The Oregon 'Divorce': Conservatives Aim to Exit, Join 'Greater Idaho'

LA PINE, Oregon – Most folks in eastern Oregon will tell you there are really two Oregons: a mostly liberal western Oregon and mostly conservative eastern Oregon. These two regions are separated by much more than the majestic Cascade Mountain range.  

Portland's Failed Liberal Policies Have Become Oregon's Policies

Western Oregon is dominated by Portland, an urban bastion of progressive policy that prides itself on being "weird." Portland is also plagued by epidemic levels of crime, drug abuse, homelessness, and mental illness. 

Because of its large population, Portland drives state politics. Portland's leaders have become state leaders and Portland's progressive policies have become state policies. That's resulted in drug legalization, gun control, and other progressive laws being forced on the very conservative communities of rural, eastern Oregon.  

The 'Greater Idaho' Movement

Eleven counties in the eastern part of the state have now voted for their officials to consider leaving Oregon and joining something called "Greater Idaho." Four more counties are expected to join them.

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"If you think about it, it's almost like a divorce," says Mike McCarter, president of Citizens for Greater Idaho. "Now, do I agree with divorce? No, but it happens. And so that's what we've got. We've got a division in the state that is almost not reconcilable."

Just over the Cascades in the eastern Oregon community of La Pine, we sat down with supporters of the Greater Idaho movement. All were concerned that eastern Oregon's liberal policies were being forced on them and their families.
 
They told us, "We're dealing with a state that is Democratic and liberal and we don't want to see what's happened in Portland and Salem come into this area." 
 
"We're Christians and the social agenda being pushed by the Democratic Party is more than offensive to us," one resident said. 

"Our schools here...they're going downhill, all the kids, their education is going downhill." 

"Oregon is taking away our freedoms, our rights, the right to raise our children the way we want," another local said. 
 
"We don't really have a voice, they're silenced completely." 
 
"I'm tired of watching this state fall apart. I don't want it to turn into another California."
  
"If I knew the movement was going to fail, I would start taking more steps to get out of this state." 

But Is It a Waste of Time?

There are, of course, plenty of critics who say this campaign has zero chance of becoming reality. But the folks in this movement feel as if they have no choice but to try. 

"We don't think we're wasting our time. The people that are voting for this don't think we're wasting our time," Matt McCaw, the spokesman for the Greater Idaho movement, told us. "We see this as a solution that makes sense, is a win-win for everybody involved and the people support it. State lines have moved before in the United States multiple times. So, this absolutely can happen as soon as the elected leaders in Idaho and Oregon decide that it makes sense for everybody involved to happen."

The Oregon-Washington border was moved as recently as 1958. However, getting both states and Congress to sign on to this proposal would be a tall order. By one estimate, Oregon would lose 62% of its land mass and about 9% of its population.

Polls have shown a majority of Idahoans would favor the creation of a Greater Idaho. This year the Idaho House passed a non-binding 'memorial' welcoming talks with Oregon on the matter. But the Idaho Senate failed to act on the issue in the last legislative session. 

McCaw says there is an incentive for western Oregon to agree to the move: if eastern Oregon leaves, it would give western Oregon a super majority to pass any spending bills it wanted. And wealthier western Oregon already sends disproportionately more tax dollars to poorer Eastern Oregon. 

New Oregon Governor Wants to 'Reset' Relationship 

Oregon's new Governor Tina Kotek, a Democrat, says she wants to heal the rift and has vowed to visit every county in eastern Oregon. Kotek said, "I want to reset this relationship with rural Oregonians so that they feel heard."

But McCaw said, "Western Oregon leaders, governors, candidates have been saying for a very long time that we are going to listen to eastern Oregonians, 'we're going to understand your concerns. We're going to give you, you know, a seat at the table.' It just isn't happening. As we see the bills that are coming through the Oregon legislature right now, we do not see eastern Oregonians being heard or represented."

There are simmering or active exit movements by conservative counties in at least 8 Democratically controlled states: New York, Maryland, Illinois, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Washington, as well as Oregon.  

And if the Greater Idaho movement fails? McCarter says the state must find a solution but says his movement will have no part of civil disobedience. 

"We're trying to do it the legal way, not civil disobedience," McCarter told us. "Most of us who have a pretty good, solid faith, know that God's in control."