The Idaho House of Representatives recently passed a resolution, one making an offer to begin talks with the Oregon State Legislature in an attempt to rescue sane people who are ignored by the crazies that run the state from Salem.
The Federalist explains, "The Idaho House passed a resolution on Wednesday to begin talks with the Oregon Legislature about potentially expanding the Idaho border into eastern Oregon.
"Such a resolution has its roots in the Greater Idaho movement, which seeks to absorb 11 Oregon counties, or 63 percent of the state’s landmass, into Idaho.
"The rationale for such a move is that the leftist residents of northwest Oregon — Portland, Salem, Eugene — control the politics of the state, and therefore rural, conservative residents in eastern and southern Oregon are effectively silenced on matters of state governance."
This isn’t a unilateral attempt at a land grab like Stalin’s annexation of Poland.
These Oregon residents want to leave.
"Already, 11 rural Oregon counties have already signed onto the petition for expansion."
And Mike McCarter, president of Citizens for Greater Idaho, penned an op-ed for Oregon Live laying out their case, "The aspirations of Portland-area and northwestern Oregon voters force the state government toward a direction that happens to be incompatible with the values and livelihoods of my town and many in eastern and southern Oregon."
That’s a tactful way of saying there are inmates determined to flee the asylum Oregon has become.
Ceding land to another state is not without precedent.
Washington, D.C. was formerly uniformly diamond-shaped.
Residents of Alexandria, south of the Potomac River, felt they were ignored by the rest of the District of Columbia and they wanted Virginia to take back the land that had been donated to form the southern side of D.C.
Alexandria residents signed petitions, voted in referendums and generally agitated for release from a remote and unrepresentative government.
In 1846, their wish was granted and Congress approved retrocession. The following year, Virginia voted to incorporate the territory once again into the Commonwealth.
The chance of retrocession happening again are about as likely as China offering to teach the Pentagon how to make its own balloons.
Wild-eyed Idaho optimists contend giving the counties away really should not really be a big deal for Oregon. "Proponents argue that the majority of land in the expansion is federally or privately owned. The state government would not be losing much."
This leads us to believe the supporters of annexing the counties may be smoking some of Oregon’s recently legalized drugs.
Moving those Oregon counties to Idaho would mean Oregon loses a congressional seat and an electoral vote because of the change in population.
And that doesn’t begin to address the tax revenue loss.
Oregon’s leftist politicians may ignore eastern Oregon’s conservative voters when it comes to politics, but those same residents are viewed as tax cows ready for milking.
The Idaho House’s resolution is a nice gesture and recognizes the leftist tyranny conservatives in Oregon suffer under. But it's only a gesture and it will have no practical effect.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.