Greater Idaho Project Gains More Traction as Two Oregon Counties Prepare Vote to Leave the State
Jose Nino
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Will Oregon’s rural counties leave the state and join Idaho?
Allan Stein of The Epoch Times reported that two conservative rural counties in eastern Oregon and one politically divided county in California have voted to initiate the process that could trigger secession from their respective states.
On November 8, 2022, the Oregon counties of Morrow (60%) and Wheeler (59%) passed the Greater Idaho proposal. In California, San Bernardino County approved a similar ballot proposition, albeit by a narrower 51.3% to 48.7%.
Stein of The Epoch Times observed that “The Greater Idaho Movement seeks as many as 15 counties in Republican-majority rural eastern Oregon to join with neighboring Idaho to the east.”
Thus far, 11 counties have moved forward with the initiative since the movement kicked off in 2019. Another county is expected to vote on whether to ponder the secession process in the early stages of 2023.
Should both states end up agreeing to separate, the next step would be to form an interstate compact between Idaho and Oregon.
Secession within states is as American as apple pie. West Virginia seceded from Virginia in 1863, making it the last state to secede. Kentucky was also a part of Virginia until 1792. Similarly, Maine was a part of Massachusetts prior to seceding to become an independent state in 1820.
Given the increasingly volatile nature of American politics, secessionist style options will become the norm as people lose faith in the political system.
Secession and other forms of radical decentralization may perhaps be the most reasonable way to peacefully resolve disputes in an increasingly polarized U.S.
If we are being brutally honest, American politics is not going back to the halcyon days of limited government that characterized the early days of the American Republic.
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