Every few years, Congress discusses some form of spending limits. Usually, these go nowhere or are ignored or repealed a couple of years or so after passage. There is a similar rule for federal tax revenues. Unlike the spending rule, the revenue rule is always in effect. Regardless of what Congress and the president may Read More…
Debanking is a growing concern for conservatives nationwide, and Montana is no exception. Financial institutions have been weaponized to silence conservatives by cutting off essential banking services. Rather than addressing this injustice, the Biden administration allowed it to continue unchecked. While President Trump recognized the importance of preventing banks from targeting conservatives, Montana’s Senate Bill Read More…
Today we saw oral arguments in the lawfare case against Attorney General Knudsen. Sadly, this is nothing new. We’ve seen this movie before. The left uses “lawfare” to silence and target political opponents, manipulating the legal system for partisan gain. This isn’t just happening at the national level, as we’ve witnessed in the ongoing lawfare Read More…
Everyone has seen the stories. A homeowner goes on vacation only to return and find strangers in their bed and half their furnishings sold. Or a widow vacates a family home, puts her house on the market and then finds out someone moved in and changed the locks while the house was unoccupied. Or a Read More…
“Electric cars aren’t pollution-free; they have to get their energy from somewhere.” – Alexandra Paul You’d have to have been asleep in a cocoon for the last decade to escape the doom and gloom heaped upon our energy dependent society by climateers and green energy advocates. The jury is in and then the jury is Read More…
As a veteran public school educator, I’ve learned a thing or two over my 21 years in the classroom, from classroom management techniques to technology and learning during the COVID pandemic. But one of the most shocking discoveries was learning how the teachers’ union works to undermine my conservative values. In dozens of Idaho school Read More…
Last week, President Trump appeared before a joint session of Congress to lay out a list of policy priorities his administration will pursue over the next three and a half years – one of which is to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). The slogan has become a favorite of moms and dads who are skeptical Read More…
With the federal government facing a debt of $36 trillion and realizing that 49 out of 50 states have to balance their budgets, Americans are losing patience with the ability of Congress to enact meaningful fiscal discipline. This is why resolutions have been introduced in Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming this year calling for a Convention of the Read More…
Prospects for a federal wealth tax could be nil in the Trump era, but states – specifically blue states – may be tempted to take up that cause, demonstrating the devastating effect that policy would have on citizens, businesses and the economy. Massachusetts went first, adopting a “millionaire tax” in 2022 that imposes a 4 Read More…
The United States is falling behind in energy and infrastructure development, and the culprit is our own federal bureaucracy. This can change if Congress implements significant permitting reform, repeals decades of senseless and duplicative regulations, and restores regulatory order by returning power to the states as our founding fathers intended. While states like Texas can Read More…
Housing affordability is a real concern, but Washington lawmakers are proposing a deeply flawed solution: rent control. While Argentina reaps the benefits of repealing its disastrous rent control law, Washington legislators are hurling headlong down the path of ruinous third-world housing policy. House Bill 1217 would limit rent increases to 7% per year, prohibit any increases during a Read More…
Once a relatively popular, if ineffective, public official, Marc Racicot has reappeared on Montana’s political scene after a near 20-year absence. But rather than returning as a statesman, he comes back as a shameless shill of a liberal judiciary that has routinely overstepped its authority. Once trusted with Montana’s highest office, Racicot’s transition from public Read More…
I’m a busy parent. My wife and I juggle the schedule for four kids (three in the Noblesville, Indiana, school system) on top of work, church and fun activities when we can squeeze them in. And like many Hoosier parents, when it comes down to learning about school board candidates, we often find ourselves cramming Read More…
The mostly friendly state battle for tax competition and economic competitiveness is alive and well in our region. Except for some states on the left coast (looking at you Washington), prioritizing additional tax relief is front and center in state capitals across the country. This includes major income tax reduction proposals in Idaho and Montana. Read More…
“The more absolute the hush, the more shocking the thunderclap. Our masters have not heard the people’s voice for generations, and it is much, much louder than they can remember.” – Alan Moore The term “silent majority” has been used for centuries, referring to an unspecified large group of people or group who do not Read More…
While there has been no shortage of attention on many of the dubious last-minute actions by the Biden administration, the latest shoe to drop might just take the cake. Last week, a bombshell report from The Information revealed that Lina Khan, the leftist ideologue Biden installed as the chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte’s bold tax cut proposals represent a significant step toward financial relief and long-term economic growth for Montanans. By reducing income tax rates and implementing a homestead rate cut, the governor’s plan will put more money back into the pockets of hardworking families and small business owners, fostering prosperity across the state. Since Read More…
A new report reveals a disturbing trend of self-censorship on our nation’s college campuses, particularly among conservative faculty. While many of our universities have long been viewed as liberal echo chambers, the latest annual report from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) reveals just how one-sided the classroom debate has become. The report Read More…
As the Attorney General of Montana, it is my duty to protect the safety of all Montanans, and protecting our kids is my top priority. Among the biggest threats to our kids today is China. From fentanyl, to TikTok to illicit vapor products, make no mistake China is targeting our kids. China is the primary Read More…
Typically, courts provide clarity. They do not exist to make or enforce law but rather interpret what the law says. Nothing more, nothing less. But a week of tumultuous rulings in Montana has, in many ways, upended the state’s legislative authority and made an overall mess of the policy-making process. It’s an unwanted Christmas gift Read More…
Montana, earning the chance to serve you as your next U.S. senator is truly the greatest honor of my life. To those who voted for me, thank you. To those who did not, I’m ready to serve you, too. In the military, I took an oath to serve all Americans, and on Jan. 3, I’ll Read More…
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has let some much-needed sunlight into the opaque corridors of federal bureaucracy. Thanks to this landmark 1967 legislation, any person or organization has the right to request access to federal records and receive a response within 20 business days. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation (TPAF) had a banner year Read More…
For a nation that has long hallowed freedom of speech, we Americans spend an awful lot of time telling each other to “shut up.” This preoccupation isn’t limited to family fights, angry neighbors, or competing protestors. Governments – federal, state and local – don’t like being criticized. Neither do major corporations. Neither like seeing their Read More…
The 2024 presidential election is over and the American people spoke loud and clear about who they wanted to lead the country. With a 312-to-226 victory in the electoral college and a 2.6 million vote advantage in the popular vote, a rare but illustrative feat, former and soon-to-be President Donald J. Trump enters the White Read More…
The United States Postal Service is in dire fiscal straits. America’s mail carrier recently announced that it lost $9.5 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2024, up from $6.5 billion in FY 2023. Things clearly aren’t looking good for any organization that needs “aggressive actions” to keep 10-year losses limited to “only” $70 billion instead of Read More…
By the looks of it, the socialist movement in the United States has petered out after the rapid rise of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2016 Democratic presidential contest. While it’s true that Sanders ran and nearly won again in 2020, many political pundits have since written off the American socialist movement as Read More…
In recent opinion pieces, Evan Barrett, a longtime Democratic consultant, and Mike Jopek, a former Democratic legislator, have repeatedly provided their “simple solution” to our high property taxes in Montana: just lower the residential property tax rate to 0.76%. If it truly was that simple, both Democrat and Republican legislators would have already done it. Read More…
Back in the 1980s, the last time that Congress was able to agree on changes to Social Security, U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) coined a pivotal axiom about consensus building: You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own set of facts. That principle has long since been abandoned in the discussion Read More…
Working for the Bureau of Land Management as an initial attack firefighter during my summers in college, you would learn pretty fast how to properly move the hose to quickly fight the flame. During my last summer, our engine had a firefighter on our crew whose only experience was digging lines and not moving water. Read More…
Idaho is one of 17 states that requires a fiscal impact statement for a proposed ballot measure. While this is an important transparency tool to help provide voters with details on the potential fiscal cost of citizen initiatives, the debate surrounding the recently defeated Proposition 1 demonstrates the need for reforms to this process. Here Read More…
Austin Knudsen has been a steadfast defender of Montana’s sovereignty against federal overreach, and that’s why I fully support his reelection as Attorney General. Since taking office, he has sued the Biden-Harris administration more than 55 times, standing up for Montanans on critical issues like border security, energy independence, gun rights, and the fight against Read More…
As the demand for wireless services continues to grow, many consumers may not realize that they are facing significant financial burdens due to the taxes and fees imposed on these services. Wireless taxes can take various forms, including privilege taxes, license fees, and user taxes, and they are often added to your monthly wireless bill. Read More…
Montana’s Commission on Practice is the regulatory body of the legal profession here, tasked by the State Supreme Court with overseeing the ethical and professional conduct of attorneys’ practice of law in the state. Its enforcement arm is the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC), which investigates and decides whether to prosecute complaints of unethical conduct Read More…
The brave Americans who registered voters in the Jim Crow South during the Civil Rights Era endured violence, in some cases even death. Since then, maximizing voter participation has been widely considered a public good worthy of charity status. But the IRS has clear rules prohibiting charities that register voters from favoring political parties or Read More…
When debating legislation, legislators are always looking for unintended consequences. If you are pro-life or pro-choice, CI 128 must be a major concern. Hidden in the text of the initiative is language that gives blanket immunity to abortion providers for malpractice, incompetence or outright criminal behavior. In the complete text of CI 128 it says, Read More…
The U.S. Supreme Court recently wrapped up its 2023-2024 term and will be in recess until October 2024. During this term, the Court heard a number of cases that will have a significant impact on small businesses and the Main Street economy. NFIB filed amicus briefs in 12 of the cases presented. Of those, five Read More…
The Montana Supreme Court and several district court judges have become completely unmoored from the plain text of the Montana Constitution and the separation of powers among our three branches of government. Here’s a quick recap of just some of their most egregious recent actions: The Supreme Court overturned four common sense election integrity laws Read More…
There is no denying that homelessness is a complex issue. There are compounding factors that can lead to a person finding themselves on the streets – making it difficult for them to get back on their feet. Because of this complexity, there is no single solution for homelessness. Still, there are many ways our communities Read More…
What would you most like to see Mississippi’s elected lawmakers do during the current legislative session? Action to eliminate the reams of red tape holding our state back, maybe? Further tax cuts, perhaps? With so many other southern states moving ahead with school choice, you might wish that our lawmakers would do something similar. I Read More…
“Equal justice under law” is such a foundational principle in our constitutional republic that the phrase is carved in stone above the entrance to the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, here in Montana, it appears that justice is not applied equally. In fact, at the Montana Supreme Court, there are two Read More…