Historically there are two forms of single-party rule: communism and fascism. Oregon has been ruled by a single party since 1988. So, is Oregon a communist state or fascist state? All the hallmarks are there for either one:

• Public policy is formed by nongovernmental groups based on race and a person’s social-economic status.

• Popular vote is overruled by a single-party supermajority.

• The largest minority group in the state, those who oppose the single-party rule, are first disenfranchised and then subjugated.

• Law-abiding citizens are disarmed so they cannot defend themselves.

• Pay to play party caucuses carry the weight in electing and appointing public officials.

• A bureaucracy of unelected public employees enforces law, sometimes at gunpoint.

• Public officials ingratiate themselves at public expense.

Who benefits from all this? Not Oregonians, especially rural East Oregonians.

How did Oregon lose its citizen-run republic? Why does it have a closed primary? How can a single county, Multnomah, outvote the other counties? Where did the rule of law go? Why are all Oregonians so upset with the state of affairs?

“As nightfall does not come all at once,” Justice William O. Douglas warned, “neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged.”

Today there are two Oregons, it’s twilight, and something has to change. More of the same will not work.

Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We did not pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

Twelve rural counties in Eastern Oregon have now fought for and voted for initiatives to leave Oregon, by an average of 59%. This grassroots movement has a plan to address this cultural clash and the urban-rural divide in Oregon. It is the only plan and point of discussion out there.

The leadership in Salem does not have a plan, the Eastern Oregon Counties Association does not have a plan, nor do any of the nongovernmental organizations spending large sums of money to stop Greater Idaho. Just more of the same.

Grant Darrow

Cove