Michael Karlis
A pickup emblazoned with pro-TEXIT insignia is parks outside a TNM meeting in San Antonio earlier this year.
The Texas Republican Party has added language advocating for the state’s right to withdraw from the United States into its official platform, according to apress statement from the Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM).
On Friday, the Republican Party of Texas unveiled its official party platform for the 2024 general election. The document includes two policy planks dealing with Texas’ possible secession from Union.
The platform’s No. 20 plank includes language reasserting the Lone Star State’s rights to sovereignty, while No. 203 calls on the Texas Legislature to hold a referendum on the matter in the upcoming general election.
“The Texas Legislature should pass a bill in its next session requiring a referendum in the next General Election for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation,” the GOP platform states. “This referendum should be a legislative priority.”
The Texas GOP’s move comes after the TNM — largely viewed as a fringe group outside of the party’s increasingly hard-right base — tried to get “TEXIT” on the Republican primary ballot in March. However, those efforts were blocked by then-Texas Republican Party chairman Matt Rinaldi.
“The Republican Party of Texas doesn’t want to offer the opportunity for its primary electorate to express silliness,” Southern Methodist University political science professor Cal Jillson said at the time.
However, Rinaldi exited as party chair during the Texas GOP’s convention in San Antonio last month. He was replaced Abraham George, a signer of TNM’s “Texas-First” pledge. By signing, George agreed to hold a referendum on Texas independence if it’s called and to secede from the U.S. if the question wins in a referendum.
George now appears to be keeping that promise.
“This decision marks a significant shift towards asserting Texas’ autonomy and the possibility of secession,” the TNM said in its statement.
Even so, a recent poll found that 67% of Texas citizens would rather remain American citizens if given the option. Moreover, Gov. Greg Abbott said during a 60 Minutes interview in March that he was not looking to secede.
Secedig from the U.S. is also illegal per the Supreme Court’s 1869 ruling in Texas v. White, according to Jillson.
“What Chief Justice [Salmon P.] Chase said is that states cannot decide to leave the union through referendum,” Jillson said. “The last part of what Chief Justice Chase wrote in his opinion is that states can attempt to extricate themselves through revolution. But he’s essentially saying, ‘You guys just tried that, and you got crushed. So if you want to do that again, that’s your only way out.'”
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