"A New Christian State or Bloodshed."

[LongTomH]

Are these people serious or not? From Rawstory: Republicans attend rally to carve out new Christian state: ‘It’s either going to be bloodshed or Liberty State’:

The far-right gathered in Spokane Valley to push for the creation of Liberty State, a 51st US state that is intended to be something of a wildlife sanctuary for Christian conservatives, the Spokesman-Review reported Friday.

“The Liberty State Gala drew about 200 people to the CenterPlace Regional Event Center in Spokane Valley. Supporters of the new Christian conservative state – which would span parts of Washington and Oregon as well as Idaho, Montana and Wyoming – raised money by auctioning pies and other desserts,” the newspaper reported.

One of the speakers was notorious far-right Republican state Rep. Matt Shea. Shea published a “biblical war” manifesto last fall.

Shea was not the only elected official to attend the Liberty State rally. “The lineup of speakers included Shea, a Spokane Valley Republican who has championed the Liberty State movement; Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan; Spokane City Council candidate Tim Benn; and Loren Culp, the police chief in Republic, Washington, who made national headlines when he pledged not to enforce a controversial gun control initiative that voters passed in November,” the Spokesman-Review noted. “County Prosecutor Larry Haskell, former Treasurer Rob Chase and gun activist Anthony Bosworth also were in attendance, as were Barry and Anne Byrd, who lead the Marble Community Fellowship in northern Stevens County.”

Shea’s legislative assistant, Rene’ Holaday, warned of violence if people did not go along with the idea to state the new state.

Yeah, I know! This is the type of rightwing Christian fanaticism that keeps popping up in recent years; but, may I suggest reading the biblical war link. Shea has big donors and his "biblical" call to arms is particularly bloodthirsty, even for the Religious Right.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. I have no doubt they take their ideology & rhetoric seriously

and they are undoubtedly bloodthirsty, but it remains to be seen whether they can stand the sight of their own blood.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. Will Jews and Muslims be welcomed in this so-called "Liberty State"?

I'm doubting it. So, it's "liberty" as long as you think like them.

What sad little tools...

On edit: So this Matt Shea punkass thinks he's a tough-guy?

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/washington-democrats-call-for-gop-state-rep-matt-shea-to-be-expelled-after-latest-allegations/

Washington Dems want GOP Rep. Matt Shea out over texts discussing physical attacks on political enemies

OLYMPIA — Washington Democrats have called for the expulsion of GOP state Rep. Matt Shea from his caucus and other sanctions after a report that he allegedly participated in a group chat that discussed spying on and attacking political enemies.

A story by The Guardian on Saturday detailed group text messages purportedly exchanged among Shea and right-wing activists in response to November 2017 demonstrations around the country that had been planned by anti-fascists. Some conservatives feared those demonstrations would lead to a civil war.

According to The Guardian, the participants in the chat thread discussed physically attacking demonstrators, showing up at their homes, or where their children go to day care, and conducting background checks on political organizers.

Bring it on, you nozzle. I've had to tangle with fascists in the past, and they were larger than you...

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Atheists seem his main target, but his assistant looks for generalised "bloodshed"

At one point during her own speech Thursday, Shea’s legislative assistant, Rene’ Holaday, said supporters of the 51st state idea were bound by a common sentiment: “It’s either going to be bloodshed or Liberty State.”
...
Shea delivered the last speech of the night, covering many of his usual talking points. He denied the existence of global warming, instead blaming seasonal wildfires on changes in forest management practices. He spoke of the cultural and political differences between Eastern and Western Washington. He claimed the United States is “a Christian nation” under siege by atheists and Communists.

To prove his point, Shea shared a photo of a small group of leftist antifa, or anti-fascist, protesters on the steps of the Capitol in Olympia. One was holding a red-and-yellow flag bearing the hammer-and-sickle symbol of the Soviet Union.

“The Communists and atheists – those that are responsible for the deaths of more people than any other belief system in the history of the world – unfurled their flag on the Capitol steps this last spring,” he said.

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/may/24/former-matt-shea-loyalists-escorted-out-of-51st-st/

[Dennis Donovan]

6. How many F-16's do they have?

Oh, it would be bloodshed, all right. But not in their favor.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. It's a threat of insurrection - "do what we say, or we become terrorists"

For an assistant to an elected rep, it seems like flirting with treason. Even if she doesn't have what it takes to follow through, you'd hope the FBI investigate her.

[maxsolomon]

3. They've been talking this shit for decades.

They think they don't need Seattle or Pugetopolis; that we're oppressing them with our libertine ways.

In fact, we pay for their roads and their schools.

[Aristus]

10. Those of us in Pierce, King, and Snohomish Counties pay for all of the other counties in the state.

And I'm getting a little tired of the freeloaders spewing their hatred...

[Hekate]

5. In this century, when it comes to breaking apart stable democratic nations, follow the money...

Brexit, European Disunion, Calexit, California broken into 3 states -- every time where there are native-born racist populist yahoos frothing at the mouth to tear their own country apart, there's a trail of money that leads back to Moscow.

Putin and his pet geopolitical professor don't need to start any of this from scratch, all they have to do is find the cracks in a society and help slam the wedges in.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

8. I have a sister who lives in that area

I also know several other people who do as well. None of them support this idiot.

If any blood gets spilled it's going to be Matt Shea's.

[maxsolomon]

12. Remember John Stokes?

https://www.hcn.org/issues/41.21/the-wests-biggest-bully-gets-his

he started out trying to break the eastern half of Snohomish County off.

all that Sovereign Citizen BS

[Grasswire2]

9. Could we wall them in?

I might support that.

[Initech]

14. Now that is a wall I would support building!

[ProudLib72]

11. So shut up and do it already!

Could it be that he knows what will happen if he tries? Is that why he's all bluster and no substance?

Shoot, with only 200 supporters, we could just give them a small parcel of land and build a wall around it. Of course, they are going to have to pay for that wall. It's going to be a big, beautiful wall.

[keithbvadu2]

18. Mexico will pay for it.

[Takket]

23. they probably would, actually LOL

[keithbvadu2]

24. When Mexico builds Trump's wall

?1457481272

[roamer65]

28. The southwest was stolen from Mexico in a bullshit war.

Even John Quincy Adams was against the Mexican-American War.

[UniteFightBack]

13. They belong in a hollowed out log. nt

[triron]

15. Organized religion has always been a source of suppression and persecution of different 'others'.

How many scientists and other intellectuals were ostracized, excommunicated, or murdered by the Catholic Church?

Thus the 'dark ages'.

[Initech]

16. So the take away I'm getting from this is "join us or die".

I'm sure that Jesus would just love that.

[grantcart]

17. I am curious what links you have that supports the premise that Shea has "big" donors"

As the article points out they are financing their revolution with pie sales.

[keithbvadu2]

19. What if it is not their version of Christianity in charge?

Many Catholics/Protestants consider the other to be false Christians.

[PufPuf23]

20. Perhaps effort should be concentrated on supporting the Democrats, liberals, and

progressives in the area selected by the Christo-fascists to be "Liberty"?

There may be an opening to gain political ground because Shea and his kind are so repulsively anti-American.

[jmowreader]

21. In addition to "getting out of Seattle's grasp"...

he wants to send two more Republican senators to Washington. Unfortunately for him, the only way Congress will allow a conservative state to be added to the Union is if a liberal one is added at about the same time.

Either that, or we make one "superstate" out of either Montana and Wyoming or North and South Dakota.

But it's all silly anyway...if it looks like we really will gain another state or two, a grassroots "Garrison Flag Owners of America" will spring up to keep nutcases like Matt Shea from rendering their $1500 flags worthless.

[VOX]

22. There's plenty of room in Russia for all these delusional idiots.

When I protested Nixon and the immoral Vietnam War, the right wing’s biggest go-to was, “ You don’t like America? Move to Russia!”

Well, it’s past time to return the favor, especially now that the wingnuts’ Neanderthal figurehead has a round-the-clock boner for Putin. So, all you Christianist-white-supremacists, get a move on, ‘cause Russia is “right” for you! Go, go, go!

[Ilsa]

25. Good riddance. Put them all together so they can start

Fighting with each other about pre-millenialism vs post-millenialism or some other detailed religious tenet.

[trev]

26. From the article

"[Shea] embraces right-wing conspiracy theories about Muslims and Marxists"

Substitute "Jews" for "Muslims" and you have Hitler's agenda precisely. (The Nazis started out as anti-Marxists.)

[kurtcagle]

27. Idiots

I've long thought that Washington and Oregon were divided along the wrong axis. Cascadia (from the Canadian border to the California border) holds about 90% of the population of the state, the best farmland, every port, and a very sympathetic Vancouver and Victoria which would probably form with it. Currently WA + OR has fifteen representatives. A realignment would mean that Cascadia would have 13, and Liberty would have 2.

However, I consider the likelihood of a Liberty (or Jefferson, in Eastern Oregon and North California) actually forming to be almost non-existent, contingent primarily on the US itself disintegrating AND any big money donors actually surviving that collapse and eager to part with money. This is the least churched territory in the country, and to be perfectly blunt there's a cultural identity here that is VERY strong, but it's not oriented towards these yahoos. There's no question that they're out here, but they have very little actual political clout.