Once, a discussion secession would have been crazy talk. But now it’s just another day in the new, hyper-partisan state of Arizona.

Via the Arizona Daily Star:

Pima County the 51st state?

A political committee made up of attorneys, including the former chairman of the Pima County Democratic Party, has been formed to try to get Southern Arizona to secede from the rest of the state.

Start Our State, which is asking other like-minded counties to join the effort, hopes to put the question before Pima County voters in 2012.

The concept of a Southern Arizona state – Baja Arizona – has been around for ages as a way to differentiate the region from its more conservative brethren to the north. The notion of secession has been bandied about, but there was never a serious effort in that direction – until now.

…Paul Eckerstrom, co-chair of Save Our State, said it’s not a ploy and not merely a political statement. He said the state Legislature has gone too far to the right.

In particular, a round of legislative measures challenging federal supremacy “really does border on them saying they don’t want to be part of the Union any longer,” he said.

“Well, I want to be part of the United States,” Eckerstrom said. At a minimum, he said, the drive will send a message that Pima County doesn’t want to go along with the priorities being outlined in Phoenix.

The state legislators of Arizona have been pushing a variety of bills that effectively would reject the federal government and put the state out on its own, as Jessica Pieklo has been reporting.

Arizona legislatures continue to show that they have no real interest in being part of a growingly diverse and complex national and global community. First it was SB 1070. Then it was the birther bill. Now Russell Pearce, President of the Arizona State Senate and xenophobe behind SB 1070 is proposing legislation that would allow the state to nullify federal law.

…

There’s a lot wrong with this measure, starting with the fundamental misunderstanding of the separation of powers. It is not up to the legislature to determine what acts are or are not outside the scope of power. That is the job of the judiciary.

It also fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the supremacy clause in the Constitution that quite clearly sets forth that when a state and federal law come into conflict federal law wins. There’s no room for “interpretation” on these measures and indeed, the framers made it clear, after the failed experiment that was the Articles of Confederation, that in order for this nation to function as a nation rather than a mere collection of independent nation-states, federal law would be the supreme law of the land.

So, Arizona “secedes” from the nation, Pima secedes from Arizona. Is there then a neighborhood that will secede from the county?

I can guarantee that neither “secession” acts would actually happen, however. There would be way too many American flags with stars to readjust.

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