Colorado Secession Vote Is an Omen of Things to Come

Don't expect the state of North Colorado to start forming tomorrow; even if Colorado counties pass a secession measure—and such measures do often pass—the US congress won't approve it. But the vote still points to a fracturing population, and in the Daily Beast, Michael Tomasky suggests that "in 15 or so years," we just might have to add a new star to the US flag. "We are witnessing the culture-ization of politics, the trumping of shared culture over shared political traditions and agreements that go back generations."

Colorado's divisions come in large part from an influx of "college-educated hipsters" around its cities, tilting the state to the left while fueling controversies over fracking, gun rights, and now-legalized marijuana. Maryland has similar divisions, and they "could easily happen, and I think will, in virtually any state where one or two big cities hold most of the population." In Colorado, secessionists could eventually improve their odds by creating a two-person-per-county state senate. A 1964 Supreme Court case, Reynolds v. Sims, calls that unconstitutional, but it could be overturned someday—especially when Republicans start pushing for such arrangements, which could help the party. Click for Tomasky's full column. (More Colorado stories.)