Some disappointed Romney supporters are invoking the specter of “succession” as a coping mechanism in the aftermath of last week’s electoral catastrophe. I guess it’s somewhere between “denial” and “anger” on the grief scale.
Nevermind that it’s not a serious movement. And impermissible under the Constitution, by the way, something we pretty much settled back in 1865.
The “acceptance” stage can’t be far off. I hope.
In the interim, I was reminded of the time in our very recent past when South Jersey took its long-standing anti-North Jersey angst one big step beyond the petition phase and actually voted to form its own state…
On November 4, 1980, the same day that Americans elected Ronald Reagan for the first time, five South Jersey counties (Burlington, Salem, Cumberland, Cape May, Atlantic) voted in a non-binding referendum to secede from the Garden State.
The measure was approved with 51% of the vote. One nominally southern county (Ocean) voted “no.” Two other southern counties (Camden and Gloucester) declined to participate though supporters of NJ secession were well-organized in Southwest Jersey.
According to legend, the whole affair was inspired by a less-than-serious newspaper editorial. The situation escalated on April 23, 1980 when Egg Harbor’s township council voted to support the formation of a new state called “South Jersey.” South Jersey advocates and a few sympathetic North Jerseyans hoped to send a message to Trenton: quit treating half of your state like a second class citizen! One specific catalyst for the referendum was the Meadowland Complex’s contruction at a time when South Jerseyans felt the state had neglected a similar effort at the Cherry Hill Garden State Park Racetrack.
Needless to say, the referendum was non-binding and nothing changed. We’re still here. South Jersey is still a second class citizen though somewhat less so due to superior population growth over the past few decades. Still, when the chips were down, South Jerseyans put their money where their mouths were… at the ballot box.
Eat your heart out, Texas.
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