Greater Idaho?

You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You

The world still is the same, you'll never change it
As sure as the stars shine above
You're nobody, nobody till somebody loves you
So find yourself somebody to love.

Oregon counties are looking to love Idaho.

Disgruntled Oregonians in five counties have voted in favor of joining Idaho.  Are they sure they understand the implications?  It sounds like a five-year-old running away from home but asking for a ride from their parents.  If these counties join Idaho, the number of states stay the same, the number of Senators stay the same, the balance in the Senate will be the same.  The house seats apportioned to Idaho and Oregon will change, but apportionment of seats is based on population,  not land area.  Idaho will gain more land than it does population.  Each state gets at least one representative, but Idaho already has that seat.  With all of the problems in our country, those counties in Oregon are worrying about the table at which they will be seated?  Talk about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. 

I am sure that the temptation is to say “Don’t let the door hit your backside on your way out” is great, but that also won’t change things.  Most states have a split between rural areas and urban areas.  If the rural areas all banded together, and the urban areas all banded together, but the number of states remained the same, that would not change things.  It would emphasize that we are polarized, but we already knew that.   If these counties want to change things, they might want to secede from the United States, but they should remember that this was tried before and it did not work out so well for those who tried to secede.  Aside from finding someone new to love, the world will still be the same.  Maybe these counties need instead to spend some time on working loving the neighboring counties in their own state before they look for love elsewhere.