Quarter of Americans OK With Seceding

More than 20% of both major parties give some support to idea
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 20, 2014 2:00 PM CDT
Quarter of Americans OK With Seceding
Many Americans would be cool with leaving Washington to its own devices.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Could the US see a Scotland-like secession vote of its own? Nearly a quarter of Americans wouldn't have a problem with that, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Some 23.9% of us strongly or somewhat support secession for our states, Reuters reports. That's compared to 53.3% who strongly oppose, or tend to oppose, the idea. The idea of leaving the country is most popular among Republicans and rural Americans in the Western US, and President Obama's policies are a major reason for it. But plenty of Democrats—some 21%—would also lean toward seceding.

"When I say secede, I'm not like (ex-NRA head) Charlton Heston with my gun up in the air … It's more like we could do it if we had to," and it's a way of getting Washington to listen up, says a Texas Democrat. Some 29% of Republicans, meanwhile, back the idea. "I have totally, completely lost faith in the federal government, the people running it, whether Republican, Democrat, independent, whatever," notes one. Geographically, Americans in the Southwest are most supportive of the idea, with some 34.1% of people backing it; New England is least supportive, at 17.4%. (More secession stories.)

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