WACO — Standing in front of a massive state flag on Saturday, Claver Kamau-Imani outlined his utopian vision of a Nation of Texas that he believes is just on the horizon.

No taxes or Faucis, no speed zones or toll roads. No liberals, no gun laws. No windmills, no poor people. A separate currency, stock market and gold depository. “Complete control of our own immigration policy.” World-class college football, a farewell to regulators. And unthinkable, unimaginable wealth.

“We are going to be so rich,” he chanted. “We’re gonna be rich. We are gonna be rich. We. Are. Going. To Be. Rich! … As soon as we declare independence, we’re going to be wealthy. I personally believe that our personal GDP will double in five to seven years.”

“The independence of Texas is good for humanity as a whole,” he added to cheers.

Kamau-Imani, a Houston-based preacher, was among 100 or so people who spent the weekend at the Waco Convention Center for the first conference of the Texas Nationalist Movement, which since 2005 has advocated for the Lone Star State to break away from the United States — a “TEXIT,” as they call it.

Supporters of the movement said they are more energized and optimistic than ever about the prospect of an independent Texas, and pointed to appearances or support from current and former lawmakers — including state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, who spoke at the event — as evidence that their movement is far from fringe. The get-together also came as TEXIT supporters celebrated what they believe is crucial momentum: Days before the meeting, the Texas Nationalist Movement announced that it was more than halfway to the roughly 100,000 signatures needed to put a non-binding secession referendum on the Texas Republican primary ballot.

  • xkforce@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Yes please secede. Texas has enough electoral votes that if it split off, the modern republican party would never win again.

    • DontMakeMoreBabies@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Texas is an economic base - let them try, so they can get fucked to dust like the last batch of racists, but they shouldn’t be allowed to succeed.

      That would be stupid.

      • MacGuffin94@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s an economic base now. If they secede the major companies there are not staying. They can grandstand all they want about Texas taxes but they will not want to lose our on being an American company and deal with trying to switch to bring a foreign company operating in the US.

        • CADmonkey@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Your comment makes me wonder something - in a magical hypothetical world where Texas leaves the US, in additon to companies leaving, large government installations like military bases or mission control centers would also have to close. Aren’t those things also drivers of economic activity? Houston would have a problem…

          • ares35@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            federal government and military packing up and leaving, companies doing the same. educated persons with the means, too. no more federal funding flowing in. the whole state would turn to shit in no time (well, i mean, even more than parts of it already are)

          • MacGuffin94@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Texas would have to lean super heavy on oil. I dint know enough about their economy but you’re right there would be no more federal military money and you would probably see them drop in economic size to something like Spain. Not a 3rd world country by far but also no where near an economic power house.

        • davel [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          major companies there are not staying.

          I wouldn’t assume that. This new State will strip away all sorts of federal labor & consumer protections, to the advantage of capitalists. New Texas will be a neocolony of the US, to the detriment of working class Texans.

          • MacGuffin94@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            It will definitely be bad for Texans but realistically a lot of big players leave. Haliburton, American Airlines, AT&T, HP, Dell, USAA are probably at the top of that list because of wanting to keep defense contracts, regulations on foreign technology companies importing into the US, or fear of being forced to sell utility infrastructure.

            • timicin@lemmygrad.ml
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              1 year ago

              i bet they would simply change their official head quarters like many did to texas to take advantage of the low corporate taxes.

          • timicin@lemmygrad.ml
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            1 year ago

            to the detriment of working class Texans

            this is the MO for texas operating procedure and those detriment recipient texans wouldn’t have it any other way.

      • MountainGoat@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        If they were allowed to then the US Military would leave and the Mexican military would roll right in and claim it for themselves. I say let them. See ya, bye!

      • toasteecup@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        So are California and New York. I think we’ll manage. In fact whole Texas has the 8th highest GDP vs the world, California beats it at 5th. New York trails a bit at 10th.

      • Telorand@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        That’s wholly incorrect. If it was at all true, they wouldn’t be working so hard to prevent people from voting or to build a tribal voting base that votes based on party affiliation.

        Your vote absolutely matters, and the 2020 election, the midterms, and the recent state general elections are all proof of that.

    • pingveno@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Like always, the equilibrium will just adjust around a different center. It would definitely be a big shift to the left without the largest red state.