Ted Cruz spoke at Texas A&M University about the possibility of Texas picking up its ball and leaving the United States. Cancun Cruz told his constituents "we're not there yet," but warned if certain things happened, "Texit" could become a real possibility.
"Look, if the Democrats end the filibuster," he said, "if they pack the Supreme Court, if they make D.C. a state, if they federalize elections and massively expand voter fraud, it may become hopeless," and Texas will have no choice but to leave.
If that happens, says Cruz, we "take NASA, we take the military, we take the oil." Let's look at that a bit more closely:
- While 11,000 of NASAs 17,000 employees are based in Texas, NASA is headquartered in Washington, DC. If Texas were somehow able to seize NASA, how many tax-hating citizens of Texas would be in favor of funding its $23 billion annual budget? Plus, how many NASAs scientists (who think Cruz's fundamentalist Christian beliefs are pathetically unscientific) would get the hell out of Texas if it were to become an independent nation?
- Texas would have a tough time taking the military, given it doesn't have as many soldiers are other states. In fact, California and Virginia have more soldiers than Texas.
- Texas wins for being the most oil-rich state and for having the most refineries, but Alaska and California have vast oil reserves. And with the cost of solar dropping by the year, betting on oil to fund your vision of Texas as a Gilead-come-to-life is one that only a self-serving demagogue like Cruz would pretend to take.
Cruz also told the audience, "Joe Rogan, he might be president of Texas!" Cruz didn't mention that Rogan would serve that role at the pleasure of Cruz's lordship, but that was probably understood by Cruz's democracy-loathing constituents.
