A friend observes that Dom Cummings’ motives in the film Brexit are not adequately explained. I would say the following argument explains it all:

“I’m fed up with elites in general, but especially with elites in distant countries who tell us what to do. I want to restore a time when Britain managed its own affairs.”

Cummings manages to persuade a majority of his fellow Britons to agree with him.

We need someone like that here in the United States. Washington, DC is far worse than Brussels in its fearsome rejection of democracy for our country. Selected regions of the country need to withdraw from its yoke, simply exit.

Interestingly, people here in New England, who do not see why Leave won a majority of the vote during 2016’s referendum, would be happy to see our region withdraw from the union. They would give you good reasons for withdrawal as well. The person who currently occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would be one of them.

New England is a compact region of six states that could pull this project off:

• Its central city is Boston, the hub that sparked the American Revolution. Rebellion is built into the area’s political traditions.
• Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts are all independently minded. Connecticut a bit less so, but not by much.
• The region’s compact geography enhances transportation and communication networks. Maine is the exception here, but Maine likes its sprawling geography. If anything, Maine is even more independent minded than the other five.
• The economy is well-rounded, well-balanced, and in a number of areas, prosperous. By contrast, a number of large regions in New England are depressed. People resent the hand Washington has had in making them so. Fishing and lumber are two areas where these resentments fester.
• Country would say, “Good riddance. No more Brady, Belichick, and the Patriots.”

If it can happen in Britain, it can happen here. Call it Nexit, to follow Britain’s catchy nickname. Such a movement wants leadership at the moment. With leadership comes a coherent rationale.

Feds have already occupied states along the southern border, to huge detriment for the national government’s reputation. The only way to stop New England’s move toward independence would be to occupy the region militarily. That would be a lot harder than setting up concentration camps in Texas, near an international border. People in New England would react indignantly and vigorously, just as they reacted when Britain sent troops to occupy Boston after the Boston Tea Party.

If other regions follow New England’s example, they will most likely be the South, the Southwest, or both. Texas has a tradition of independence that matches or exceeds New England’s. Once the rock starts rolling downhill, it is difficult to stop. It has to reach the bottom before it comes to rest. Let’s see what happens here.

Forces for Remain in Britain argued that if you do not like things now, under the EU’s administration, things will become appreciably worse under independence. “Don’t go that way!” they warned: the pound will fall, no trade agreements results in no trade, the whole economy will turn over and tank.

People who trade in sky-will-fall language will appear on this side of the pond as well. Do not listen to them. Their evidence is weak. Remainers turn to these arguments because they think them most persuasive. We know from Britain’s example that these warnings persuade some people, but not most.

People in the United States are just as fed up with distant ‘elites’ as people in Britain. Cummings looked at members of Parliament, cabinet ministers, and hangers-on of all kinds as empty, out-dated suits. “They say they work for the country’s benefit, but they just protect themselves,” he said. For so long, elites regarded their constituents with mild contempt, if they did not ignore them altogether. Cummings returned their contempt with ridicule, and absolutely no respect. He and his colleagues fought them ferociously, and won.

New England can do the same. We were born to imperial resistance.