Secession fantasy: Analyst envisions America split into Red Federation and Blue Federation - Note for a Discussion, "E Pluribus Unum? What (still?) Keeps America United."

By Jennifer Harper - The Washington Times,
Thursday, November 15, 2018 (image from)

Amid red states, blue states, social strife and political polarization [JB emphasis], one analyst now suggests that the United States jettison the “united” part and become a couple of separate nations. This extreme measure likely would disappoint millions of people around the planet who still perceive America as the shining beacon of yore, truly a “united” United States. Plenty of Americans would weep over the thought as well. But it’s out there.

“Divided we stand. The country is hopelessly split. So why not make it official and break up?” writes journalist Sasha Issenberg for New York Magazine.

“The midterm results have shown that Democrats have become even more a party of cities and upscale suburbs whose votes are inefficiently packed into dense geographies, Republicans one of exurbs and rural areas overrepresented in the Senate,” he wrote, later adding that “policy wonks across the spectrum are starting to rethink the federal compact altogether, allowing local governments to capture previously unforeseen responsibilities.”

Mr. Issenberg’s article is complex, lengthy and rife with research — and has emerged as the most-read story at the magazine. He mentions “secession fantasies” and offers a theoretical trajectory about how a split-up America would function in a chilly section titled “Dividing the assets.” It is a snapshot of what the nation would look like cleaved into not two but three regions: the Blue Federation, the Red Federation and the Neutral Federation.

The theory works on paper, the reality is another thing, perhaps.

“It is easier to imagine breaking up the United States than figuring out how to make it work — whether through bold new policies or merely a functioning version of consensus politics. The seeming inelasticity of our system of governance also guarantees a security and predictability that we take for granted,” says Mr. Issenberg, who also tweets that he regards the idea as “a not-entirely-implausible scenario for amicable separation.”