Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene expressed support for penalizing those who move from Democratic-controlled states to Republican-controlled states by temporarily stripping their right to vote or imposing an extra tax.
The idea, she said, would be possible in a “National Divorce scenario,” though Greene appeared to be musing about the idea rather than promoting a specific piece of legislation.
“After Democrat voters and big donors ruin a state like California, you would think it wise to stop them from doing it to another great state like Florida,” Greene said.
Pedro Gonzalez, an editor at Chronicles magazine with populist views, proposed a transplant penalty in response to a viral Twitter thread from a man moving from the Bay Area to Miami, Florida, who criticized California’s policies but was “apprehensive” about his destination’s “worse politics.”
“This guy is moving from California to Florida because he can’t stand living in the mess that lib politics created and he *still* has the audacity to talk down to Floridians about their politics,” Gonzalez tweeted. “I support actively discriminating against transplants like this through legislation. They shouldn’t be able to vote for a period, and they should have to pay a tax for their sins.”
Greene amplified Gonzalez’s tweet, adding some thoughts.
All possible in a National Divorce scenario.
After Democrat voters and big donors ruin a state like California, you would think it wise to stop them from doing it to another great state like Florida.
Brainwashed people that move from CA and NY really need a cooling off period. https://t.co/NB2dVj7n2X— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) December 29, 2021
“Brainwashed people that move from CA and NY really need a cooling off period,” Greene tweeted.
The idea of a “national divorce” or some kind of legal separation of red states and blue states, prompted by a polarized political climate, popped up earlier this year. Left-wing comedian Sarah Silverman floated the idea in September, proposing dividing up into “two or three different countries” based on ideology.
About 4 in 10 Biden voters and half of Trump voters think that it is time to split up the country and favor states seceding from the United States, according to a University of Virginia survey conducted this summer.
Critics, though, say that a national divorce would be impractical and ineffective for conservatives.
To some, Greene’s divorce proposal borders on treason.
“There is no ‘National Divorce’ either you are for civil war or not,” Democratic Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego tweeted. “Just say it if you want a civil war and officially declare yourself a traitor.”
There is no “National Divorce” either you are for civil war or not. Just say it if you want a civil war and officially declare yourself a traitor. https://t.co/5bAxVcoReX
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) December 29, 2021
“Don’t ignore this,” California Rep. Eric Swalwell tweeted. “I want you to see what a GOP-run country looks like. They will take your right to vote if you don’t agree with them. MTG may sound batty but she’s not kidding and she has @GOPLeader McCarthy fully behind her.”
🚨Don’t ignore this. I want you to see what a GOP-run country looks like. They will take your right to vote if you don’t agree with them. MTG may sound batty but she’s not kidding and she has @GOPLeader McCarthy fully behind her. Register to vote now: https://t.co/oWU1VnWnR5 https://t.co/KImYmWTqmX
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) December 29, 2021
Greene has floated the idea of a national divorce for months.
“This should be the warning siren to all of us that America is on a path to irreconcilable differences,” Greene tweeted in October.
4. This should be the warning siren to all of us that America is on a path to irreconcilable differences.
With nearly $30 Trillion in debt & more on the way, a serious border invasion, repulsive moral decline, uncontrollable inflation, & Democratic Communism, I too might agree.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) October 15, 2021