A friend of mine mentioned California's secession to me recently as a viable alternative to Bush Bashing and lamenting the current voting trend towards conservatism. Since the other states seem to be leaning right, at least in terms of voting and California seems to be staying as liberal as ever secession seems like a reasonable possibility.
Secession would keep a lot of the money in California that is currently being taken from it in the form of federal tax. Let's not forget Texas based energy company scams that basically stole money from Californians; money that ended up in some rich Texan's stock portfolio. The state has an ample supply of food, oil and people willing to use alternative fuels. California also has the most wilderness area of any state in the lower 48 and a healthy tourism industry. Heck it is currently the 5th largest economy in the world. It would almost certainly do much better than Quebec with its dead asbestos and dying lumber industries. Keep in mind that Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico aren't exactly ideal climates for agriculture beyond Saguaro cactus. Where do you think sushi fanciers in Phoenix get their hamachi from not to mention the rice?
Politically the federal government doesn't give a tinkers darn about the "left coast" as they so derisively call it. The RNC has left California for dead with the exception of a few higher income congressional disticts like Orange County.
The mere threat of taking our House seats and electoral votes with us might even get the other left of center folks living east and north of Tahoe to reconsider their right leaning tendencies. Without California American liberal politics would almost certainly go the way of the dodo and Wellstone. Without tax revenue generated by California whoever is running things in DC is going to have a heck of a time balancing budgets, stabilizing the economy and in turn getting re-elected.
In the final analysis it appears that the other 49 need California more than California needs the other 49. Also consider the political, environmental, social and cultural divergence of California from the other 49. This is a win-win scenario in that both entities involved move in the political direction more suited to each's liking. I therefore submit that secession is a perfectly reasonable and viable option to consider on political and economic grounds.