocably linked to the rest of the union.

“The legality of seceding is problematic,” Eric McDaniel, associate professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin told The Texas Tribune. “The Civil War played a very big role in establishing the power of the federal government and cementing that the federal government has the final say in these issues.”

McDaniel’s opinion echoes that of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote in 2006 that, “If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede.”

The idea of secession is nothing new. Texas was born of secession in 1836 following the war with Mexico. After nine years of self-government as its own nation, Texas joined the United States via a treaty.

That treaty gives Texas the right to divide into five states – Texas and four others – but it does not give Texas the right to secede. Although Texas attempted secession with the rest of the South during the Civil War, that proved to be a failure.

Another thing that will doom Biedermann’s bill in the unlikely chance it even gets a hearing in Austin are the voters. Ultimately, it will be very difficult for most any Texan to pull the lever in favor of ending the comfort and security of their U.S. citizenship in favor of the unknown.

So, while the secessionist rhetoric might sound adventurous and enticing, it comes with dark undertones that ultimately make the effort a waste of time. Instead, let’s focus on the problems and become part of the solution. That’s the Texas way.

J.S. (An editorial for the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post)