Yeah, but that would upset the balance of power, and likely move some Representatives around from state to state. That isn’t likely to happen.
What balance of power? Maryland’s already one of the most Democratic states in the nation. They haven’t had a Republican governor since Spiro Agnew. The seat that DC would gain would be added on to the 435 until reapportionment in 2010. That’s what they did with Alaska and Hawaii. Then they’d be in the midst of a shuffle of seats from state to state anyway.
It seems to me that Canada needs defending! I do realise that in certain (unlikely) situations, such as if Quebec were to secede, the remaining provinces might be economically better off joining the USA. But I found it disturbing the way some of you seemed to imply that this would be accepted without demur or a backward glance by the citizens of Canada and was in some way the natural course of events, as if nothing better could be imagined than to become forcibly part of the USA.
It’s worth pointing out perhaps that every time in the last century when the USA has gone to war it has been to protect the rights of a small weaker country from being forcibly taken over by a stronger neighbour!
I guess it’s a very emotional matter, and as the only remaining world superpower it’s not something that Americans will ever have to worry about. But other countries do, and here in the UK a lot of us are very sensitive right now about the erosion of our liberties and sovereignty to the EC. It sometimes seems like it won’t be long before the UK doesn’t exist as an independent country any more.