Washington DC should just become a city in the state of Maryland. All citizens would vote in Maryland state elections and then be represented by 2 Senators and a representative or 2 depending on how the districts break out. Originally, the District was designed to be half in Maryland and half in Virginia, but that didn't happen. All federal government buildings would remain the property of the US government and have a police force with federal authority, similar to federal property in all other states.
This will not happen because none of the politicians in DC or Maryland want it. The politicians in Maryland do not want to have to be competing with politicians in DC and vice versa for a statewide elections. It upsets the entire current balance of power between DC and Baltimore. It is the best option that is Constitutional but it is not one that the two sides are willing to accept. DC politicians are similar to Palestinians in that they refuse to take the best deal for their residents in favor of selling the idea of one that is unrealistic possibility and would not likely pass muster as Constitutional.
Wasn't the land originally Virginia? How about we re-combine the Dakota territory, while we are thinking about it? Why do we need a South and North Dakota instead of just Dakota?
DC was more or less split between Virginia and Maryland. In 1847 Congress receded the Virginia portion back to the Commonwealth of Virginia. It's now Arlington County, Virginia. As far as the Dakotas are concerned Bill has been suggesting combining them for years.
Yeah, for some reason, I had it in my head that all of the land was from Virginia and they only returned part of it.
You do understand that the whole point of the District was that it is not in a state, right? The answer is simple: tighten the District to just the federal areas where virtually no one lives and split the populated areas between Maryland and Virginia as applicable.
The history is a little more complex. The City of Alexandria was originally part of Alexandria County (the VA portion of DC). The City split from the county and became an independent city in 1870. Alexandria County was renamed Arlington County in 1920 to avoid confusion with the city of the same name. History of Arlington
I'm aware of the history but as a resident of the City of Alexandria, I object to the city being lumped in with Arlington county.
Do you think that the federal government will not be part of a state if 100% of its borders are surrounded by one state?
