Filip Dewinter, "South California" Wants You!

Ok, well, time to put my foot in my mouth. I am going to have to openly apologize to Filip Dewinter  and all of the other wingnuts of the über-Flemish nationalist-separatist party, Vlaams Belang. Leave it to Americans to do everyone one step up on being a wingnut political extremist.

Apparently, Republican Jeff Stone from southern California wants to initiate a 51st State, known as South California, you know, like South Sudan? Oh wait, there is that civil war issue again, genocide, never mind.

For Stone, California is just too darn big and too many hippies, and...did someone say hippies? No, he didn't, but except for maybe a few small head shops in northern California near the Oregon border there might be hippies, but, c'mon Mr. Stone, the Terminator-governed California of 2011 is too liberal for you?

He is quoted as saying, "We are sending a message."

Yep, and that message is, "Duuuhhh, what me worry? what constitution?." Southern California is just going to suddenly become the 51st state and in order to live there you need to be Republican? Any one else see a problem with this? Last time I checked, coercion doesn't really work when it comes to forming new constitutions, like, you know, the US Constitution, 4th of July and all that good stuff--hot dogs, parades, fireworks, no more kings...

When Norman Mailer made his unsuccessful bid for governor of New York in the late 60's there was also talk of NYC being the 51st State. OK, a stretch Mr. Mailer, but at least there was no, one common political ideology behind the suggestion. Mailer lost (getting really drunk and threatening to stab his wife at a party around election time kind of quashed that bid), as did NYC becoming the 51st State, but the concept seems to arise every now and then, either as a political stunt or as an ideological query.

Gil Duran, a spokesperson for incumbent California Governor Jerry Brown is reported as saying, "If you want to live in a Republican state with very conservative right-wing laws, then there's a place called Arizona."

Oh, ouch, behave baby, yeah, grrr...