MINOT, N.D. — We live in a political environment where it seems everyone is trying to undermine the public’s trust in our election laws. From the right are baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. From the left are claims, such as the one made by Democratic secretary of state candidate Jeffrey Powell , that when…
What would a ‘red flag law’ gun rights proponents could support look like?
MINOT, N.D. — During the 2019 legislative session, state Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, a Democrat from Fargo, introduced an iteration of the “red flag law” that’s much in the news of late after the horrific slaughter in Uvalde, Texas. Despite bipartisan sponsorship, the bill didn’t get far. It died early in the session on a 17-76…
Rep. Kelly Armstrong talks gun rights and gun control, and an update on a hydrogen project
MINOT, N.D. — “We can’t get enough school counselors.” That’s what Congressman Kelly Armstrong had to say on this episode of Plain Talk. We’ve all been talking about how we can make our school after in the wake of another horrific tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, and much of that has been focused on proposals that…
A fundamental misunderstanding of gun politics in America
MINOT, N.D. — With another horrific school shooting in the headlines, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead (a publication owned by my employer) leaned into the coverage , plastering the front page of their June 2 print edition with the grades North Dakota’s elected officials have received from the National Rifle Association. It left me disappointed. Not because this…
Don’t feed the trolls, Drew
MINOT, N.D. — Our attorney general, Drew Wrigley, got into a Twitter tussle with some random troll after said troll disparaged one of his children. Wrigley had posted about his daughter, Quinn, getting an internship in Sen. John Hoeven’s office. Continue reading…
Being conservative isn’t just saying no to everything
MINOT, N.D. — What does it mean to be a conservative? That’s an important question right now. Trumpism has swept through the Republican Party, upending, for good and bad, many of the traditional notions we’ve had about conservatism. Here in North Dakota, a divide in the NDGOP, which is currently playing itself out in primary…
Plain Talk: Let’s talk about big money in politics
MINOT, N.D. — Gov. Doug Burgum is spending big to influence the North Dakota Republican Party’s legislative primaries. The people on the pointy end of that stick, namely the Bastiat Caucus wing of Trumpy populist candidates, don’t like that so much, and they’ve even come up with some dubious legal arguments claiming it may be…
Former staffer for Gov. Burgum texts mocking messages to Bastiat legislative candidate
MINOT, N.D. — The Republican legislative primaries here in North Dakota are not just a heated competition between warring philosophies — traditional conservative Republicans versus a new breed of Trumpy culture warrior populists loosely affiliated with the Bastiat Caucus in the Legislature — but they’ve gotten deeply personal as well. Ryan Eckroth is a part…
If we want to get serious about gun violence, both Republicans and Democrats will have to change
MINOT, N.D. — The problem with the debate over gun violence, and gun control, is that it’s a culture war issue. The National Rifle Association bears some blame for this. That group didn’t choose to make itself a target of crusading progressive activists, but they’ve certainly leaned into the role, allowing itself to become a…
No, I don’t have a legislative candidate bugged
MINOT, N.D. — Last week I reported that state Sen. Jason Heitkamp, a Republican from District 26, seemed to be on track to settle a criminal theft charge in Bottineau County. His defense attorney told me Heitkamp has cut a $1,500 check to the alleged victim in the case for the property at issue, and that he…