Zoby poll shows support for secession

[Dave Ridley]

I heard about it on free talk live...but don't have a link...

basically a fifth of americans favored getting their state out of the union

[Friday]

Here's the press release:

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Middlebury Institute/Zogby Poll:

One in Five Americans Believe States Have the Right to Secede
Survey finds 18% would support a secessionist effort in their state

July 23, 2008

UTICA, New York – One in five American adults – 22% – believe that any
state or region has the right to "peaceably secede from the United
States and become an independent republic," a new Middlebury
Institute/Zogby International telephone poll shows.

I believe any state or region has the right to peaceably secede and
become an independent republic:

Agree
22%
Disagree
73%
Not sure
5%

The level of support for the right of secession was consistent in every
region in the country, though the percentage was slightly higher in the
South (26%) and the East (24%). The figures were also consistent for
every age group, but backing was strongest among younger adults, as 40%
among those age 18 to 24 and 24% among those age 25 to 34 agreed states
and regions have secession rights.

Broken down by race, the highest percentage agreeing with the right to
secede was among Hispanics (43%) and African-Americans (40%). Among
white respondents, 17% said states or regions should have the right to
peaceably secede.

"I believe the United States' system is broken and cannot be fixed by
traditional two-party politics and elections":

Agree
44%
Disagree
53%
Not sure
3%

Politically, liberal thinkers were much more likely to favor the right
to secession for states and regions, as 32% of mainline liberals agreed
with the concept. Among the very liberal the support was only slightly
less enthusiastic – 28% said they favored such a right. Meanwhile, just
17% of mainline conservatives thought it should exist as an option for
states or regions of the nation.

Asked whether they would support a secessionist movement in their own
state, 18% said they would, with those in the South most likely to say
they would back such an effort. In the South, 24% said they would
support such an effort, while 15% in the West and Midwest said the same.
Here, too, younger adults were more likely than older adults to be
supportive – 35% of those under age 30 would support secession in their
state, compared to just 17% of those over age 65. Among African
Americans, 33% said they would support secession, compared to just 15%
of white adults. The more education a respondent had, the less likely
they were to support secession – as 38% of those with less than a high
school diploma would support it, compared to just 10% of those with a
college degree.

I would support a secessionist effort in my state:

Agree
18%
Disagree
72%
Not sure
10%

To gauge the extent to which support for secession comes from a sense
that the nation's current system is not working, a separate question was
asked about agreement that "the United States' system is broken and
cannot be fixed by traditional two-party politics and elections." Nearly
half of respondents agreed with this statement, with 27% who somewhat
agree and 18% who strongly agree.

The telephone poll, conducted by Zogby International, included 1,209
American adult respondents. It was conducted July 9-13, 2008, and
carries a margin of error of +/- 2.9 per cent.

The sponsor of the poll was the Middlebury Institute, a think tank for
"the study of separatism, secession, and self-determination," based in
Cold Spring, NY. Their website address is: MiddleburyInstitute .org.
(note: it's having technical difficulties as of 7-24-08)

For content, contact: Kirkpatrick Sale, Director, Middlebury Institute,
at 845-265-3158 or Director@Middlebury Institute. org

For methodology, contact: Fritz Wenzel, 315-624-0200 ext. 229 or
419-205-0287 or fritz@zogby. com
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I find this heartening somehow.  If a real-world John Galt aka charismatic anarcho-capitalist leader were to arise in this country, it might actually be possible to implement some sort of radical change relatively peacefully.  I figure once the percentage of Americans involved passes ?X?, even the most heinous of governments won't have the nerve to lock up/kill us all.   

[Russell Kanning]

cool

[Pat K]

Yeah Zogby sends me a poll about once a month.

I am part of the 22 percent for secession.