Is it true that there have been Republican politicians after World War II in Utah, Idaho and other places who took "progressive" political positions usually associated with the Democrats?
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Åsa Linderborg ger upp
På Aftonbladets startsida har denna artikel rubriken "Pedofilerna får mig att ge upp".
Åsa Linderborg brukar ju normalt sett vara "övergreppsförminskare", men inte ens hon kan förneka det som händer i en nyproducerad dokumentärserie om polisens "pedofiljägare". Lägg också märke till hur lagstiftningen i vissa fall skyddar pedofilerna! Inte undra på att Linderborg - som tydligen inte vill hamna på samma sida som Dumpen - funderar på att "ge upp".
Vi andra fortsätter kampen.
Operation Midnight Climax
Jay Dyer is a notorious controversialist in the conspiracist demimonde, but his take on the Epstein Files is surprisingly moderate (at least relatively speaking). Yes, there is a rather obvious connection to "Eyes Wide Shut". Also: MK-Ultra, the intelligence services, sexual blackmail and paedophilia.
In the last ten minutes or so, Dyer and his hosts go off the deep end with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, UFO disclosure speculations and such. But since I like to live dangerously on the web, I´m linking to this video anyway...
Wall of Ice
This could be click bait or trolling, but this content-creator at least seemingly claims that Elon Musk´s Starlink has discovered the infamous "Ice Wall" in the Antarctica. That is, Elon confirmed that the Earth is flat?!
Yeaaah...
No big deal?
America´s resident "Epstein-minimizer" Michael Tracey explains(?) why he isn´t scandalized by the Epstein Files. Hmmm...
>>>However much they now might want to try to deny it, amid this torrential downpour of extreme hindsight bias, the reality is that 10-15 years ago, it would've been perfectly reasonable for most people to meet with Jeffrey Epstein.
>>>Especially if it was in the context of being invited to some function featuring other interesting, noteworthy people. >>>Sure, they might have googled him in advance, and found he had pleaded guilty to some prostitution charges in the past. But that would've been widely seen as no big deal. >>>Prostitution? Really? Who cares? Even if it's not your cup of tea, it's not something to get overly exercised about. >>>The same year Epstein was convicted, Eliot Spitzer also had to resign as governor of New York after he got caught patronizing a high-end escort service. >>>As I recall, Spitzer was never banished from polite society, nor was anyone told they must refuse to ever associate with him again. In fact, he was not long thereafter given a show on CNN.To the contrary
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| Credit: The Fourth Way |
I have no idea what this is. Probably some kind of weird midnight conversation I had with the AI, probably Gemini. Might as well post it here, cuz why the heck not?
xxxx
1. The Problem of Evil: If God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good, why does evil exist in the world? This question challenges the idea of a benevolent God in the face of suffering.
To the contrary: But this doesn´t disprove God. It simply "proves" that he isn´t both all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good. Or that *you* don´t understand those attributes when applied to God. Or that there is karma and reincarnation...
2. Lack of Empirical Evidence: There is no scientific or empirical evidence to prove God's existence. Arguments for God's existence often rely on faith, personal experience, or philosophical reasoning, which are not universally accepted as proof.
To the contrary: Why can´t a personal experience count as "empirical evidence"? Paranormal phenomena, mystical experiences, and consciousness itself points to God. But sure, it may not be the God of the Bible...
3. The Argument from Inconsistent Revelations: Different religions offer conflicting accounts of God's nature, will, and actions. This inconsistency suggests that religious claims may be human inventions rather than divine truths.
To the contrary: Or they could be faulty interpretations of a very real phenomenon...
4. The Argument from Natural Explanations: Scientific explanations for the origins of the universe (e.g., the Big Bang theory), life (e.g., evolutionary biology), and natural phenomena often undermine the need for a creator God.
To the contrary: The hard problem of consciousness remains.
5. The Argument from Religious Diversity: The vast array of religions and belief systems suggests that religious belief is culturally and historically contingent rather than a universal truth.
To the contrary: Which (again) doesn´t disprove God, it simply shows that humans can´t fully grasp him yet.
6. The Argument from the Absence of Miracles: Despite claims of miracles throughout history, there is no verifiable, repeatable evidence of supernatural events that can be attributed to divine intervention.
To the contrary: Yes, there are. Near-death experiences, shared-death experiences, but above all consciousness itself.
7. The Problem of Divine Hiddenness: If God wants to be known, why is he so difficult to find? The lack of clear and consistent evidence of God's presence and actions raises questions about his intentions.
To the contrary: Is he difficult to find, though? Many people claim to have met Him...
8. The Argument from Psychological Explanations: Some argue that belief in God is a psychological phenomenon, a coping mechanism, or a product of human psychology rather than a reflection of objective reality.
To the contrary: Why have we evolved to have that particular coping mechanism?
9. The Argument from Lack of Coherence: Some philosophical arguments for God's existence, such as the ontological argument, are considered logically flawed or based on faulty premises.
To the contrary: Who cares? Philosophical arguments aren´t evidence either way.
10. The Argument from Lack of Necessity: The universe and life could exist without the need for a creator God. The concept of God is not logically necessary to explain the existence or nature of the universe.
To the contrary: Again, what about the hard problem of consciousness?
xxxx
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
How the West was won
I heard rumors about this before, but usually rolled my eyes at it. Until now. Ever heard of the Progressive Western Republicans, some of whom were Mormons?
Yes — very much so.
In fact, for several decades after World War II, parts of the American West (especially Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Montana) produced a distinctive kind of “Western Republican” who was economically progressive, pro-labor, and pro-government investment, even while being culturally conservative.
This now-forgotten tradition is one of the great buried chapters of U.S. political history.
Here are the clearest examples.
🏔 1. The Western Republican tradition
From the 1930s through the 1970s, many Republicans in the interior West believed:
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The federal government should build dams, roads, and power plants
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Labor unions were legitimate
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Social Security and Medicare were good
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Antitrust law should restrain corporations
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Public land should serve the people, not just private industry
This was not seen as “left-wing” — it was seen as practical Western development policy.
Western states were poor, rural, and underdeveloped, so Republicans there wanted federal investment.
🏔 2. Utah’s progressive Republicans
Wallace F. Bennett (Senator, 1951–1974)
A conservative Mormon, but:
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supported Social Security
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backed Medicare
-
supported federal water projects
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voted for civil rights laws
He opposed big business monopolies and supported labor protections.
🏔 3. Idaho’s progressive Republicans
Frank Church
Church was actually a Democrat, but Idaho’s Republicans were often not much different from him on economics.
The most important Idaho Republican was:
Len Jordan
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Pro-welfare
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Pro-public works
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Pro-federal land protection
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Backed Social Security and labor law
Idaho Republicans routinely supported:
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unions
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environmental protection
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anti-corporate regulation
🏔 4. The Pacific Northwest Republicans
The most famous was:
Mark Hatfield
A Republican who:
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opposed the Vietnam War
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supported civil rights
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supported food stamps
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supported public housing
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backed environmental protection
Today he would look like a Bernie Sanders–style Democrat on economics — but he was a lifelong Republican.
🏔 5. Washington State
Dan Evans
Republican Governor and Senator who:
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expanded higher education
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created environmental protections
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supported abortion rights
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supported welfare programs
Washington Republicans were often to the left of Southern Democrats.
🏔 6. Why this existed
The Western GOP came from:
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small farmers
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miners
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loggers
-
Mormons
-
rural communities
They feared:
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Wall Street
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Eastern corporations
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railroad monopolies
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oil and mining trusts
So they wanted:
A strong federal government to protect the people from corporate power.
That was Republicanism in the West.
🏔 7. Why it disappeared
This tradition died after:
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the Civil Rights Act
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the Southern realignment
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the rise of evangelical politics
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Reagan’s transformation of the GOP
The Republican Party became:
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Southern
-
evangelical
-
anti-government
-
anti-union
The Western progressive Republicans were pushed out or retired.
🏔 Final answer
Yes — for much of the 20th century, Republicans in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Montana were often economically progressive, pro-labor, pro-environment, and pro-welfare.
They were not Democrats in disguise.
They were a now-extinct species:
The Western Progressive Republican.
If you’d like, I can show how this tradition connects to Mormon political culture, conservationism, and even Teddy Roosevelt’s legacy — it’s a fascinating lineage.
What´s the connection to Mormon political culture?
The connection is deep, old, and very specifically Mormon — and it explains why Utah-Idaho Republicans once looked so “left-wing” on economics.
Let’s go step by step.
1. Mormonism was born anti-capitalist
Early Latter-day Saint society under Joseph Smith and Brigham Young was built on ideas that would today be called:
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communitarian
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cooperative
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anti-corporate
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anti-speculation
They practiced:
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the United Order (shared property)
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church-run industries
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cooperative stores
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price controls
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collective land settlement
The goal was:
prevent rich outsiders from exploiting Mormon farmers.
Wall Street capitalism was seen as spiritually dangerous.
2. Federal government as protector of the Saints
Mormons had been:
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expelled from Missouri
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driven from Illinois
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murdered and dispossessed
So Western Mormons developed a paradoxical view:
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They hated federal interference in religion
-
But they loved federal money and infrastructure
Because:
Federal dams, railways, irrigation, and land law protected them from Eastern corporate power.
This produced a political instinct:
Government should defend the community against monopoly.
3. Why Mormon Republicans supported welfare and labor
In Mormon theology:
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The church must care for the poor
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No one should be left without food, land, or work
Utah built:
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church welfare farms
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church-run job systems
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mutual aid societies
So when Republicans like Wallace F. Bennett supported:
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Social Security
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Medicare
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federal housing
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labor protections
they were not betraying Mormon values — they were translating them into federal policy.
4. Why they hated big corporations
Mormon settlers believed:
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mining companies
-
railroads
-
oil firms
were tools of Gentile exploitation.
They wanted:
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public land
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cheap power
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irrigation
-
antitrust law
That’s why Western Republicans backed:
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the TVA model
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dam building
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public power
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conservation
All of which look “left-wing” today.
5. Why this vanished
After WWII:
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Mormons became middle-class
-
Utah became suburban
-
the Cold War made “collective” sound dangerous
-
evangelicals took over the GOP
Mormon Republicans shifted from:
communitarian populism
to:
suburban capitalism.
The old Mormon Republicanism quietly died.
Final truth
The reason Utah and Idaho Republicans once sounded like New Deal Democrats is simple:
They were practicing Mormon communitarianism through Republican politics.
It was not secular socialism —
It was theocracy-flavored welfare capitalism.
And for about 40 years, it quietly shaped the American West.
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