February 23, 2023

Greater Idaho Movement: A proposal to trade parts of Oregon with Idaho

An earlier map didn't include Bend in Oregon. Since it is a Democratic leaning city I have adjusted the borders.

By Hal Brown

While Marjorie Talor Greene is making the news for wanting to reinstate the Confederacy those in Oregon and Idaho are following the greater Idaho movement. This is a proposal that has gained traction in Idaho and the very conservative mucho-MAGA eastern Oregon.

Click above for website

Click above to enlarge. The county Bend is in is Democratic, the county to the east leans Republican.

How red is Idaho. Consider this story:

Here's another example:

Idaho House votes to prohibit use of student IDs to verify identity for voting

Then there's this:

Click above to read

One of my very best friends going back to childhood lives in Sun Valley. I visited him once when I drove to Portland where I now live.

Sun Valley is truly a beautiful place to live. At least nine celebrities live there year round or part-time. It has even been called New North Hollywood.

Sun Valley is considered a premier winter resort:

Click above for Visit Sun Valley website

You are surrounded by mountains, but you are also surrounded by hoards of people who would enjoy watching you hang from the gallows if you are politically progressive.

The Political Climate in Sun Valley, ID is Somewhat liberal.
Blaine County, ID is Very liberal. In Blaine County, ID 67.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 30.3% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Blaine county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 67.1% to 30.3%.
Blaine county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000 (reference)

Boise the state capitol leans conservative but is not really hardcore MAGA.

There's no way that Oregon would vote to give away a huge portion of the state to Idaho. The population is highly weighted towards the western part of the state which is Democratic.

I have a proposal for a trade. It isn't original. However I made a map to go with it as to how the borders could be redrawn.

This would give both states the most unusual shapes, but so what. The boundary would be about a mile wide along the main route from the Portland area to Ketchum, where my friend lives, which is in Sun Valley:

Click above to enlarge

The roadways would be patrolled by the Oregon State Police. Nobody would have to worry about being arrested for bringing marijuana, which is legal in Oregon, into Idaho.

Last year Idaho banned abortion after six weeks.

There would be enough room along the corridor for Planned Parenthood and other groups to open family planning clinics which would legally provide abortion services. Centers could be opened in Boise (pop. aprox. 240,000) and Twin Falls (pop. aprox. 50,000)

Of course Idaho and Oregon would have the same number of Senators. It is possible, but not a certainty, that Idaho would gain more members of the House since Oregon could redraw a congressional district to include the area along the corridor. Idaho currently has only two members of the House. It would be one of the most unusual shaped congressional districts but that would be the way the cookie crumbled.

If Oregon wanted to play hardball they could gerrymander like this and make it likely they would gain one or more Democratic members of the House. Idaho now has two members of the US House while Oregon has six. No doubt the people behind the Great Idaho Movement want to gain one or more members of the US House at the expense of Oregon losing one or more.