The State of Liberty would be comprised of the 20 counties of Eastern Washington knotted by conservative politics, wide-open landscapes and a shared reliance on natural resources and government services.
They should combine Idaho with that new State. Via Spokesman-Review:
It’s easy to dismiss House Joint Memorial 4000 with an eye roll and a “here we go again.”
The measure proposes to split Washington in half and create a new state called Liberty.
Similar legislation proposed in 1915, 1985, 1991, 2005 and 2015 never gained much traction.
But does this year of political upheaval and civil unrest portend a different outcome?
Supporters of Liberty aren’t the type to back down.
“Broadcasting live from the capital of free Washington, and the future capital of the State of Liberty, Spokane Valley,” is how 51st state champion Rep. Matt Shea often introduces his podcasts. “We are making this real.”
He boasts that the new state would “rival Texas in prosperity” and lead to lower taxes.
The west side of Washington, he warns, will turn into its own “socialist utopia” and collapse without the rugged mindset and agricultural backbone of Eastern Washington.
Anyone who’s visited both sides of the Cascade Mountains notices the difference in politics, economy, climate and traffic. One is the Evergreen State. The other could be coined the Sagebrush State.
The question of splitting the state has always boiled down to whether the eastern half could prosper without the financial support of Seattle.