Before we start, check out the latest installment of my dystopian vision over at Glibertarians.
Now then: I’ve been watching the “Greater Idaho” movement for a while now, and I have to say I find it would make an interesting precedent, if it happens. Excerpt:
Backers of the resolution support the so-called Greater Idaho movement, which seeks to incorporate about 13 Oregon counties, or 63% of the state’s landmass and 9% of its population, within Idaho’s borders.
Proponents of the idea argue it’s about maintaining more traditional values, preserving a certain way of life, and being properly represented by the state’s lawmakers.
“Yes, I am supportive of the Greater Idaho idea,” Idaho Rep. Judy Boyle, R, told Fox News Digital. “I have lived along the Oregon border my entire life, so have many east Oregon friends. They have been quite frustrated with the liberal I-5 western Oregon corridor running their state and completely ignoring their values and needs. They have finally come down to asking the voters, county by county, if they want to join Idaho. Currently, 11 counties have said YES [sic]!”
Bear in mind that, for this to succeed, both state legislatures (Oregon and Idaho) as well as the U.S. Congress would have to approve, which seems unlikely, although not impossible.
Interestingly but not surprisingly, the opposition to this all comes from the Left in Oregon and in Congress. Apparently self-determination is a thing only if it favors the Democrats. But if the Greater Idaho movement was successful, it would almost certainly spark a wave of such movements; in our former stomping grounds of Colorado, for example, several north-eastern counties have been making noise about joining Wyoming or forming a new state, to get themselves out from under the thumb of the Denver-Boulder Axis.
Self-determination is a good thing. Sure, there’s a constitutional process to be followed, which makes it difficult, but not impossible. This Greater Idaho issue may well be the primer that sets a larger trend in motion. We’ll see.
