Like
Trump, the Patriot Movement’s surge is due partly to fear and the perceived
indifference of political leaders to places that didn’t recover from the 2008
crash.
Joseph Rice’s
manner is a long way from militia stereotypes. The Patriot Movement leader does
not present as a crazed gun nut, nor as a blowhard white supremacist. He’s
genial, folksy, and matter-of-fact in laying out his views. But talk to him for
long enough, and time and again the Patriot Movement leader returns to what
really drives him: land.
Rice is running
for Josephine county commissioner in south-west Oregon, and believes that
the federal government’s current role in land management is illegitimate and
even tyrannical
Motion to
dismiss charges against Oregon standoff leader call him a peaceful protester
sharing constitutional views with the late supreme court justice
His campaign is
well-advertised around the county and appears well-organised. His growing
experience in organising Patriot groups and community watch organisations has
polished his skills in retail politics. He’s clearly done a lot of work to make
himself politically palatable to conservative rural voters.
He has positions
on education (kids should finish high school), legalised marijuana (it presents
an economic opportunity) and Donald Trump (“people are tired of career
politicians, and they know the country’s in trouble”).
But county
supremacy is what really drives him…………
Full
text at: The
rise of militias: Patriot candidates are now getting elected in Oregon | US
news | The Guardian
