Fed up with Washington, almost 1 in 4 Americans support seceding from the union

(NaturalNews) Disgust and frustration with Washington is at an all-time high, with a new survey showing that the level of anger is rising steadily with each passing year.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey comes right after the narrow rejection of secession from the United Kingdom by Scotland, but that effort has nonetheless fueled similar sentiments among millions of Americans, where "almost a quarter of people are open to their states leaving the union," Reuters reported.

In all, nearly 24 percent of those surveyed from August 23 through September 16 said they strongly supported or tended to support the notion of their state leaving, while only 53.3 percent of 8,952 of respondents strongly opposed or tended to oppose secession. Reuters further noted:

The urge to sever ties with Washington cuts across party lines and regions, though Republicans and residents of rural Western states are generally warmer to the idea than Democrats and Northeasterners, according to the poll.

What's driving the secession push among many is anger over Washington's and the White House's legislative and policy priorities. Most notable, according to the survey, is anger with President Barack Obama's handling of several issues ranging from his and Democrats' highly unpopular Affordable Care Act to the rise of the Islamic State.

Would Texas be the first to go?

Perhaps expectedly, Republican respondents in particular cited dissatisfaction with much of Obama's agenda. Still, others cited Washington gridlock over important issues which "prompted them to wonder if their states would be better off striking out on their own," Reuters reported.

No state has attempted to leave the union since the Civil War more than 150 years ago, when states fought over the issues of states' rights and, later, slavery.

"I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference anymore which political party is running things. Nothing gets done," Roy Gustafson, 61, of Camden, South Carolina, who survives on disability payments, told Reuters. "The state would be better off handling things on its own."

Pro-union Scots won their vote by a wider-than-expected 10-point margin, but nevertheless, that leaves a plurality of Scots who backed independence from the UK, which means the issue is likely to surface again. In any event, such a large percentage of anti-unionists will make Scotland difficult to govern in the coming years.

Political scientists and other experts note that interest in secession in the U.S. has been driven higher due to a combination of things: frustration with the Obama regime, U.S. government in general, the Scottish vote and federal overreach, such as when heavily armed Bureau of Land Management agents descended upon a rancher's land in Nevada earlier this year over grazing rights. A number of self-proclaimed militia members flocked to the area, creating a stand-off with agents.

"It seems to have heated up, especially since the election of President Obama," Mordecai Lee, governmental affairs professor at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, an expert on secessionist movements, told Reuters.

Also, in recent years, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has heavily criticized federal government overreach, and has hinted that perhaps his state should leave the union -- though he has not actually endorsed the idea.

States of the American Revolution back secession the least

According to the Reuters/Ipsos survey, Obamacare is playing a big role in Americans' discontent with government. And Republican voters were more likely to support secessionist tendencies, with 29.7 percent favoring it compared to 21 percent of Democrats.

Brittany Royal, a 31-year-old nurse from Wilkesboro, North Carolina, told Reuters that rising anger over the massively intrusive Obamacare has made her question whether her state would be better off on its own.

"That has really hurt a lot of people here, myself included. My insurance went from $40 a week for a family of four up to over $600 a month for a family of four," Royal, a Republican, said. "The North Carolina government itself is sustainable. Governor (Pat) McCrory, I think he has a better healthcare plan than President Obama."

Regionally, the notion of secession was least popular in heavily liberal New England -- which is stunning, given that the American secessionist movement from England in the 1700s included colonies in that region. Just 17.4 percent of respondents there favored going it alone.

The idea of secession is most popular in the Southwest, with 34.1 percent supporting it.

Sources:

http://www.reuters.com

http://finance.yahoo.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com