Formspring Question #407--The State of DC Edition

Do you support DC statehood? Unlike Puerto Rico, large majorities in DC want to be recognized as a state.

I do not see any compelling reason why Washington, DC ought to be a state. In terms of population, it would rank as the 49th state with a population slightly larger than that of Wyoming. It would be half the size of the current smallest state, Rhode Island. What would DC have to offer to justify it becoming a state? As George F. Will once quipped, DC manufactures hot air and little else.

Washington, Dc is a city, and not a very large one, either. It is smaller than El Paso, Texas. All of it metro areas are firmly in Virginia and Maryland. As those areas are more likely to grow than the city itself, the future of the potential state is not promising. I cannot see a compelling reason to give such a small, economically narrow, and unlikely to grow area two senators and a congressman. I would especially be wary of one of those new elected officials being Marion Barry.

The sensible thing to do would be to give DC back to Maryland. As Maryland residents, Washingtonians can vote for their senators and would probably have enough of a population for their own congressman, too. There may be a Baker v. Carr issue, but since ceding DC to Maryland would take an act of Congress, I cannot imagine why some language could not be drafted to exclude DC from districting rules and still be Constitutional. We would just all have to cross our fingers and again hope the new congressman is not Marion Barry.

The catch here is that Maryland does not appear to want DC. No one is even suggesting Virginia as an option. With neither state interested in taking DC, it does not sound like the alternatives to statehood are particularly feasible, either. When it comes down to it, DC is going to stuck exactly like it is. That is fine with me.