As we’ve reported previously, a group of eleven rural Oregon counties is interested in joining Idaho. The Idaho house of representatives has passed a bill to start the discussion process. Those who oppose it use words like “it’s bad for the country.”
As the Greater Idaho movement gains momentum and as press coverage increases, there’s just no telling what a politician will say. Previous reporting included that the bill was passed with a “wink and a smirk,” that it has “no chance” of becoming law, and the repeated assertion (perhaps true, perhaps propaganda) that approval of the plan would require ⅔ approval from both state legislatures and the US congress. So far there’s a shortage of reference citations for who all must “approve.”
Today’s fun twist comes from Idaho Democrat Melissa Wintrow, the Senate minority leader. “I’m very pleased this measure has virtually no chance of advancing into reality,” Wintrow told Fox News Digital. “It would be bad for all involved and bad for the country, and I am opposed to it at all levels.”
Democrat representative Ned Burns added, “I oppose wasting a single minute of our very short time in the Idaho Legislature working to solve the problems of a minority of Oregon’s population instead of focusing our energy on the very real problems that we need to solve in Idaho. The proposal to move state boundaries is virtually impossible to execute. In each state it would take a concurrent resolution passed by two-thirds of each body, then a vote of the citizens, then an amendment to the state constitutions, and finally an act of Congress signed by the president. The idea that this would happen is laughable.”
A waste of time. Virtually no chance. Bad for the country. Laughable. Impossible to execute. Opponents are quick to throw out dismissive phrases. You know what they never actually offer? A plan.
The citizens of eastern Oregon have legitimate grievances. They’ve democratically voted to explore joining Idaho. The Idaho house of representatives, who were also democratically elected, has moved the idea forward. Presumably the plan includes some further negotiations in the Oregon legislature, and between the two state governments. Is this plan difficult? Only because of the politicians who would make it difficult. Would it address the issues brought forward by the citizens? It would be a good step in the right direction.
What plan do opponents propose? Nothing but poking fun. Nothing but dismissive rhetoric, and nothing that addresses the actual issues put forward by the people.
The Texit movement is quite different from the Greater Idaho movement. They’re seeking to move a boundary line between states, while we’re singularly focused on becoming an independent country. Even so, there are similarities. Should the athlete trying to lift 300 lbs not cheer on the athlete struggling to lift 100? Should we say that since their goal is less dramatic than ours that we shouldn’t support their efforts?
Any friend of peaceful democratic self determination is a friend of mine. If counties want to vote to leave Oregon and join Idaho, they have that right. It’s the exact same right that Texas has to vote and leave the United States, regaining our independence. As we know here in Texas, and as they’re finding out in Idaho, those who oppose us have the media on their side. They’ve got bumper stickers like “it’s never gonna happen” or veiled threats like “civil war.” They have contempt for the people they’re supposed to be serving, but what they don’t have is a plan to address our issues.
I would love to see Texit opponents come out with a plan that addresses Federal regulatory overreach, the Federal debt, and the endless wars in a way that improves Texas. I’d love to see Texit opponents put forward a solution to the endless political bickering at the Federal level, or to the outsized influence that California and New York have on Texas politics. “Vote harder?” “More federalism?” Haven’t we been trying that for two centuries?
They won’t make a plan to address our issues, because it’s their current plan that created these issues in the first place. So we can expect to be dismissed, made fun of, and minimized by the media. We can expect it all the way up to the day we get a vote and win.
Greater Idaho folks, Texas is rooting for you. Any friend of peaceful democratic separation is a friend of mine.