DOES THE GREATER IDAHO MOVEMENT PRESAGE A NATIONAL DIVORCE FROM THE POLITICAL LEFT?

They said it was an absurd waste of time, but now, the progressive coastal regions of Oregon and Democrats in Idaho are getting a little worried about the “Greater Idaho Movement,” with at least 11 eastern Oregon counties officially voting to leave the state and join their more conservative neighbors in Idaho.

Democrats were saying that the move was impossible, but with momentum growing they are now suggesting that the break-up is “bad for the country.”

Why is it bad for the country if a handful of conservative counties decide to freely walk away from the state of Oregon and join with Idaho?  Leftists do not explain the assertion, but one can deduce from their behavior a number of probable conclusions.

Common arguments Democrats in Oregon and Idaho make against the move are usually an attempt to dissuade Idaho citizens from wanting to pursue secession measures.  The core claim is that the state of Idaho would have to subsidize the new counties, with Dems suggesting that rural areas are a drain on high revenue centers like Portland.

This stems from the leftist argument that red counties and states “cannot survive” economically when detached from blue regions.

It’s simply not true.

Firstly, if rural counties are a financial sinkhole for progressive states, then why are they so opposed to rural counties leaving?  Would this not enrich blue counties beyond belief?

While at least one study shows that Idaho would incur expenses such as Medicaid costs, it also shows that the state actually stands to gain an extra $170 million in net revenue with the new counties in place, along with an even greater conservative majority population, all without people being forced to relocate.

Secondly, if we are talking about economic usefulness, it’s important to remember that the majority of people who grow food, produce goods, repair goods and keep the supply chain running are conservative leaning.  Leftists produce very little other than complaints and misery.

The big question Democrats are not asking is why so many Oregon counties want to leave the state at all?  They don’t ask because they don’t care.  Diplomacy and reconciliation with the conservative population has never crossed their minds.  Only now with the secession movement gaining traction are they suddenly interested.

Let’s use the mega-leftist sanctum of Portland as an example of why conservative regions want to break away from progressive controlled regions:

In 2021 alone, Portland witnessed a 38% spike in violent crime including homicides and rapes.  Property crime rose by 17%.  The city also set an all time record for number of homicides in 2021.  In 2022, the city breezed past the homicide record once again.  Portland was once listed among the safest cities in America – Not anymore.

Crime rates skyrocketed almost immediately after Portland embraced the far-left BLM and Antifa calls to “defund the police.”  The city had to reverse course on this stance 18 months later as the program proved to be a dismal failure.

On the indoctrination end of things, the Oregon Board of Education has advised schools to “keep student gender identities hidden from families.”  This is on top of the already expansive agenda to inject gender identity politics into classrooms in Oregon.

So, what they are saying essentially is that “we are going to brainwash your children with woke ideology, and we are going to lie to you about our curriculum to keep you in the dark.”

Public school policies in Oregon revolve around dictates drafted in progressive controlled counties.  Rural counties can fight back by putting pressure on their local school boards, but it will be a constant battle with losing prospects unless they break from leftist influence completely.

Another big factor in making conservatives want to leave Oregon was the recent draconian covid lockdowns and mandates enforced by the Democrat controlled state government.  Many conservative county officials fought back against these mandates while enduring threats of legal retribution and even arrest.

The leftists revealed their true authoritarian natures during the pandemic event and a number of people ranging from conservative to independent suddenly realized how bad the situation can really get if they remain under the governmental oversight of Democrats.

It makes perfect sense for red counties to want to break away from blue states after the kinds of chaos leftists have created within our nation in the past few years alone.  When Dems say this would be “bad for the country” what they really mean is that it will be bad for them.

The Greater Idaho Movement may have a very slim chance of success in the long run, but it puts the issue of national divorce front and center in the public consciousness, and they don’t like that.

Democrat representatives like Ned Burns in Idaho asserts that the political system works best “When there’s a balance of different viewpoints,” arguing that efforts “to build a one-party state lead to extremism and that can be very dangerous.”

Idaho Democrat Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow echoed this sentiment:

“While there are vast political differences in our region, Greater Idaho is not the proper remedy for those differences. Our democratic republic depends on level heads coming together to find solutions to the issues that impact our citizens. Dividing state borders to create enclaves of politically like-minded people is the opposite of a healthy America.”

But we already have extremist regions of the country in the form of blue states, we saw that clear as day during the covid mandates.  Not only that, cooperation within the status quo only seems to be the Democrat rally cry when progressives are in power.

Only five years ago leftists in states like California widely called for secession from the US over the election of Donald Trump.  Today, they rail against a few counties seceding, not from the country, but merely from Oregon.

The political left views everything through the lens of collectivism.  They see people as property of their model of society, which they consider the only model for society.

If Americans are allowed to walk away, then this might reflect badly on progressive society as a whole.  If people are allowed to build their own systems elsewhere they might prove that the leftist system is frail, oppressive and unstable.

If people have the ability to choose and take their county and their land with them, why would they stay under the governance of a leftist dominated place?

The ability to walk away would completely destroy the leftist socialist dynamic.  They can only survive if they are able to force people to participate in their model while requiring those same prisoners to adopt woke beliefs.  They see conservative congregation and secession as a threat to their aims to absorb the entire nation; not just half of US states, but all of America.

The rest of the US would do well to take the Greater Idaho Movement seriously as it represents a feeling that is growing across the country – We are at an impasse.

There are two completely separate cultures in America today and they cannot coexist.

For more information about the Greater Idaho movement, go to https://www.greateridaho.org/

Tyler Durden edits ZeroHedge.