I look at the electoral map of the U.S. and see two different "nations," red and blue. Demographers tell us it is becoming more so. Logically, each of these should be able to govern itself as it chooses.
The West Coast and the Northeast should be able to become more like semi-socialized Europe, if that pleases them. The rest of us, here in the Great Flyover, should be able to evolve in the opposite direction, to have smaller government and more individuality, if that pleases us.
The question is, how do we get to there from here? How does one relatively unified nation become two loosely connected "nations" without nastiness, bloodshed, and grief? A referendum? A constitutional convention? A "velvet revolution?" Perhaps the sort of devolution that made Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia?
Might the U.S. become more like the E.U., with localized cultures and economies, and yet some overarching coordination? Washington as Brussels? Right now the E.U. doesn't look like much of a model.
The GOP represents the thinking of millions of Americans, but probably not a national majority. I'm beginning to wonder if the Republican Party, as we now know it, might become a regional party. As such, it would be elect Governors and state legislators but no longer compete at the national level.
Do these ideas make any sense? Hey, I'm just spitballing here.
