Horowitz: What North Dakota teaches us about our failure to drain the swamp in red states

You want to know why Trump voters feel so desperate with no one to turn to and nowhere to live in freedom? Look no further than North Dakota.

What if I had told you at this time last year that in a few months we would have to wear face burkas for the rest of our lives, including children who are not in danger of dying from or spreading the virus? You would have thought that even if Democrats conjured up such an illegal, immoral, and illogical idea, it would be immediately opposed by every red state. Think again. Welcome to North Dakota, which, thanks to leftist Gov. Doug Burgum, has a mask mandate just like in California, despite zero evidence that such unconstitutional edicts change the natural geographical and seasonal trajectory of the virus.

Despite zero evidence of efficacy, the alleged GOP governor once cried over people not wearing them in his state. He obviously would have no explanation for how 100% compliance has failed to work in Los Angeles:

The good news is that counties are starting to fight back for liberty and for our children. Already in November, the Tioga School Board in Williams County, North Dakota, voted unanimously not to mandate that schoolchildren wear masks.

However, after intense pressure from the state school superintendent, the school board capitulated. At the time, Kirsten Baesler, the superintendent of public instruction, threatened the school district with loss of funds. "Any time a person, including a school district or school board, disregards laws they do so with the understanding that consequences can occur," said Baesler on November 19.

And the rest is history.

So here we are in a county Trump carried 82%-15% in a state Trump carried by 34 points, and schoolchildren can't even learn without state-sanctioned child abuse. Baesler spoke about following the law, but what law? Mask mandates violate the essence of individual liberty. Plus, these edicts are all executive fiat, not law. The question is how this can persist in a state this conservative.

Every statewide elected official, including Gov. Doug Burgum, is a Republican. Republicans hold a 40-7 majority in the state Senate and an 80-14 majority in the state House – larger majorities than Democrats hold in California. How is it that Burgum was easily able to get re-nominated this past summer in the GOP primary? Republican primary voters went out and voted unanimously for Trump and then cast a ballot for a Republican who opposes what they believe in. Moreover, how is there no legislation to stop such craziness – at least against children who don't spread the virus – in the state legislature? Republicans have veto-proof majorities.

This problem exists in the reddest states in the country. In Wyoming, for example, Republicans will hold a 28-2 majority in the Senate and a 51-7 majority in the House over Democrats. Yet even in that state, there will be a mask mandate in many places. That is also the state that elected John Barrasso as senator and Liz Cheney as a representative. Both of them support impeaching Trump, even though Trump carried the state by 43 points. For comparison, Biden carried New York by 23 points. The fascism we are seeing in red states would be the equivalent of New York rejecting gay marriage. But that never happens in blue states.

The reason we have this problem is because we elect leftist Republicans during the primaries, even in the reddest states. Just yesterday, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma wrote a letter bizarrely apologizing only to black constituents for objecting to the certification of the election. Putting aside what race has to do with ballot harvesting and illegal changes in election law, these are the types of Republicans we have even in red states.

The point is we can complain about Democrats controlling the trifecta of government in D.C. from now until 2022, but we have nobody to blame for red-state fascism, especially on the issues determined at the state and local levels, other than ourselves. It's time for a Never RINO movement parallel to a Constitution Sanctuary movement, which will ensure liberty in red states. If all the people at the rally in D.C. on January 6 would organize in each state and county primary, we could peacefully redress the grievances of the forgotten American, at least in the more conservative states.