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soothsayer

(38,601 posts)
1. Yes, and here's from today's always-excellent Heather Cox Richardson missive
Fri Apr 23, 2021, 07:45 AM
Apr 2021

Snip

Republicans are furiously arguing that this is a naked power play on the part of the Democrats, for D.C.’s inhabitants are presumed to be Democratic voters. In response, those in favor of D.C. statehood point out that the Republican Party, quite famously, admitted six states in twelve months between 1889 and 1890. They were not shy about what they were doing. The admission of North Dakota, South Dakota (they split the Dakota Territory in two), Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming, Republicans said, should guarantee to the Republican Party a permanent majority. (They were so blatant that they convinced a number of Republicans to turn against them.)

But today’s vote to admit D.C. to the Union is not quite the same as the power grab of the 1890s for the simple reason that Washington, D.C., in 2021 has a lot of people in it. Republicans pushed for the admission of their six new states as quickly as they did because they knew that the 1890 census would reveal that the new states did not have enough people in them to become states (unlike Arizona and New Mexico, which did have a lot of people, but those folks supported the Democrats).

In contrast to that push to create states purely for political power, today’s D.C. has people in it. A lot of them. It has more people today than Vermont… and Wyoming, one of the states the Republican brought in in 1890.

Yes, and here's from today's always-excellent Heather Cox Richardson missive soothsayer Apr 2021 #1
A history lesson, no doubt. Imallin4Joe Apr 2021 #2
bigger than Vermont too, and almost as big as North Dakota and Alaska Celerity Apr 2021 #3
Nice graph. Thanks for posting!! Imallin4Joe Apr 2021 #5
yw! cheers Celerity Apr 2021 #6
Not clear that there's anyone here who needs convincing. brooklynite Apr 2021 #4
Very true.. Imallin4Joe Apr 2021 #8
And the population of Puerto Rico is bigger than 6 of these states COMBINED. mackdaddy Apr 2021 #7
I thought about adding PR to this OP.. Imallin4Joe Apr 2021 #9
You're just counting wrong genxlib Apr 2021 #10
I fully agree and get the sarcasm! Imallin4Joe Apr 2021 #13
No, the white suprmacist cuacus as you call them Darwins_Retriever Apr 2021 #15
My bad genxlib Apr 2021 #17
If we dropped the electoral college and did one person, one vote it would be a lot easier than this. flying_wahini Apr 2021 #11
Yes, I'm so on board with this!! nt Imallin4Joe Apr 2021 #12
So you'd deny representation to a few million if the EC was dropped? Kaleva Apr 2021 #14
Not really. Salviati Apr 2021 #22
True. But DC has a lot of Black people who count as only 3/5 of white Wyomingites, so ... StarfishSaver Apr 2021 #16
And no antelope. Historic NY Apr 2021 #18
Population of Monaco (a sovereign state): 39,242. mwooldri Apr 2021 #19
Vermont too. George II Apr 2021 #20
I think a strong argument exists for Puerto Rico statehood as well jobendorfer Apr 2021 #21
Should all the other cities with populations over 700k be granted statehood as well? cstanleytech Apr 2021 #23
Cities are already parts of a state and their citizens are represented. Imallin4Joe Apr 2021 #24
They would Zeitghost Apr 2021 #25
Making DC part of Maryland or Virginia would cstanleytech Apr 2021 #26
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