Voters in 13 Oregon Counties Approve 'Greater Idaho' Measure Seeking to Secede From Liberal-Run State ( www.nysun.com )

Thirteen counties in Oregon have voted in favor of measures to begin negotiations on seceding from the state and joining neighboring Idaho.

The latest county to endorse the initiative was Crook County, where voters approved the “Greater Idaho Measure” on Tuesday. The proposal aims to move Oregon’s border approximately 200 miles to the west, which would place 14 counties and several partial counties under Idaho’s jurisdiction.

“The Oregon/Idaho line was established 163 years ago and is now outdated,” the movement’s website says. “It makes no sense in its current location because it doesn’t match the location of the cultural divide in Oregon.”

The organizers of the Greater Idaho movement argue that residents in eastern Oregon feel increasingly alienated by the state’s progressive policies, which they say contribute to high crime rates. Their website says becoming part of Idaho would offer lower taxes and improved representation and governance for the communities.

“We want an economy that is not held back by Oregon regulations and taxes, including environmental regulations,” Greater Idaho executive director Matt McCaw, said, according to the Daily Mail. “We’ll still have federal and Idaho regulations, and that’s plenty. Idaho knows how to respect rural counties and their livelihoods.”

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Tikiporch ,

Western Maryland has tried several times to secede to West Virginia. They could never afford it, and West Virginia can't either. I imagine it is the same situation here.

ouRKaoS ,

I'm getting Brexit vibes

Emperor OP ,
@Emperor@feddit.uk avatar

Orgegone?

banana_lama ,

Oregone*

1371113 ,

OregaNO!

Threeme2189 ,

Just give it thyme.

bradorsomething ,

Idago

douglasg14b ,
@douglasg14b@lemmy.world avatar

It's exactly what it is.

It's a bunch of propaganda aimed at people in these counties that shift their opinion one piece of propaganda at a time.

I've gotten so many flyers in the mail or put on my doorstep or stuffed in my door over the last 3-4 years about this it's unbelievable.

Someone with a significant amount of money is funding this, because the advertising isn't cheap.

And they all show the same misleading information on them to convince oregonians that the grass is greener on the other side. When it most definitely isn't.

bradorsomething ,

I’m glad to hear a sane voice from out there; do people ever talk about moving? This is the same “if you don’t like it leave” crowd, so I’m surprised they don’t move to idaho.

Emperor OP ,
@Emperor@feddit.uk avatar

Someone with a significant amount of money is funding this, because the advertising isn’t cheap.

Which should make people very suspicious about who is funding this and to what ultimate aim.

douglasg14b , (edited )
@douglasg14b@lemmy.world avatar

Yes that is exactly what I said...

It is society's responsibility to inform protect and educate those that are less capable in order to maintain the functioning of that society. Otherwise that society breaks down and falls apart. "A rising tide raises all ships"

My point here is that we as oregonians should be doing better. Instead of adopting nationalism and referring to each other as "The Other", we should be looking at the root cause and not attacking each other's throats while the true enemy just watches and laughs at us peons doing what peons do best: Ignorantly blaming each other.

Emperor OP ,
@Emperor@feddit.uk avatar

The powers that be have always liked to divide and conqueror - it's excellent misdirection so we don't see then stealing everything.

stephfinitely ,

Wasn't it determined last time that if they did this, Idaho would have to pay Oregon because of how land law works. So they would have to get Idaho to agree to this and dought they will.

Duamerthrax ,

Surprised they aren't going for a West Virginia and becomes a new state.

PrincessLeiasCat ,

Oh! So now you know (sort of) what it’s like living as a Progressive in Houston or New Orleans! Just wait until they start the voter suppression/gerrymandering! /s

echo ,

Then move to Idaho you stupid jerks.

Drusas ,

Then they wouldn't be able to graze their cattle for free on Oregon's public land.

Cqrd ,

But if they merge into Idaho, the same laws would apply there...

Delusional ,

Sure but they can't think that far ahead.

Drusas ,

Right, but the comment I replied to was about the individuals moving to Idaho. Then they would lose access to that Oregonian land.

supersquirrel ,

"In 1844, Bush and his family (along with five other families including his friend Michael Simmons, totaling 31 people) left Missouri, heading west on the Oregon Trail.[11] Bush's navigation skills and knowledge of the western region, gained during his years as a trapper, made him the indispensable guide of the party. Isabella's training as a nurse was an important contribution as well. Bush and his family were also known to be very generous, purchasing supplies for their fellow travelers first in Missouri and later at great expense at Fort Bridger. Bush bought six Conestoga wagons, equipping them with enough provisions for a year, and helped several families make the trip to Oregon.[3] According to the Bush family history, Bush built a false bottom onto his wagon in which he hid over a hundred pounds of silver, worth about $2,000.[3] The great-granddaughter of Bush claims that Bush had hidden $5,000 in silver dollars, some gold bricks, and fifty dollar slugs.[12] With him he brought many species of fruit and shade trees that he would plant in his farm at Bush Prairie.[13]

By the time the Bush-Simmons party reached the Oregon Country over four months later, the Provisional Government of Oregon reacting to racially-charged violence [my edit, love the kid gloves being used for violent white supremacists here :( ] had passed an exclusionary law barring black persons, slave or free, from entering the Oregon Territory on penalty of lashing. As a result, Bush and his party traveled north across the Columbia River, into territory that at the time was claimed by both the United States and Great Britain. The wagon path they laboriously cut would become the northern spur of the Oregon Trail.[14] Bush's connections with the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver may have helped the settlers gain access where the company had previously barred Americans from settling"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bush_(pioneer)

Oregon, 2000 miles is still not far enough of a wagon ride to escape white supremacy

Do you think Oregon could put that on their license plates?

https://www.kuow.org/stories/george-bush-the-black-pioneer-who-founded-tumwater
https://sopuli.xyz/pictrs/image/c5b7343d-a7c8-4944-90e9-fc38d92e1b95.webp

George Bush's family outside their home in Tumwater Washingon, thankfully far enough from white supremacists to start a decent life. I wonder how Bush and his family would feel knowing Oregon is still overflowing with white supremacist bigots?

Idaho ain't that big of a cultural difference from the large land owning demographic of hateful rightwing clowns in Oregon, which is not a compliment to Oregon.

Crackhappy ,
@Crackhappy@lemmy.world avatar

Decided to do some fact checking on the crime claims. Oregon is in the top 10 for crime rate, while Idaho sits at 4th. If you did further into statistics, they're pretty close to equal on violent crime, while Oregon has much higher property crime and robberies.

I haven't delved into the socio economic reasons for it, the policy differences or any of the causes of the difference. I live in western Oregon and enjoy the culture and freedom here, although I also don't like the massive property crime rates. I recently moved due to property crime. Went from various crimes being perpetrated either where I lived or on my street to zero.

The_v ,

The odd thing about crime rates is they are often self-reported from law enforcement. Without proper controls and regulations, a motivated party could easily and routinely fudge the numbers by a lot.

What types of crimes do you think it would be easier to suppress... murder or property damage?

huginn ,

Note for readers:

In per capita crime.

Idaho is 4th from the bottom, rank 47 (DC included)

Oregon is 10th from the top, rank 10 (DC included)

I was confused by the wording here so I wanted to add some clarity.

In violent crime per capita it's closer.

Oregon is rank 26 and Idaho is 42.

Oregon all crime: 5610
Oregon violent: 342.4
Idaho all crime: 2465
Idaho violent: 241.4

RidgeDweller ,

I wonder how much of that crime happens in eastern Oregon. It often seems like rural folks are paranoid of crime associated with cities, but they hardly ever spend time in cities to understand it's a relative issue that largely varies neighborhood to neighborhood.

tyrant ,

We laugh but the right is continually pushing and shouting and more and more frequently, winning. It sucks.

XeroxCool ,

So they want to change their identity based on the feelings and bend existing geo roles to match?

gregorum ,
@gregorum@lemm.ee avatar

"yes, but gender-neutral bathrooms crosses the line!"

/s obvs

maculata ,

Read “we don’t like black people and the continuing cultural legacy of how our white ancestors (and us now) destroyed their ability to have good education and jobs and the social issues that creates and now we’re running away from the problem”.

Uh huh…

scofflaw ,

Could always go with the classic, “iF YOu dON’t LiKE iT, lEaVe.”

RobotToaster ,
@RobotToaster@mander.xyz avatar

That's kinda what they're doing though.

XeroxCool ,

Not really. They want nonwhite unhappy people to leave the country, not change it to their liking. So to comply with their own shoutings, they'd have to physically move to Idaho, not just reroute state borders to their liking.

State borders are fucking dumb under the "one nation" notion. It's 50 colonies in a trench coat, pretending it's different than the EU

Neato ,
@Neato@ttrpg.network avatar

Nah, they're making everyone else redraw maps because they are too fucking lazy to pack up and move.

Drusas ,

They don't want to give up their rights to graze cattle for free on Oregon's public land.

lemmyng ,
@lemmyng@lemmy.ca avatar

“The Oregon/Idaho line was established 163 years ago and is now outdated,”

Either accept that earlier laws can be outdated and reinstate Roe v. Wade, or suck it up, ya hypocrites.

Late2TheParty ,
@Late2TheParty@lemmy.world avatar

Can I vote for you for office?

I kid. I wouldn't put you through that hell.

FlashMobOfOne ,
@FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world avatar

I mean, you're not wrong.

The sad thing about the 99% of voters who always vote partisan is that their feelings on any given issue are largely due to political convenience.

Tar_alcaran ,

And does Idaho want these, presumably poor rural and stupid, counties?

spicytuna62 ,
@spicytuna62@lemmy.world avatar

It probably does, actually. Idaho isn't exactly known for good sense, people first policies.

Drusas ,

It would be very expensive for Idaho to take them in because eastern Oregon infrastructure is largely paid by western Oregon tax money.

Tar_alcaran ,

Yeah, that happens a lot with areas like this.

douglasg14b ,
@douglasg14b@lemmy.world avatar

If it gains them more political power, probably.

And none of these intellectually challenged voters realize the consequences of what that would actually mean for these counties.

It's essentially Oregon's version of brexit. With no one learning from the past.

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