Some Northwest Elected Officials, Candidates Embrace Extremist 鈥楶atriot鈥� Agenda on Federal Lands -- and Many Fail
In the wake of the Malheur standoff, antigovernment radicals are aiming to swell the ranks of far-right elected officials who are already promoting 'county supremacy,' but a number of them lost their elections this past week.
Beyond just the numbers of supporters who showed up to support the radicals who occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon for six weeks this winter, the standoff revealed the growing influence of the antigovernment movement in the Pacific Northwest in several ways 鈥� particularly its growing clout among elected officials who subscribe to extremist belief systems.
A significant number of state legislators 鈥� including Reps. Matt Shea and Graham Hunt of Washington, Rep. Dallas Heard of Oregon, and Reps. Heather Scott, Sage Dixon and Judy Boyd of Idaho 鈥� showed up at the scene of the standoff near Burns, Ore., in support of the occupiers. And a number of 鈥渃onstitutional鈥� county sheriffs 鈥� notably Glenn听Palmer of neighboring Grant County, who now faces an Oregon听Department of Justice investigation for his role in the standoff 鈥� expressed support for them as well. So did听ex-Sheriff Richard Mack of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association.
Shortly after the Malheur ordeal ended, Oregon Public Broadcasting鈥檚 John Sepulvado how a cadre of Republican legislators 鈥� led by Shea and Heard, along with Nevada Rep. Michele Fiore 鈥� participated in the standoff at key junctures, particularly in its wrapup at the end, when a handful of holdouts remained inside the refuge.
Since then, momentum in support of the antigovernment agenda in a number of rural Northwest counties has been building, and a number of antigovernment candidates have been stepping forward seeking elected office as well. Spencer Sunshine of Political Research Associates the extent to which far-right candidates are seeking office in Oregon at both the county and state levels, describing 鈥渁 slew of candidates linked to the so-called Patriot movement鈥� on the May primary ballot there.
However, this week's primary election results in Oregon and Idaho were profoundly disappointing for these candidates.
Chief among these is Joseph Rice, one of the leaders of the Oath Keepers听confrontation with federal authorities over mining rights at the Sugar Pine Mine in Grants Pass in the spring of 2015. Rice is running for county commissioner in Josephine County, and makes clear, is attempting to play down the extremism of his associates while advocating for 鈥渃ounty supremacy.鈥�
However, when were tallied, Rice had finished a distant fifth in the field of ten candidates with 9.45 percent of the vote.
Hatewatch assembled a list of the Northwest鈥檚 elected officials, both county and legislative, and the candidates seeking to win such office, in the three-state region of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. We found 13 current legislators and four legislative candidates; 39 current county sheriffs, and five sheriff candidates; 11 county commissioners, and eight commission candidates, for a total of 63 elected officials and 17 known candidates.
Yet a number of these candidates shared Rice's fate on last Tuesday, particularly in Harney County, Oregon, the site of the Malheur standoff. There, two candidates for the county commission who openly aligned themselves with the occupants, Anna Jo Surber and Charmaign Edwards, garnered only 1.95 percent (last in a field of four) and 3.74 percent (fifth out of eight), respectively, in their separate听races. A candidate in Baker County who also pledged his affiliation with the antigovernment听faction, Kody Justus, also apparently , though somewhat narrowly, by 38 votes. And in Idaho's Kootenai County, a "constitutionalist" candidate for sheriff, John Green,, 61 percent to 39 percent, to incumbent Republican Sheriff John Wolfinger.
A handful of other candidates aligned with constitutional sheriffs, including Oregon Senate GOP candidate , managed to win their primaries, while others still face the general election this fall.
The key driver in the Malheur takeover agenda 鈥撯�撎齮he extremists鈥� claims that the federal government has no right to own public lands 鈥� has, since the standoff, become a major organizing focus for elected officials, including legislators, county commissioners, and county sheriffs throughout the region who are sympathetic to these claims. As detailed, the violent radicalism of the Bundys and their antigovernment supporters are only the point of a long spear of an anti-federalist campaign financed by such corporate entities as the Koch Brothers to place public lands into private ownership, and manifested as well by the legislative agenda promoted by such groups as and its leading light, Utah lawmaker .
One of the most striking instances of this agenda being promoted by elected officials recently occurred in northeastern Washington, where the county commissioners of four adjoining counties 鈥� Pend Oreille, Stevens, Okanogan, and Ferry 鈥� to discuss 鈥渃oordination鈥� in an effort to declare county supremacy and seize ownership of federal lands. 鈥淐oordination,鈥� as , is the 鈥渇alse idea that federal agencies must comply with county government plans regarding land-use decisions, usually about natural resource extraction on federal lands that are within a county鈥檚 borders.鈥� The ALC鈥檚 legal strategy for achieving this end was referenced throughout the session.
At one point, the discussion veered into a paranoid examination of the supposed role that the United Nations鈥� 鈥淎genda 21鈥� program is playing in shaping federal land-use policy, a conspiracy theory frequently flogged by the Patriot movement followers.
The highlight of the gathering was a lengthy slide-show presentation about the Malheur standoff by Pam Leslie of the Center for Self-Governance, a Tea Party-affiliated group known for flogging a variety of conspiracy theories, such as those about and . She described the scene in Burns in some detail, concluding that the death of protester LaVoy Finicum during the arrest of the occupation鈥檚 leaders was suspicious, and then describing the 鈥渇ederal tyranny鈥� that has followed as the 鈥淔BI roundup of protesters continues.鈥�
The considerable presence of "constitutional" sheriffs in the region is especially problematic, since the ideology behind the name maintains that the county sheriff, and not the federal government, is the supreme law of the land, creating conditions for confusion and conflict whenever federal law-enforcement agencies act locally.
The saga of Grant County's Sheriff Palmer is especially cautionary in this regard: Palmer was initially recruited for assistance by members of the Malheur occupiers, but declined; however, he became so embroiled in the affair anyway that he is now the subject of a state investigation for his behavior during the standoff. However, Palmer is also being investigated for his bizarre hiring of dozens of "special deputies" assigned to assist him in his "constitutional" duties, again underscoring the fraught nature of electing right-wing extremists to positions of real power, especially law enforcement. These sheriffs so thoroughly blur the lines of law enforcement that they pose a serious risk for federal law-enforcement agencies, as well as any residents in their purview.
The rural milieu in which this is occurring frequently focuses on resentment of urban liberals and minorities, whipped up by 鈥淧atriot鈥� ideologues such as Gavin Seim, the Ephrata-based 鈥渓iberty speaker鈥� who played a key role in , and who has built his career on whipping up extremist fervor over gun-control legislation and police behavior. Like Seim, another 鈥淧atriot鈥� speaker who has been touring the Northwest spreading the 鈥渃onstitutionalist鈥� gospel has been Florida-based radio talker . (Seim himself is currently on a national speaking tour, touting his Malheur experience.)
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Probably the most influential elected figure on the Northwest 鈥淧atriot鈥� scene has been Shea, a Republican from Spokane Valley first elected in 2008 and an unapologetic spokesman for 鈥渃onstitutionalist鈥� ideals and a frequent purveyor of far-right 鈥淣ew World Order鈥� conspiracy theories. Shea turned up among a group of Oath Keepers,听III Percenters,听and others听in Olympia in February 2015 to protest the state's policy banning guns from the Statehouse floor, and in which a list of , including 鈥渄irecting government workers to spy on Americans and create linkage charts of patriotic Americans,鈥� 鈥渃arrying out military drills and lockdowns in American cities,鈥� and 鈥渁llowing the establishment of Sharia Law in parts of our country.鈥�
In spite of his long record of extremism, Shea nonetheless has risen in the ranks of House Republicans, and is currently the House Assistant Minority Floor Leader. In recent months, however, Shea鈥檚 once-robust House 鈥淟iberty Caucus鈥� has taken a hit: Rep. Graham Hunt, one of his cohorts, resigned his House seat amid a scandal over his . His frequent cohort in the House and at extremist听gatherings, Rep. Elizabeth Scott, R-Monroe, planned to vacate her House seat in her bid for Congress in the race for Washington鈥檚 1st District against incumbent Democrat Suzan DelBene, but recently announced that, because of health concerns, of the race, and would only serve out her current legislative term. All of which means that the 鈥淟iberty Caucus鈥� appears to be down to two members: Shea and Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee.
In the meantime, another would-be antigovernment听candidate, Anthony Bosworth of Yakima (who was an active participant in the Malheur takeover), was for allegedly assaulting his daughter. There is no indication, however, on or elsewhere that he is planning to drop out of the race.
Here is a list of elected officials and known candidates with 鈥渃onstitutionalist鈥� or antigovernment听movement associations,听or who have engaged in enacting the movement鈥檚 extremist agenda in the Pacific Northwest for the 2016 election:
State legislators
Oregon:
Rep. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg
Rep. Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass
Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer
Rep. Bill Post, R-Keizer
Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence
Washington:
Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley
Elizabeth Scott, R-Monroe (retiring)
Graham Hunt, R-Orting (resigned)
Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee
Idaho
Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard
Rep. Judy Boyd, R-Midvale
Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay
Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg [won primary]
Candidates
Oregon:
Dennis Linthicum, Senate, Dist. 28 [won primary]
Jo Rae Perkins, House, Dist. 4
Washington:
Jim Walsh, House, Dist. 19
Idaho
Arthur Macomber, House, Dist. 4 [defeated]
Statewide Offices
Oregon
Bruce Cuff, Republican, Governor
Washington
Steve McLaughlin, Republican, Commissioner of Public Lands
鈥楥onstitutional鈥� Sheriffs
Oregon:
Glenn Palmer, Grant County
Tim Bergin, Clatsop County
Jeff Dickerson, Columbia County
Craig Zanni, Coos County
Jim Hensley, Crook County
Larry Blanton, Deschutes County
John Hanlin, Douglas County
Frank Skrah, Klamath County
Brian Wolfe, Malheur County
Jason Myers, Marion County
Bob Wolf, Polk County
Steve Rogers, Wallowa County
Pat Garrett, Washington County
Washington:
Brett Myers, Whitman County
Alan Botzheim, Pend Oreille County
Scott Johnson, Pacific County
Harvey Gjesdal, Douglas County
Brian Burnett, Chelan County
Mark Nelson, Cowlitz County
Tom Jones, Grant County
Wade Magers, Lincoln County
Idaho:
Ryan Zollman, Adams County
Tom Carter, Twin Falls
Chad Huff, Payette County
Craig Rowland, Bingham County
Daryl Wheeler, Bonner County
Dave Resser, Benewah County
Lorin Nielsen, Bannock County
Greg Sprungl, Boundary County
Kieran Donahue, Canyon County
Bart May, Clark County
Chris Goetz, Clearwater County
Chuck Rolland, Gem County
Jerome County, Doug McFall
Brian Brokop, Lewis County
Roy Klingler, Madison County
Joe Rodriguez, Nez Perce County
Mitch Alexander, Shoshone County
Matt Thomas, Washington County
Candidates
Oregon
Alan Johnson, Harney County
John Hoopes, Baker County
Washington
Anthony Bosworth, Yakima County
Idaho
John Green, Kootenai County [defeated]
County Commissioners
Oregon:
Bill Harvey, Baker County
Mary Starrett, Yamhill County
Washington:
Karen Skoog, Pend Oreille County
Mike Manus, Pend Oreille County
Steve Kiss, Pend Oreille County
Don Dashiell, Stevens County
Wes McCart, Stevens County
Steve Parker, Stevens County
Jim DeTro, Okanogan County
Mike Blankenship, Ferry County
Brad Miller, Ferry County
Idaho
Jim Chmelik, Idaho County [defeated]
Candidates
Oregon
Joseph Rice, Josephine County
Charmaign 鈥淪is鈥� Edward, Harney County
Anna Jo Surber, Harney County
Craig Brockhart, Crook County
Pete Sharp, Crook County
J. D. Parks, Douglas County
Kody Justus, Baker County
Idaho
Bob Bingham, Kootenai County
