It seems that the “Red” areas of several “Blue” States are agitating to secede from those States. It seems, also, that there is a way to secede that might pass legal scrutiny: the seceding portion of a State (the Red counties of Blue-dominated Maryland, for instance) hooks up with a more congenial State (West Virginia, for instance). Half a loaf certainly would be better than none if you’re a conservative in a conservative region of California, Colorado, Maryland, or Michigan — to name a few of the many possibilities.

The upshot of a half-a-loaf strategy with respect to secession would be … what? Some Red States would become Redder and some Blue States would become Bluer. Would the balance of political power be affected? Consider some possibilities:

• California/Nevada — Northern California plus Nevada could push Nevada into Red territory. A plus for the GOP in the U.S. Senate and control of Nevada’s government.

• Colorado/Kansas/Utah — Merging eastern Colorado into Kansas and western Colorado into Utah wouldn’t change the political landscape, but the ex-Coloradans would be happier.

• Delaware/Maryland/Virginia/West Virginia — Two mergers here: southern Delaware and eastern Maryland into Virginia, western Maryland into West Virginia. Virginia would become more reliably Red; West Virginia, almost Deep Red. Pluses for the GOP in the U.S. Senate and control of the governments of Virginia and West Virginia.

• Illinois/Ohio — Moving southern Illinois into Ohio would make Ohio more reliably Red.

• Michigan/Wisconsin — If Wisconsin were to annex Michigan’s upper peninsula (and perhaps the northern part of the lower peninsula) it would become firmly Red. Perhaps a tossup, given Michigan’s occasional Reddish tinge, but the ex-Michiganders would be happier.

Those are the obvious possibilities; there may be others.

The problem with all of this, of course, is that Democrats will do the math and fiercely resist any such rearrangements.

But nothing venture, nothing gain. In other words, go for it!

Be sure to read the follow-up post, here.

See also “The Constitution: Myths and Realities“.