What if...

[Dan the Roman]

It would depend on how it was done. If it went through the legislature with two-thirds majorities and was put to a popular referendum I would be inclined to tolerate it.

If on the other hand the sort of shenanigans went on that went on in 1861 in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, where things were pushed through without quorums, and put to referendums so questionable that Louisiana did not bother even releasing the "results" until 1980, well then I believe that the people of Texas need to have their constitutional rights protected from a group of authoritarian fascists. Really, the Constitution guarantees each state a Republican form of government, and that would be my major concern, especially once the ruling crazies realized they lacked majority support.

There is also an argument that refusing to go easy on people makes them less likely to vote for secession. Canada, by threatening to veto the admission of an independent Quebec to NAFTA crimped the sails of the independence movement. If the US threatened to put tariff's on Texas goods, and made it clear that it would not let them into NAFTA or the UN it would cause doubt, not least because it would force pro-independence Texans to line themselves up with people like Hugo Chavez.