Hail, New Columbia?: D.C. statehood, again - new fiscal responsibility in Washington, D.C. is expected to bring up the question of statehood

But there is a solution. In 1846, D.C. residents living on the Virginia side of the Potomac prevailed on Congress to return their portion of the District to Virginia, in a process known as retrocession. This offers an historical model for reconfiguring D.C., and it's constitutional. Just as Congress in the past ceded a portion of the District to Virginia, it could now do the same for Maryland: D.C. could simply join the state that surrounds it on three sides. It would become the city of Washington, Md. This would prevent statehood, while satisfying D.C. residents who seek a voice in Congress. The downside, from a GOP perspective, is that Maryland would probably gain an extra seat in the House, and it would go to the Democrats.

As a practical matter, Maryland would have to agree to absorb the District, and there's every reason to believe it would resist this: Even Maryland Democrats would see it as a destabilizing threat to existing power structures.

But it's a result conservatives may have to insist on, if the calls for statehood become heated enough. Ignoring them may no longer be an option. The Democratic platform already calls for D.C. statehood, and Democrats have everything to gain by raising the issue: It makes them, once again, the champions of black enfranchisement. Statehood advocates say over and over that they're talking about "taxation without representation"-ringing words in the American conscience-and Democrats won't hesitate to remind us it's taxation of African-Americans without representation.

In demanding retrocession into Maryland, conservatives would pursue the only permanent solution that is fair to both their self-interest and the desires of D.C. residents seeking a greater political voice. This strategy would put the onus on Democrats in Maryland-such as Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend-to explain why retrocession is not an acceptable answer.

Race-baiting is now a key tactic for Democrats. D.C. statehood will play into their hands-unless conservatives are ready to repel the coming charge.

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