Is It Time to Realign State Borders?
15th January 2026
Let’s pretend you are a liberal living in a red state. If you feel aggrieved about the condition of the world and believe that conservatives are to blame, you can find a few like-minded souls, print up some signs covered in half-clever phrases, and go protest. In most cases, unless you chain yourself to a railing on the courthouse steps or attack the police, you will usually be ignored.
That’s democracy, a system under which 51% of the people can pee in the soup of the other 49% and the latter can’t do a thing about it—unless they have a Constitution like that of the U.S., which most countries don’t, the fools.
On the flip side, let’s pretend you are a conservative living in a deep blue state. If you don’t like the school policy, E.V. mandates, high electricity prices, or restrictive gun laws, and you dare to complain, not only will you not be ignored, but you might be harassed, shunned, or canceled. Your solution to the hard blue insanity is a four-letter word: move.
And that’s the difference between the Left and the Right. When the Left protests, the Right ignore them. When the Right protests, the Left responds with violence.
Now let’s pretend you live in a state with a blue megalopolis somewhere over the horizon, but you don’t want to move. Let’s also pretend you have lived in your community all of your life and have roots there — a job or a farm or a business that would be difficult to replicate somewhere else. Why should you suffer because once upon a midnight dreary, councilors to a long dead king or a few drunk senators drew a line on a map that ignored rational boundaries?
And once those boundaries are drawn, you’re stuck. Current boundaries can depend on everyone who has a vested interest in the status quo, and that’s enough. Absent something like the Civil War, which is the only way West Virginia could even hope to split off from Virginia, you’re stuck.
Ever since the founding of the republic, various groups and political movements have sought to redraw state boundaries. Some have been successful. Maine was originally part of Massachusetts, and the states of Kentucky and West Virginia were created from land originally part of Virginia. Other partitions to existing boundaries have been suggested, but none has been adopted. The reason is that the Constitution requires both the blessings of the partitioned state and the U.S. Congress.
Ask yourself a simple question. Why would any state governor or legislature willingly give up territory if it is not forced to? The serfs — excuse me, taxpayers — there help balance the state budget. How they feel about their lives or the number of potholes in their roads is secondary to ensuring that state budgets are met and the state programs, even those for non-citizens, continue.
Which is why discussions such as these are moot. Sure, I enjoy them as much as anybody, but NOTHING WILL EVER HAPPEN.