Greater Idaho files election complaint

Yesterday the Greater Idaho Movement filed a complaint with Oregon’s Elections Division alleging campaign finance violations by their opponents.

Greater Idaho current status

The Greater Idaho movement is preparing for a referendum, presumably next Tuesday, in Wallowa County, which borders Idaho and Washington. That referendum would instruct the County Commissioners to put on their agenda a possible compact between Oregon and Idaho.

The interstate secessionist group has developed evidence that the leftist Western States Center has an organized campaign in Wallowa County in opposition to their measure. But the Western States Center has never registered with the Oregon Elections Division, as required by law. They have mailed out fliers in Wallowa County, fliers that do not specify who is paying for them. The law requires anyone spending any funds for or against any candidate or public question to register with the Elections Division within seven days of making any agreement for such spending. Not only did Western States Center not do this, but neither did any other opposition group.

Greater Idaho maintains an article with photographic and other evidence of what they allege is a serious campaign finance violation. Yesterday at 11:00 a.m. they filed their complaint with the Elections Division, with whatever evidence they had at the time.

Greater Idaho seeks to have Idaho absorb all of Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains, which they believe would fare better under Idaho’s governance than under the “Portland-Salem-Eugene Axis” that dominates Oregon politics today. Eleven other counties in the region have already passed measures similar to the one at issue in Wallowa County.

History of Western States Center

Western States Center has existed since 1987. Their mission statement contains typical leftist platitudes. But their home page contains dire speculation on what would have happened had the January 6 Event been “successful.” They have actually written a series of four “graphic novels” describing the kind of society that, they say, would have succeeded to present-day America. Of course they assume that “January 6” was a purely organic “white supremacist” event. In fact, we know it was an FBI false-flag pseudo-operation and that the loudest voices were those of agents provocateurs.

Their home page also links to resources to help librarians keep LGBTQ+ and critical race theory books on their shelves. They call this “combating white supremacism in libraries.”

Western States Center envisions inclusive democratic movements and societies rooted in justice and equity.

Why they have come out in opposition to Greater Idaho, they do not make clear. However, Greater Idaho seem to have traced the illicit mailer activity in Wallowa County to this group.

The identity of the group paying for the ads running on Pluto TV in Wallowa County is not a mystery. The ads say they’re paid for by a Portland leftist group called Western States Strategies, the political arm of Western States Center. Yet these ads are not acknowledged on the state’s campaign finance website either. In fact the group has not reported any income or expenditures since it registered 14 months ago, and it has not registered in opposition to the Wallowa County ballot measure as required. The content of the ad on Pluto TV matches exactly the content of the first mailers to arrive, the white postcards postmarked April 18.

Greater Idaho originally referred to a “Rural Oregonians for Oregon.” But they have struck out that part of their article, though it is still legible.

A review of Western States Strategies’ website shows that it seems to see its role as whipping up fear about the weakest and least popular fringes of the right-wing: white nationalists. The group pays $80k salaries for people with 1-6 years experience to be social justice warriors. It’s unclear who would want to fund salaries for this kind of work. The organization acknowledges it employs at least six “key staff” and thirteen “fellows.”

CNAV has not been able, either, to track the funding for Western States Center.

The apparent message in opposition to Greater Idaho is “we can’t afford it,” though they won’t say why.