[Kid Shelleen]

I remember when the Great North East wanted to succeed from Philadelphia and all the liberals had a fit.

**** Philly Metro Ping ****

[ek_hornbeck]

Many so-called blue states would turn red in the absence of their single largest metro area. Pennsylvania would be solidly Republican without Philadelphia and its suburbs, and Upstate NY would be Republican-leaning if Long Island and NYC separated. I suspect that the same would be true for Illinois without Chicago, Washington without Seattle, etc.

Perhaps separate statehoods would be the best thing in all of these instances. It wouldn't be a case of creating additional blue states - the states in question are already blue. Instead, it would create new (albeit smaller) Republican states with two new Republican Senators and retaining the conservative upstate Congressional districts. The Senate and Congressional count from the liberal metro areas would remain unchanged if they became independent, in contrast.

I say that it's a win-win situation for us, so by all means let the Upstates start their divorces from the Metro areas.