It has been a couple of years since I gave an update on the American Redoubt movement. I am pleased to report that conservatives from a wide variety of Christian and Jewish affiliations are moving to the Redoubt in large numbers. The Redoubt region includes Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming. Those areas are already quite conservative, but the influx of new folks — often with large families — is making the region even more solidly conservative.
Demographically, we are winning. And politically, we are winning. Here are some examples: Montana just picked up another congressional seat, and it now has a Republican governor for the first time in many years. Republicans now control the vast majority of counties in the Redoubt. The Liberty State movement in Eastern Washington is continuing apace. So is the Greater Idaho state border realignment campaign. (The members of the American Redoubt movement have some overlap with those two organizations as well as with the Free State Project in New Hampshire.)
The Wu Flu pandemic accelerated the already considerable land rush of conservatives fleeing the liberal Nanny States. They want nothing to do with lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccination mandates. They are voting with their feet, and voting with their wallets. The Wu Flu pandemic also exposed the statist tendencies of some RINO politicians, like Idaho Governor Brad Little. I predict that he will lose the next gubernatorial election to Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin — a true liberty-loving, small-government Republican.
What We Are, and What We Aren’t
Often misunderstood and wrongly maligned, the American Redoubt is staying true to my original intent. It is continuing to be simply a social philosophy and an informal internal migration movement. To repeat and clarify: We are not a political party. We are not associated with just one religious denomination. We are not a militia. We have no formal leadership, organization, or bylaws. In fact, some of the thought leaders of the movement have never even met each other face-to-face. I, for example, have never met John Jacob Schmidt, Shari Dovale, Dave Bradway, Heather Scott, Chuck Baldwin, or Matt Shea. And I’ve only met Alex Barron once. I’ve only had brief phone conversations with any of the folks that the liberal media refers to as “The American Redoubt Movement leadership.” This of course baffles the liberal hivemind types, who cannot fathom a movement based on just a shared social philosophy and a set of Judeo-Christian Biblical principles. No meetings? No charter? No roster? No fundraisers? No focus groups? No committees? No political platform? No PACs? Nay. None of those. We are just folks that have a few common goals.
Most Redoubters are Republicans, but there are also a large number of Libertarians as well as some folks who stridently eschew any political party affiliation. And, similarly, most Redoubters are Reformed or Evangelical Christians, but there are also large numbers of Catholics, Messianics, Jews, Atheists, and Agnostics. Demographically, most Redoubters are paleface Anglos, but that is only because statistically, most Christian Republicans match that. There are Redoubters who are black, Asian, Native American, Hispanic, and Pacific Islanders. There are lots of “mixed race” families. Everyone who loves liberty and the concept of limited government is welcome. Nothing else matters! If you doubt that, then just ask Alex Barron — who is both Black and a Traditional Catholic. And he is both a Kootenai County Republican Central Committee member, and a booster of the American Redoubt movement.
Despite our amorphous lack of “organization”, we have kept the movement on track for more than 10 years. We have quite vocally shunned a handful of hotheads, a few racists, and a few antisemites. We made it clear that we want nothing to do with them, and have insisted that they not call themselves “Redoubters”. I’m pleased to report that the vast majority of Redoubters judge people as individuals rather than based on the color of their skin. I even go so far as to reject the whole concept of “race.”
Our Detractors
Ever since I launched the movement back in 2011, it has infuriated liberals and statists. We’ve been falsely labeled as fascists when we actually want less government. (By definition fascism is a form of totalitarianism — total government.) We have also been called racist, which is absurd. We reject racism. We’ve been called antisemitic, which is also absurd. Most Redoubters have a heart for Israel. Many home churches in the Redoubt conduct Hebrew classes. And we’ve also been called “anti-government.” That too is an absurdity. We’re only opposed to big government, liberty-depriving government, and a One World Government.
You might have already seen the latest liberal hit-piece documentary by Alastair Good, released just a few days ago. It is titled: Inside the American Redoubt: Trump voters building a new state. The accompanying print article is only available to London Times subscribers. There is also a podcast, featuring an interview with Alastair Good that mentions me and has clips from one of my Radio Free Redoubt interviews. The documentary video is chock full of the usual “Oh, Those Redoubters are Nazi Racists” lies. In the video, Mr. Good never mentioned me nor Alex Barron. (Seeing a black Redoubter would make it hard for them to fool their viewers and readers into accepting their blatant propaganda.) Spending nearly 20% of the documentary’s time dredging up the un-related and defunct Aryan Nations neo-Nazi group (circa 1970s and 1980s) makes it clear that the filmmaker has an agenda and he doesn’t hesitate to use dirty tricks. If you dislike Alastair Good’s tar-brushing tactics, then please give the YouTube video a thumbs-down.
The Future
When discussing populations and politics, many liberals are fond of saying: “Demographics are destiny.” That is actually a sound premise. But here in the American Redoubt, the shift in the demographic tide is working against the Blue Staters. Not only are the majority of new arrivals conservative, but we also tend to have much larger families than non-church-going liberals. The bottom line: We will win electorally for generations to come.
In the second decade of The American Redoubt movement, I expect to see Consitutionalist conservatives dominate politics in nearly every Redoubt county. This will range from school boards, to mayors, to county boards of supervisors, and county sheriffs. At the state level, I expect to see liberty-loving candidates that favor small, unobtrusive government taking office, and subsequently dominating state assemblies, state senates, and the governors’ houses in the long term. The 2022 midterm elections and those that follow will almost surely see a conservative sweep — hopefully with an ousting of any RINOs. I also expect to see both the Liberty State movement and the Greater Idaho campaign reach fruition. With state partitions of Oregon and Washington, we would pick up two new Republican U.S. Senators and at least one Republican congressman for each newly-formed state.
Since a large number of Redoubters are preppers, I also anticipate seeing a strong emphasis on community sustainable agriculture (CSA), farmers’ markets, and contingency planning for any collapse of the western power grid. Since much of the Redoubt exports electricity, we would be well-positioned to reconstitute power locally or even regionally, in the event that an EMP or an X-Class solar flare takes down the grid.
Some Legislative Goals
The trend in politics in nearly all of the Redoubt counties will surely continue to consolidate conservative influence. I predict that this will be manifested in legislation regarding taxes, firearms ownership, firearms carry, home birth, home-based businesses, homeschooling, school choice, the Right To Work, state sovereignty, Constitutional currencies, Texas-style right-to-life laws, traditional school curricula, zoning, property rights, water rights, National Guard bureaus, de-federalization of national forests, medical privacy, voter identification, hunting and fishing rights, timber permits, wilderness access, livestock ownership, and grazing permits. All-in-all, “traditionalism” and “less government” will be our bywords.
I’m also praying for a genuine revival in the Redoubt region. We can only expect God’s blessings if we are in covenant with God. Please pray for the Redoubt. And, if you haven’t already done so: Move here and join us! – JWR