Free State Project activists have eye on Idaho

Spokesman-Review (via Free State Project website) ^ | April, '03 | Spokesman-Review editors

[churchillbuff]

COMMENTARY More activists have eye on state Our View: Libertarians' Free State Project looking around for what it hopes is fertile territory --- Don't look now, but another group of fringe political opportunists is seriously considering moving to Idaho en masse and co-opting its political machinery.

The Free State Project is smitten by Idaho and Wyoming.

Organizers view the two states as bastions for smaller government and individual liberty – and a good fit for as many as 20,000 Libertarians who are yearning to be free of Big Government. Idaho is the favorite among the "bigger" states – population around 1.2 million – being viewed as potential migration sites. Wyoming has an edge over New Hampshire among the smaller ones.

Indeed, Idaho is a live-and-let-live state that prefers smaller government. But it won't be an easy touch for an outside band of activists with ulterior motives. The Aryan Nations misjudged Idaho – and spent a quarter of a century fighting a losing battle with human-rights activists. In Idaho, Free Staters would be squeezed by anti-abortion conservatives, aggressive newspapers, the Republican establishment, and the Mormon church in the south.

They should think again about rating Idaho so high on their list.

At this point, Free State Project has signed up 3,000 activists who are willing to move to a designated state to work to transform government into their image. Once they recruit 5,000, the Free Staters will pick their state.

According to www.freestateproject.com, Idaho ranks high because, among other things, it has a strong predicted job growth. It votes for conservative and Libertarian presidential candidates. It cherishes gun freedom. It has the initiative and referendum process (for working around stubborn legislatures). It's a right-to-work state. And its teachers' union is weak.

The Free State Project, of course, is far more benign than Richard Butler's Aryan Nations. But it's making the same mistake Butler did when he launched his "territorial imperative" – a whites-only homeland in the Northwest. Butler thought the monocultural region would be fertile ground for his creed. He didn't count on the task force of human-rights activists that fought him until his dream was left in the ruins of his razed compound.

Unquestionably, the Free Staters would find some sympathizers for a political philosophy that mixes extreme fiscal conservatism with social liberalism. In Idaho, third-party candidate Ross Perot, after all, almost edged Democrat Bill Clinton for second place in the 1992 presidential election.

The Free Staters, of course, can move to Idaho or anywhere else. But they might not find a red carpet waiting for them.

• "Our View" represents the editorial voice of The Spokesman-Review. It is written by members of the editorial board.

[Stew Padasso]

"The interest among these other groups, however, is open, well-known (among those of us who know about these things, anyway), and easily documentable."

So is the David Duke contingent of the RP.

[jmc813]

Do the admin mods ever actually get back to you on these things?

[CPT Clay]

North Dakota

[BooBoo1000]

Have you ever been in Fargo in February??

[Cachelot]

So is the David Duke contingent of the RP.

You don't say. I thought the Duksters were generally more welcome in libertarian circles ;). And among the Democrats, of course.

[Stew Padasso]

There you go again. Duke is a Republican. Take a look:

http://www.duke.org/biography.html

Became the National Director of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in 1974. Although his organization was completely legal and nonviolent (no members were ever charged with any crimes against minorities) the press and public could not differentiate between his group and completely separate "Klan" organizations. Other so-called "Klans" conformed to a Hollywood-generated image of ignorance, hate and violence. So in 1978 he resigned and formed the NAAWP, a White civil rights organization.


After his election to the House of Representatives in Louisiana, due to time constraints, he passed on his leadership of the NAAWP. Since that time the NAAWP has undergone a series of leadership changes and internal struggles. He is not associated or involved in any way with any current NAAWP groups.


He publishes the Duke Report, an international newsletter of uncensored conservative commentary that defends the rights and heritage of people of European descent. Subscribers can now be found in every American state and every nation of the world where Europeans reside in significant numbers.


David Duke was elected in 1989 and served as a member of the House of Representatives and was a full participating member of the Republican Legislative Delegation. He served on Committees: Health and Welfare, and Judiciary.


Authored landmark conservative legislation, including House Bill 1013 (1990), the first anti­affirmative action challenge passed by a legislative body in America.


He was recently elected to Chairmanship of the Republican Parish Executive Committee of the largest Republican parish (county) in Louisiana. (St. Tammany RPEC, At-Large Representative, term 1996-2000)

[Cachelot]

There you go again. Duke is a Republican

I think I'll take my info from other places than duke.org, if you don't mind.

Apart from that: do you have any data that shows Duke as currently holding any Republican post? That would be a bit interesting, since he has spent a substantial amount of time during the last years as a fugitive in Russia.

On the other side, we have good and solid data showing klanners holding posts with the democrats (Byrd), and good and solid data showing Nazi kingpins running for positions in the Libertarian party. One of them was, if I remember, the übernut Martin Lindstedt.

[Stew Padasso]

In denial. Thats OK. Maybe Trent Lott can comfort you?

[Cachelot]

In denial. Thats OK

Let's see. You're denying that David Duke has been out of the country for a long time, and is now in prison. You're denying that Byrd is a member of the Democratic party. You're denying that Martin Lindstedt ran for the Libertarians. You're presumably also denying that Bill White was connected to the Libertarians.

Do you have more denials, turkey?

[Stew Padasso]

I never denied that there are fools in every party and every organization. Including message board activists such as yourself.

[Cachelot]

I never denied that there are fools in every party and every organization.

There are. But the Libertarian party seems to attract more than its fair share of them, particularly when you think of its size.

This is easily verifiable by simply reading what passes for "libertarian discourse" these days. Try reading that "Premier Libertarian Forum", LibertyForum for a while and then tell me in exactly what respect it differs from, say, Stormfront.

[archy]

FSP has had their eye on Idaho as long as I can remember, and they still have only 3,000 people willing to move.
They'll "pick a state" when they're at 5,000? That ought to be well into the next millinium.

Looks like it'll be a little sooner than that. Porcupines, get ready to pick your choice and vote. It's almost time....

Signed members as of 7-7-2003: 4,497

-archy-/-

[Just another Joe]

But still well below the 20,000 needed to start the move.
I've been keeping an eye on this movement since this thread started and I must say thet the FSP is the only one of it's kind that I give even a chance to work.

[mvpel]

I have a feeling that the pace of signups will accelerate once the state is chosen. I know that's the main reason I waited as long as I did to sign up - I didn't know that in the sign up form you can reserve the right not to move to a given state or states. California's taxation and deficit finally drove me to click on the form.

I'm planning to vote for NH or VT, since that's reasonably near where my in-laws live, and a day's drive from my parents.

[archy]

But still well below the 20,000 needed to start the move. I've been keeping an eye on this movement since this thread started and I must say thet the FSP is the only one of it's kind that I give even a chance to work.

Well, some of us are going to be moving as soon as the goal state election result is announced. There are plenty of possible obstacles in the path, but it certainly appears do-able. We shall see. And soon, it looks like.

But of course it's almost a certainty that there are at least some porcupines already in whichever state is picked- we've got members in every state, and some won't have to move, already being there. They'll have their work cut out for them too, helping out the ir new chums as they begin to trickle in...at first.

-archy-/- -archy-/- -

[frodolives]

Folks who call names like "turkey" aren't welcome in Idaho.

These guys are dreamers. Idaho stinks. No pretty scenery, and the crowded natives are as unfriendly as the French, the water and air is as polluted as Buffalo New York in the 1960's. Go away. None of you would like it. It's dreadful. 100's in the summer, minus 40 in the winter. A paved road is a miracle, and I hear there's these things called "busses" someplace in Boise, about 400 miles from here. We haver to go to Spokane to use an escalator. Nope, you wouldn't like it at all.

[Moonman62]

In fact, the best thing the Libertarians could do is group together in one state and make it a small-government, low-tax haven.

But it looks to me like they want to move into a state that's already been made into good shape by non-Libertarians. I agree that they need to completely turn a state around to prove their point.

[Cachelot]

Folks who call names like "turkey" aren't welcome in Idaho.

What?? Names??? You don't like a reference to where a poster is from?

Anyway, I didn't think I was going to Idaho ;).

[archy]

They'll "pick a state" when they're at 5,000? That ought to be well into the next millinium.

Looks like it'll be a little sooner than that. Porcupines, get ready to pick your choice and vote. It's almost time....

Signed members as of 7-7-2003: 4,497

It's Time.

Signed members as of 8-12-2003: 5,072

[Just another Joe]

It's Time.

It may be time to pick the state but it ain't time to move there yet.