# The Californias: 3, down from 6 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 13, 2018, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326 "2018-04-13T01:05:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/81 "2018-04-17T15:12:52Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > That’s awesome. Do you think the military can get to building it soon? As soon as the funding comes through, which should be any day now. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/82 "2018-04-17T15:45:54Z")
Down from 6 to 3? Those Kremlin budget cuts are a bitch… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/83 "2018-04-17T16:06:15Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Maybe it’s time for a general reordering of state lines nationwide. Why do we need _two_ Dakotas? Could South Carolina be whittled down until it was no longer too large to be an insane asylum? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/84 "2018-04-18T03:42:18Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > California really should just disallow ballot initiatives that require federal approval. Such a waste of time. Does the Constitution have a provision for this? I would think that a state breaking up would simply revert to a territory and then the individual governments could petition to be admitted as new states ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/85 "2018-04-18T04:51:47Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Does the Constitution have a provision for this? I would think that a state breaking up would simply revert to a territory and then the individual governments could petition to be admitted as new states If that’s how it worked, we could have avoided that whole Civil War thing. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/86 "2018-04-18T16:35:18Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > If that’s how it worked, we could have avoided that whole Civil War thing. I don’t know if **adaher** is correct (I think not), but territories are still part of the country, so it would not have averted the whole Civil War thing. Imagine Puerto Rico declaring independence. _No bueno._ ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/87 "2018-04-18T17:32:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Does the Constitution have a provision for this? I would think that a state breaking up would simply revert to a territory and then the individual governments could petition to be admitted as new states I think the general idea would have to be parts of California are seceding from the state and joining the union as new states. The Constitution does speak to it: > [@Article 4](#): > > New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. Maine was created this way, seceding from Massachusetts. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/88 "2018-04-18T19:20:43Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Who doesn’t? I’m fine with it if we could get rid of the Trumpista DA and Sheriff. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/89 "2018-04-19T00:26:17Z")
My take on it is that I hope they spend all of the money they can get from like-minded idiots on the idea, only to see it sink like lead. Hey, the money would be wasted, but better that than that it should stay in the hands of who’s got it now. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/90 "2018-08-10T03:29:51Z")
[Tim Draper is giving up on his dream](https://apnews.com/8bbf09e779cf47148065cdfdfc066e06/Billionaire-drops-quest-to-split-California-into-3-parts). > [@](#): > > The billionaire behind a measure to split California in three said he’s giving up on the effort to reimagine the nation’s most populous state after the state Supreme Court knocked it off the November ballot. > > “The political environment for radical change is right now,” venture capitalist Tim Draper wrote in a letter to the court dated Aug. 2 and made public by his opponents Thursday. “The removal of Proposition 9 from the November ballot has effectively put an end to this movement.” > > The court struck Draper’s measure in July in response to a lawsuit but didn’t rule on the merits of the case, allowing Draper the opportunity to fight to put it on future ballots. He’s not moving forward with the case. > > Draper spent more than $1.7 million to qualify his initiative for the ballot, which requires gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures. > > It’s not his first effort to break up California — his plan to split the state into six didn’t qualify for past ballots. He’s argued California has become ungovernable due to its size and diversity, politically and geographically. If “the political environment for radical change is right now”, why is he giving up? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/91 "2018-08-10T14:59:39Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Tim Draper is giving up on his dream](https://apnews.com/8bbf09e779cf47148065cdfdfc066e06/Billionaire-drops-quest-to-split-California-into-3-parts).If “the political environment for radical change is right now”, why is he giving up? 😕 His assertion, as I understand it, is that, if he cannot have his initiative on this fall’s ballot, then the political environment won’t be right by the time the next available election for having it comes around (2020, I believe). I personally think it means he’s just not going to continue to throw money down a rabbit hole. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/92 "2018-08-10T15:04:19Z")
Oh yeah; I get it. I know it’s hard to convey but my query was sarcastic, plus I love encouraging futile efforts and gestures, depending on who is making them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/93 "2018-08-10T15:21:15Z")
If CA is “ungovernable”, maybe we need more ungovernable states. But I don’t mind getting the word out. Don’t come here. It’s an ungovernable land!! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/94 "2018-08-10T16:14:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > If CA is “ungovernable”, maybe we need more ungovernable states. But I don’t mind getting the word out. Don’t come here. It’s an ungovernable land!! 🆒 I find it funny that California is “ungovernable”, but Texas is somehow just fine… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/95 "2018-08-10T17:33:08Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > If CA is “ungovernable”, maybe we need more ungovernable states. But I don’t mind getting the word out. Don’t come here. It’s an ungovernable land!! 🆒 Over [the recent one-year period](http://www.governing.com/topics/finance/states-top-real-gdp-growth-2017.html) California had only fourth-best per capita GDP growth among the 50 states. Who would want to move to such a dismal struggling state? (In defense of California, the top two states in per capita GDP growth—West Virginia and Wyoming—had lower GDP growth than California but sharp reductions in _capita_. Wealthy coal-miners retiring to the Caribbean?) California is one of 22 states where residents do not have the Right-to-Work™. California is one of 9 states which have legalized recreational reefer madness, the gateway to gaiety and mirth. California gave 61.7% of its 2016 popular vote to the Witch of Benghazi who would have filled the White House with sycophants, swindlers and liars. Among the 50 states, only Hawaii—another Reefer madness state without the Right-to-Work™—gave the Witch a higher percentage. Don’t worry, **John** ; who would want to move to California? Note the contrast between struggling California and a top-tier state like Oklahoma, which gave 65.3% of its popular vote to the Great Man now cleaning out the swamp in Washington, is a breeding ground for top statesmen like Scott Pruitt, has a whopping 0.3% per capita GDP growth and where residents _do_ have the Right-to-Work™. (I note that Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana a few weeks ago. :eek: Are they now also on the road to Hell?) (\* - Note: Right-to-Work™ may be a registered trademark of the of the Koch-backed National Right to Work™ Committee, headed by a former leader of the John Birch Society.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/96 "2018-08-10T18:56:59Z")
It’s a terrible, terrible place. Fires everywhere. Earthquakes when you least expect them. Aging hippies and crazy liberals. Sky-high real estate prices and lots of brown people. DO NOT COME HERE. You will HATE it. I’d leave if I could, but I’m stuck. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/97 "2018-08-11T20:30:14Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It’s a terrible, terrible place. … Aging hippies and crazy liberals… Wait a moment. Your new avatar clicked a bell. Did I see you on Telegraph Avenue in the 1960’s? Or maybe it was in that park between Haste and Dwight? In fact, wasn’t it you I saw trying to flirt with Grace Slick in Altadena 1969? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/98 "2018-08-13T17:16:58Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Accurate Spanish pronunciation has historically not been a strong suit of Californians. Just ask anyone living in Sanazay or Lusanj’lus. It used to be if you asked a resident of Long Beach where “he-MEN-o” (Ximeno) Avenue was, they’d look at you like you came from Mars. If you pronounced it “properly” as “ex-IM-en-o,” they’d answer, “Oh yeah, just a couple blocks west of PCH.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/99 "2018-08-13T18:02:41Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I think the general idea would have to be parts of California are seceding from the state and joining the union as new states. The Constitution does speak to it: > > Maine was created this way, seceding from Massachusetts. Whether or not the federal government needs to approve of the separation, the purpose of the ballot initiative is give a voice to the people of California, and pressure politicians to start making moves. Of course I don’t think the majority of California voters want this, so maybe it is a waste of time. Having an official tally would be interesting, though. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326/100 "2018-08-13T19:27:53Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > It used to be if you asked a resident of Long Beach where “he-MEN-o” (Ximeno) Avenue was, they’d look at you like you came from Mars. If you pronounced it “properly” as “ex-IM-en-o,” they’d answer, “Oh yeah, just a couple blocks west of PCH.” > > :rolleyes: Even the State of Jefferson crazies were opposed to it, because they were getting lumped in with the Bay Area. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-californias-3-down-from-6/812326.md?page=6)