Blue states can bitch about federal spending in West Virginia whenever they pay back the vast externalized costs borne by WV residents for coal extraction which have facilitated cheap energy for everyone else.

Not really. More like rich states subsidize poor states, just like it should be. "Red" isn't really a convincing description of the bottom ten.

Puerto Rico is very poor and if a state would be very blue. New Mexico is Dem-leaning and has a large Hispanic and Native populations. Alabama and Mississippi have a large percentage of poor people and large Af-Am populations (with plenty of cross-over). West Virginia leans blue and is very poor. Montana has a lot of Native Americans, as does North Dakota. Maine leans blue. Maryland is deep blue. Alaska has a very large Native population.

I forget - is this so we can amend the constitution to take away their right to vote into office whatever nutjobs they may choose? Or to reduce the number of offices into which they can vote nutjobs?

Or is this just for internet sneering privileges?

Mostly Internet sneering purposes, I suppose, gloomy gus. Not a bad talking point, either, for red state Democrats trying to get the reality of budget cuts across to their constituents.

i sure hope this chicken eventually comes home to roost as we systematically go about defunding our government (& really society itself). these lunatic right wingers have made me a states rightser. let's take back that money from those red states that don't want it. i only hope the tea partiers are stupid enough to eventually screw their own states out of our blue state cash.

Hey Gus, maybe we should limit Congressional seats so that states who pay more into the Federal coffers get more seats! Just think how neat it would be.

How about we start lobbying for a Federal Spending Equality amendment to the Constitution that says that a state must recieve in Federal spending no more than that state contributes to the Federal budget?

If we get that, I'll back a balanced budget amendment.

@5,

I think the point is that poor red states don't know how good they have it. They're biting the hand that feeds them and will be the ones who are hurt the most by budget cuts. Maybe there's a silver lining to the debt ceiling deal after all.

@11

It's not Odin's MO to take mercy on anyone's soul; he needs the souls of great warriors to fill Valhalla when Ragnarok comes. If anything, Odin is looking for some excuse to kill the strongest of us, rather than a reason not to.

Read your literature before making any asinine comments.

Joe, that's a great idea - mmm, oligarchy. If them poor staters want representation they can just pull theyselves up by they bootstraps.

@14:

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

That's from the 24th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, motherfucker.