Hello, I’m Clara Jeffery, editor-in-chief of Mother Jones.
Like me, you’ve probably been feeling a lot of dread lately. President Trump is sending out-of-control federal agents to terrorize blue cities, with the clear intent of provoking some kind of incident he’ll use as justification to further ratchet up his authoritarianism. The government is shut down because, honestly, how can Democrats negotiate when Trump just uses rescission and the shutdown to renege on deals and claw back congressionally appropriated funds?
Capitulation is not only morally unacceptable, but it doesn’t work. Just ask the universities and law firms, and media companies that cut a deal with Trump, only to have him come back and demand more tribute.
So what can we do? Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push for California to counterbalance Texas’ acquiescence to Trump’s demand that it redistrict is an important step. But the reality is we can’t wait for the midterms or the markets. Trump is speed-running toward autocracy much faster than anyone thought possible. We need tougher action now.
One strategy that I explore in this essay is “uncooperative federalism” or “soft secession.” Basically, some or all of the blue states would form a union, as it were, and act in their collective interest and thwart Trump. I quote Substacker Chris Armitage, who writes that soft secession is not “the violent rupture of 1861, but something else entirely. Blue states building parallel systems, withholding cooperation, and creating facts on the ground that render federal authority meaningless within their borders.”
Economic clout is key here, and none more so than that of California—the world’s fourth-largest economy, fifth-largest agricultural producer, home to Hollywood and Silicon Valley. But states can coordinate legal strategies and create their own confederated policies—indeed, some of that is already happening. And our governors—especially those eyeing a presidential run—need to team up Avengers-style and flex our collective muscle.
“Soft secession,” I write, “could, should it come to that, be the proving ground of a new confederacy. Hopefully the threat of CalExit or a new Union will be enough.” I hope you can take the time to read my full thoughts on soft secession.
—Clara Jeffery
P.S. Three years after FTX's collapse, which sparked one of the biggest bankruptcy cases in US history, why do so many customers still feel like they're being shortchanged? Part two of Reveal's investigation is out now.
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