Michael Harrington used to say that a country composed of Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, and several other liberal-leaning states would have a European-style socialist party in government. What sort of structures could we devise to enhance our political power in this region? There already is a Northeast-Midwest Institute focused on economic development issues. Perhaps we should take such an organization and push it in a more aggressive direction. The blue states would their send representatives to a blue regional Congress which would seek to build its own trade and political alliances abroad.