MINOT, N.D. — Articles giving you tips on how to handle political discussions with your family have become a holiday season cliche in the news media. The proverbial “crazy uncle” has become a stock character in these annual tip-sheets, and the advice on offer can usually be summed up with “don’t bother.” Except, we do…
Months Into the Pandemic, Do Our Mayors and Governors Still Need Emergency Powers?
MINOT, N.D. — Earlier this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic descended on us, various executive branch leaders like mayors and governors began to invoke executive powers so that they could make policy to deal with what was, at the time, an emergent situation. The thing about emergency powers is that they’re supposed to be for…
There’s Personal Responsibility, and Then There’s Obstinance
MINOT, N.D. — What first attracted me, as a young man, to a generally conservative ideology was the notion of personal responsibility. The idea that overweening, busybody government wasn’t necessary because we are pretty damn good at taking care of ourselves and our communities when left to our own devices. I still believe this to…
How Can Journalists and Academics Serve the Public if the Public Doesn’t Trust Them?
MINOT, N.D. — Academia. Entertainment, including the various sports leagues. The news media. These are America’s dominant cultural institutions. They’re also not terribly welcoming places when it comes to right-of-center thinking. More than unwelcoming, they’re often actively hostile. Earlier this year a high-profile football coach almost lost his job because he wore a conservative T-shirt. The newsroom…
Academic Study With North Dakota Connection Concludes That Republicans Promote Violence and Reject Democratic Norms
MINOT, N.D. — I wish it were less true, but the reality of politics is that most people are fine with authoritarianism as long as it’s the right kind of authoritarianism. I was thinking about that truth while reading this Washington Post article about a study from an international team of academics (including North Dakota State University…
Turns Out Republicans Have Little to Fear From Early Voting
MINOT, N.D. — It’s a truism in politics that high voter turnout is bad for Republicans and good for Democrats. Because so many believe that truism is, well, true, Democrats expend endless resources hurling (often exaggerated or flat-out inaccurate) accusations of voter suppression at Republicans. Many Republicans also believe it, feeling obligated to make voting…
Tu Quoque, the Appeals to Hypocrisy
MINOT, N.D. — American politics have become a race to the bottom. It doesn’t matter who you blame for it — Donald Trump or Nancy Pelosi, Rush Limbaugh or Rachel Maddow — it’s not going to end well for us unless we pump the breaks. Last week, as it became clear that Joe Biden had…
Ex-Heitkamp Staffer Appears to Take Credit for Twitter Suspension of Conservative Fargo Commentator
MINOT, N.D. — Conservative television commentator Chris Berg was suspended from Twitter over the weekend. I wrote about it on Sunday. As I write this, at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9, Berg’s account remains suspended. I spoke with Berg, and he says he’s still received no specifics from Twitter as to why he was suspended,…
Heitkamp Should Be in Biden’s Cabinet, but Identity Politics May Keep Her Out
MINOT, N.D. — Heidi Heitkamp’s post-Senate career has been incongruous with the realities of her political accomplishments. For the last two years, she’s been heralded, by national Democrats and the national news media, as an expert on rural Americans and their political issues. A sort of rube whisperer for the progressives, if you will. This…
Stop Making Excuses for the Failures of the Democratic-NPL
MINOT, N.D. — Tuesday brought news of yet another ballot drubbing for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. Democrats lost every single statewide race in a landslide Nov. 3 and saw their legislative minorities shrink down to levels not even NDGOP campaign operatives thought were possible. Democrats have seven seats in the Senate. That’s barely enough to field…