|
Dear Group, There is a recurring cancer in our midst. The signs of its recurrence have been present but noticed by only a few. Now the cancer has a Representative in the Washington State House of Representatives. His name is Matt Shea. At least some people of both the major political parties and some Christian leaders are starting to pay attention. Last evening I attended a presentation by “Senator” John Smith to the Republicans of Spokane Valley. (See Monday’s post, Local Republican Soul Searching, for details on Mr. Smith’s political career.). Mr. Smith, who was brought up in the culture of Christian Identity, gave a chilling account of the worldview of groups like the Marble Fellowship in northern Stevens County, a frequent lecture stop of Matt Shea: “the supremacy of the white race, the evil of the Jews, and an anti-govenment belief that they were ordained by God to control the church and the state.” He detailed tactics. Start at the level of local government. Seek folks with whom you find some common ground, then draw them in. You don’t want eastern Washington to become like Seattle? Join us. We’ll form the “State of Liberty,” where “we” will be in the majority. Mr. Smith traced links to the neo-nazi Aryan Nations, founded in Hayden Lake, ID in the 1970s, the Redoubter movement, the Bundys and the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. (All three of the latter have abundant connections with Matt Shea.) The audience of about thirty people, including Leonard Christian [1] and a brief appearance of Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, seemed appropriately concerned by Mr. Smith’s presentation. Mr. Smith never directly brought up Matt Shea, but in the question and answer period it was clear that everyone had Shea in mind. Earlier in the week one of my readers wrote, “I’ve had several very productive conversations with some of my rabid Trump/CMR supporting friends regarding Matt Shea. I approach them describing my curiosity to learn how they are reacting to all the news swirling around Shea. So far, none of them have really known much about it. That’s because Shea is not being covered on Fox News, which is their primary source of information about current events. But, it has opened up the door for me to share some of these articles and so far I am 100% in hearing them express shock, disgust, and in a couple cases a desire for him to be impeached, followed by pledges that they will never vote for him again.” This is a problem. If people who would be aghast at Shea’s revolting wing nut activities don’t hear of them, he will sail back into office on the November 2020 election. All of us need to talk with our neighbors in the way my reader did. There has been some coverage of Shea in the Spokesman, but not nearly enough. Daniel Walters of The Inlander has done better. I encourage you to click and read Mr. Walters’ May 7 article, Rep. Shea’s secret group discussed sending severed wolf tail and testicles to environmental activist, as well as Jason Williams’ article in The Guardian, Exposed: the Republican who stokes fears of civil war and fuels conspiracy theories. Share the articles, especially with Republican friends, Click on the links in the articles. Go down this disgusting rabbit hole, look around, and learn enough about it to talk with people. The Guardian has worldwide distribution. Eastern Washingtonians (and North Idahoans) do not want this reputation, especially having partially excised the earlier cancer of the Aryan Nations. The difference this time is the movement has a political foothold. One should not expect the entire worldview of the Christian Identity crowd to be on display at every event. Tomorrow evening you could go listen for yourself at the Liberty State Gala from 6:30 to 8:30PM at the Centerplace Regional Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Place, Spokane Valley. Click here for the advertisement. Here’s the lineup: “Headlining the event will be 4th Legislative District Representative Matt Shea. Joining Matt on stage will be Mike Fagan and Tim Benn from the ACN radio show, The Right Spokane Perspective; Republic, WA Chief of Police & author, Loren Culp; and Lady Liberty”. (ACN stands for the American Christian Network, a broadcast network exclusive to the Inland Northwest and Shea’s favorite medium, based on where he spends a lot of his campaign money.) It should be an interesting evening. Others are planning to attend and ask exactly who is writing the constitution for this new state and what it contains. Listen carefully and share. Keep to the high ground, Jerry [1] Leonard Christian, like Mr. Smith, was appointed to the Washington legislative but was beaten in the following election. In Mr. Christian’s case he was beaten in the Primary for LD4 by not one but TWO Republican challengers for the seat now occupied by McCaslin Junior. Mr Christian was also a failed candidate for Spokane County Assessor last fall. Neither Mr. Christian nor Mr. Smith, as far as I can tell, ever been elected to public office. |