RICKERSON


DEAN That was a sentiment shared by


Colorado progressives, frustrated their party didn’t muscle through an assault weapons ban and other priori- ties of the left during the most recent legislative session. The increasing political homogene-


ity in states makes it harder for both parties to feel invested, said Thad Kousser, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego. The system works as a sort of escape


KOHL


A flag supporting former President Donald Trump for president in 2024 flies in the front yard of a house in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho.


part of Idaho, said most people didn’t pay much attention to state govern- ment until the pandemic. “Then it was like ‘Oh, they can shut


down any church and they can shut down my kids’ school?’” McCarter said. “If state-level government has that


much power, you’d better be sure it reflects your values, and not someone else’s values that are forced on you.” The pandemic helped push Aaron


and Carrie Friesen to Idaho. When the pandemic hit, they realized they could take their marketing firm remote from its base near Hilton Head, South Caro- lina.


The Friesens and their three chil-


dren settled on Boise. They loved the big skies, the mountains rearing up behind the town, the plethora of out- door activities — and Idaho’s pandem- ic policies. When the Friesens visited, almost


no one was wearing masks, which they took as a good sign — they were happy to mask up when sick, but found con- stant masking pointless.


When Melissa Wintrow rode her motorcycle across the U.S. in 1996, she was captivated by Idaho. “It was this grounded, common-


sense, reasonable group,” Wintrow said. “Of course they were conserva- tive, but they weren’t going to say openly racist and homophobic things.” Now a Democrat state senator,


Wintrow is aghast at how her adopted state has become more hardline. “The state has just moved to a more


extreme view,” she said. “It’s a certain group of people that is afraid their ‘way of life’ is diminishing in the world.” In Colorado, the reverse may be happening. Kathleen Rickerson, 35, who works


in human resources, lived in Minne- sota for seven years, but during the pandemic grew weary of the blue state’s vocal anti-masking, anti-vac- cine minority. Ready for a change, she moved to a


Denver suburb in December 2021. Cheered by the state’s strong stance


to protect abortion rights, she wants Colorado Democrats to go further.


valve, Kousser said, letting the major- ity in the state feel in power regardless of what’s happening in Washington, D.C. But the local minority party gets shortchanged. The Kohls felt shortchanged in Cal-


ifornia. They said they watched their native state deteriorate before their eyes, and no one was willing to fix the problems. Trash piled up with homeless encampments. Tax money seemed to go to immigrants who had entered the country illegally rather than U.S. citizens. The Kohls wanted to live in a red


state, but Jennifer said they’re not just party-line voters. A nurse, she hasn’t registered with either party and has a wide range of beliefs, including that abortion is sometimes necessary. On balance, they feel more com-


fortable in a more conservative place. “Here, the tax dollars naturally go


to the citizens, not the immigrants,” said Tim Kohl. “Most of the people we’ve met here are from California originally.”


Nicholas Riccardi is the Western political writer for the Associated Press.


AUGUST 2023 | NEWSMAX 17


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100