Hey folks, Da Rat Bastid here. Nominal poster, occasional diarist, general pain in the ass. I'm not one for orthodoxy. I like bold ideas. I don't post a lot because of this. But I think I have an idea whose time has come, and I ask you consider it. I want to address the geographic disadvantage our "side" has to deal with every election, such as gerrymandering. But this goes beyond that. I'm also going to adress the political divide our country experiences, and what I think is the only solution we really have. The idea is simple, but it won't be easy to achieve, and with every solution comes new problems.
So, what is this idea? Well, let me state first that we need to apply some George Lakoff to the problem. America is not seperated by Liberal-Centrist-Conservative. America bases it's political structure on geography, and we should talk about it in those terms. The great political divide in our country is Urban v. Rural, with the suburbs as the swing zones. So, how do we adress it? Squiggle-jump...
We push for the creation of city states.
What? But how? Why?
Well, I'll tell you.
First of all, we all know how district maps are sliced up to undermine urban political power. This is not news. It's a battle we can't win, especially when you have states that are controlled by rural-dominated states like mine (Missouri). Rural politicians, generally speaking, do not think about what cities need to keep up their infrastructure or provide services for its' occupants. And personally, I don't think they even give a shit. In rural dominated states like mine, even Democrats treat cities like red-headed step children. We're taken for granted and told to shut up when we point out real problems within the urban landscape.
But, what if we had city-states? What if there were say, 50 of them? And with them comes 2 Senators and more Dem-leaning electoral votes? What then happens to someone like Ben Nelson of Nebraska? What happens to the primary process?
And that's just the national stage. What happens when these city-states can cut a state legislature off from the tax dollars that freeloading rural areas so frequently siphon off from urban generated sales tax revenues? What happens to all the silly state laws on gay marriage or budgetary manipulation that defunds organizations like Planned Parenthood? Or advancing stem cell research? And what about the unique needs of urban school districts?
Here's another one: let's say Biloxi, Mississippi becomes a city-state. What happens to the "Right to Work" laws that state has on the books?
In short, how could the establishment of city-states in America change the landscape?
And look, I realize this is real pie-in-the-sky stuff. To declare independence for cities would be a monumental task. However, I feel it may be neccessary if we are ever to see real change for this country.
It's just an idea. Feel free to rip it to shreds. I wouldn't have posted it if I didn't want to vet it. But it's something to consider at the very least.
Have at thee!