Greater Idaho and Split California? What’s Up With That?

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In Oregon, proponents of Greater Idaho have gotten a reading in the state legislature.  Before Election Day last year, some in mainstream media were claiming the idea had lost momentum.  Then some additional counties voted to join Idaho.  Maybe the news reporters need to get outside Portland once in a while.  If you’re counting, 11 counties want a divorce from the left coast.

I always enjoy reading the comments from people who say it’ll never happen.  You know, the usual downers with no imagination.  If you haven’t noticed, the America we grew up in doesn’t any longer exist.  Left hates right and right despises left.  The chasm is growing.

Yes, there are hoops.  The change would need approval in both states and by Congress.  And while this isn’t 1861, today is far from the unity of 1941.  In five years, we may reach a point where cooler heads come to believe separation is better than armed conflict in the streets, hills, and meadows.  Look at world history and ask a few questions.  How long do most nation-states last?  How often do borders change?  How often do governments collapse under the weight of debt and debauchery?

Meanwhile, in California, there has often been discussion about the state breaking up.  One proposal was to create five states out of one.  There was an effort to create a state called Jefferson.  Some northern counties even support the Greater Idaho concept.  People in the Golden State aren’t waiting to see which way the wind blows.  Overnight, a friend shared this link.  One of her ancestors helped create West Virginia.

A major disruptive event could change the political landscape in quick order.  Maybe nothing happens in our lifetimes, but with a national debt default looming and a war with China possible, I wouldn’t bet against rapid change.

Remember, in the early summer of 1914, the leaders of Russia, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empires all had strongholds on their thrones.  Five years later they were all dead or unemployed.