Just to be clear, the case for Washington statehood is weak. The District of Columbia's population, according to the Census Bureau's 2003 estimate, is 563,384, which is 1.5 percent less than it was in 2000. The long-term forecast is for continued population loss. Connecticut, meanwhile, has 3.5 million people and is growing. Rhode Island has 1.1 million people and is growing.

She would have been better off pointing at Wyoming, which at 501,242 would be the only state smaller than D.C. But it has a large land mass that raises a host of governance issues. The District of Columbia covers only 68 square miles. Do we really want to give a midsize city its own governor and state legislature?

No, we're all much better off searching for some intelligent common ground in this argument. The first point of agreement ought to be that the residents of D.C. should not be taxed without a representative in the people's body, the House of Representatives. It's hard to argue that this is anything less than a violation of their basic democratic rights. All the 200-year-old arguments about District representation threatening federal interests seem hopelessly outdated. Thanks to the 23rd Amendment, D.C. residents can vote for president. Why not for a member of Congress?

The second point of agreement should be that Utah deserves a fourth member of the House. We're a growing state that easily has picked up 900 more residents since the last Census.

To make it happen, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. should make it clear he would convene a special legislative session to set up a nonpartisan committee to redraw the state's congressional districts fairly, if Davis' bill passes. Even Utah Republicans have to agree that their chances of not holding at least three of the four seats, no matter how the districts are drawn, would be extremely remote.

That ought to take care of Democratic opposition to Davis' bill. As for the D.C. statehood opponents, they should explain why they would continue to disenfranchise people by holding onto a hopeless cause.

Davis' bill wouldn't quite put an end to the Founders' unfinished work, but it is the best start to the job anyone has yet proposed.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com