California: Secession From US ‘Easier Than Catalonia’

PolitiChicks October 14, 2017

89 2 minutes read

Since the beginning of buzz about California ‘seceding’ from the union Morgan Brittany has said, “BRING it! Imagine what the electoral college will look like without the extremely red state of California!”

Now there are folks out there who say it would be easier for California to secede than Catalonia in Spain.

From Sacramento Bee:

The world has been watching the play-by-play of Catalonia’s bid for independence from Spain, but one group is tuning in more closely than most: California secessionists.

The California Freedom Coalition, the campaign that has taken the lead in the effort to break California off from the United States, sees similarities with Catalonia’s secessionist movement. But there’s an important caveat: they believe California has more legal tools at its disposal, creating an easier path to secession – if that’s what Californians decide they want.

“There are definitely similarities in the fiscal situation – we both give more than we get back,” said Dave Marin, director of research and policy for the California Freedom Coalition. “But there’s more flexibility in the U.S. Constitution for secession than there is in the Spanish one. California has more tools available to it.”

The Catalan Parliament, together with President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont, approved in September a binding referendum to make Catalonia an “independent and sovereign state.” Spain’s constitutional court suspended the process, but Catalan authorities continued with the vote on Oct. 1, prompting violence between voters and Spanish security forces tasked with shutting it down.

After a majority who voted in the referendum cast ballots for independence, Puigdemont issued a symbolic declaration of independence from Spain on Tuesday, but immediately suspended it to ease negotiations with the Madrid government. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Wednesday that the Catalan government had eight days to drop the bid or he would suspend Catalonia’s political autonomy and rule the region directly.

Catalonia has approached secession in the best way it could, Marin said. If secession is what Californians want, he says their path to independence will be easier thanks to the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which says any powers not explicitly given to the federal government are retained by the states. The states cannot unilaterally declare independence, but Marin argues that the Constitution provides the federal government and the states a sanctioned path toward that negotiation.

The California Freedom Coalition is collecting signatures to get its ballot initiative in front of voters in 2018. It does not definitively say California will declare independence from the United States; it would repeal a provision in the state constitution that says California is “an inseparable part of the United States.” It also directs the governor to negotiate for greater autonomy from the federal government and establishes an advisory commission on California autonomy and independence.

Marin said he knows California secession would still be incredibly difficult without the cooperation of the federal government, but believes California could “annoy” Congress into allowing California to go its own way.

“Our state government is very experienced at doing things that undermine the federal government without being unconstitutional,” Marin said, citing California’s sanctuary cities as an example.

Besides that, Marin sees a lot of similarities between the motivations of the secession movements. Both California and Catalonia have large economies that can compete on a global scale that secessionists feel could operate better if untethered from the national economy. Differences in ideology, disputes over spending of tax dollars by the federal government and a desire for more localized government control are also common threads, Marin said.