To hear some politicians and commentators tell it, this will be a banner weekend for global tax policy. And you know what that means, dear reader: Hang onto your purses and wallets. The danger to personal tax bills may not be immediately apparent because the current discussion concerns corporate taxation. Finance ministers from the Group Read More…
Recent revelations that Chief Justice Mike McGrath and members of the judicial branch engaged in lobbying campaigns against particular legislation that they did not like is deeply concerning. Having members of the judicial branch taking positions on particular bills and using taxpayer resources to lobby against them is certainly not what the framers of our Read More…
Montana voters overwhelmingly rejected Steve Bullock’s recent attempt to represent us in the US Senate – he lost the race by over 60,000 votes. Based on the column he submitted to news publications across the state, it seems Mr. Bullock still has not gotten over his loss. Voters going to the polls last November had Read More…
The economy is roaring back as government lockdowns finally end, and employers are struggling to find workers. Enter Montana with a novel idea: telling the feds that it doesn’t want their extra payments for not working. On Tuesday Gov. Greg Gianforte said that by June 27 Montana will end its participation in the federal supplemental Read More…
Over the last year, the pandemic has opened our eyes to the reality that high-speed internet is essential for Montanans across the state. The pandemic also reminds us of the painful truth that Montana ranks 50th in the nation when it comes to this vital service. Since the pandemic began, we’ve learned that telehealth services Read More…
Mayor Ted Wheeler appears to have finally worked out that the residents of Portland, Oregon might be losing patience with endless rioting and vandalism. If only he were in a position to do something about it. Portland is a joke. The city has gone from being a byword for early-2010s hipsterism, replete with vegan bookstores Read More…
Is there anything that politics can’t ruin? The answer, it appears, is a resounding “no” as partisan conflict creeps into all areas of American life. Our political affiliations, researchers say, obstruct friendships, influence our purchases, affect the positions we take on seemingly apolitical matters, and limit our job choices. As a result, many people are Read More…
Washington’s public works department should have built an emergency system of drainage ditches, culverts and tunnels to divert into the Potomac River the torrents of praise, approval and adoration the press poured down on President Joe Biden on Inauguration Day. At one point in the early evening, citizens living in low-lying portions of the city Read More…
The idea that materialistic values can obstruct our path to happiness dates back hundreds of years. The Buddha encouraged a balance between asceticism and pleasure; early Christian monasticism preached spiritual transformation through simple living; philosopher Lao Tzu warned that if you chase after money, “your heart will never unclench.” Centuries later, the question of Read More…
Montana turned deep red in 2020, as Republican candidates swept every statewide office on the November ballot and won the governor’s office for the first time in 16 years. Celebration among Montana Republicans has been tempered only by the realization that President Donald Trump lost his bid to remain in the White House – a Read More…
Here’s something you probably won’t hear from either the left or the right: West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is a much more important and influential Democrat than New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or “AOC” for marketing purposes). Just this week, Mr. Manchin did something far more consequential than anything AOC has done in her entire Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — This state is now red. Not the light red it used to be; not a red-and-blue checkerboard coaxing the eyes to see purple. Just a deep red. Every statewide race in Montana went Republican this week, with record voter turnout: president, Senate, House, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor. And both Read More…
“The Big Sky Buy-off.” That’s how they coined the effort by Democrats to get former Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) out of the Senate and into the post as US Ambassador to China. They had to buy-off Baucus, so the Democrats could have a head start on the 2014 US Senate race. Now, there are fresh allegations Read More…
Last Thursday night former Vice President Joe Biden created a huge problem for himself. He made an astounding mistake for a career politician — he accidentally told the truth. Most will recall this critical moment in the presidential debate: President Trump: Would you close down the oil industry? Biden: I would transition from the oil industry, yes. Read More…
Montana’s choice for attorney general is a relatively easy decision. There is only one candidate, Austin Knudsen, who will protect your constitutional rights, respect law and order along with providing local law enforcement the means necessary to end the drug problems in our communities. Austin also brings a wide range of experience to the office Read More…
Attempting to assuage concerns that his candidacy for president is a stalking horse for far-left policies, Joe Biden recently reminded reporters in Wisconsin that he “beat the socialist” in the Democratic primary. Indeed, Biden vanquished Bernie Sanders as a candidate; but the Vermont senator can take pride in the fact that his policy agenda has all-but-conquered key components Read More…
Good ideas may go into hibernation but they never die. Veteran Public Policy Observer Mike Jacobs recently brought back the idea of changing the North Dakota Legislature from its present biennial schedule to annual meetings. In a supporting editorial, the Grand Forks Herald noted that the demands of the pandemic and the volatility of Read More…
A slew of political books will be hitting bookshelves between now and Election Day, covering everything on the spectrum from communist propaganda to Trump hagiography. Many of those books, such as Sean Hannity’s “Live Free or Die,” will make millions of dollars for their authors and publishers. Some have the potential to influence the election, Read More…
Denial is not just a river in Egypt, as the ancient joke goes. It’s the Democratic/media/left’s comprehensive response to the nationwide riots that rage on, seven weeks after the funeral of police-brutality victim George Floyd. His memory has been kidnapped by the most violent insurrectionists America has seen since 1968. “Do you disavow the violence Read More…
“Never Trump” is a house divided. Some of the conservatives and former Republicans who oppose President Donald Trump have decided that it’s not enough for his tenure in office to end. All officials who “enabled” him must be ousted, “Trumpism” must be repudiated, and today’s Republican Party must be burned to the ground. Others say that while Trump Read More…
Sometimes, the facts of a case have an emotional appeal in addition to a strong constitutional basis. Espinoza v. Montana certainly qualifies. Kendra Espinoza, a hard-working (three jobs) and determined single mom, decided to take her two daughters out of the local public schools and enroll them in Stillwater Christian School in Kalispell, Montana. She explained that she “wanted Read More…
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is not the revolutionary that conservative activists want him to be. He moves slower than they want, sides with liberals more than they want, and trims his sails in ways they find maddening. But he is still deeply and unmistakably conservative, pulling the law to the right — at his Read More…
In the last 20 years, Senate candidates have tended to win or lose in tandem with the presidential candidates of their party. For the Republicans trying to hold their control of the Senate in 2020, that may be a mixed blessing. President Trump — whether he wins or loses his own re-election bid — will have a Read More…
‘The people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety.’ Pierre, South Dakota — The coronavirus crisis hasn’t been kind to the reputations of many governors. New York’s Andrew Cuomo held effective news conferences that at first burnished his image, but he’s now ducking responsibility for sending virus patients back into nursing homes where the disease promptly Read More…
Local control is returning to our school districts! During these unprecedented times, as the state superintendent, I have made strong recommendations to the governor to honor local control and flexibility for our schools. The governor’s new directive for a phased reopening of our state includes that education decisions should be made by local school trustees Read More…
According to The New York Times coronavirus report, as of Sunday, April 19, 2:48 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, there were 35,676 COVID-19 deaths in the United States. Of those deaths, 18,690 were in the New York metropolitan area. (The New York metropolitan area is generally regarded as consisting of the five boroughs of New York Read More…
It was no secret that Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana has an oversized ego. He’s the guy who promised he was going to “take our democracy back” when he announced his disastrous presidential bid in May. Instead, he took a shellacking and exited the Democratic nomination battle with the same “less than 1%” support in Read More…
Mar. 9 marked the filing deadline for public office in Montana. Three seats are up for reelection on the Republican-dominated Public Service Commission. The commission sets customer rates and approves new power, water and legacy telecommunications projects. In southeast Montana, two Republicans are challenging Commissioner Tony O’Donnell’s incumbency. State representative Daniel Zolnikov and former PSC Read More…
Greg Gianforte just made a strong decision in selecting Kristen Juras as his lieutenant governor for Montana. Juras is a fourth-generation Montana native. She is a strong conservative who supports traditional family values, private property ownership, preserving Second Amendment rights, limited government, lower taxes, individual freedom and free enterprise economics. She is a perfect complement Read More…
The Justice Department announced Friday that it is closing its investigation of Andrew McCabe, the FBI’s former deputy director, over his false statements to investigators probing an unauthorized leak that McCabe had orchestrated. McCabe was fired in March 2018, shortly after a blistering Justice Department inspector general (IG) report concluded that he repeatedly and blatantly lied — or, as Read More…
It’s getting embarrassing at this point. The Left’s darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is supposed to be ready to redesign the world with her Green New Deal, can’t stop putting her foot in her mouth and betraying her own ignorance. The latest own-goals from the New York Democrat and proud member of the Democratic Socialists Read More…
On Dec. 10, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) argued against confirming Lawrence VanDyke to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Doing so, he said, would depart from “bedrock principles that once guided the exercise of the Senate’s constitutional duty to advise and consent” on the president’s nominations. Blumenthal neglected to mention some important information that puts Read More…
The case against Michael Bloomberg’s presidential run seems strong. He’s a political chameleon, who went from Democrat to Republican (in order to find a place on the New York City ballot in 2001) to Independent to Democrat (again). He spent a lot of money in politics. Some of it helping Republicans, such as Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Read More…
For years Montana values have been under attack by liberal Democratic governors in Helena. They impose their radical agendas on the state, and Montana becomes less and less the state we all know and love. In November 2020, we need to put a stop to this. We need to elect strong conservatives up and down Read More…
In a vacuum, the case to impeach President Trump is straightforward. He used presidential powers for his private, political gain. If further investigation corroborates the facts already known, then Trump committed an obvious abuse of power that many members of Congress will view as impeachable — and perhaps many more would if the party labels Read More…
For four terms I served at the Montana Legislature representing HD 36. One thing has become obvious; conservative legislation can be vetoed by a liberal governor. For eight years there has been conservative legislation passed by the House and Senate, but the measures were dead on arrival at the governor’s desk. In 2020 we are Read More…
All panics begin with a rational fear that quickly turns dangerously irrational. A threat is identified. The danger posed by the threat is amplified by speculation. Worst case scenarios are obsessed about, and action is demanded. Discussion of unseen consequences are discouraged. Skepticism of the threat is met with suspicion or anger. The current panic Read More…
For four terms I served at the Legislature and one thing has become obvious: liberal governors veto conservative legislation. For eight years conservative legislation has passed the House and Senate but are dead on arrival at the governor’s desk. In 2020 we have the best opportunity in 16 years to take back the Governor’s Read More…
Where is Montana Attorney General Tim Fox these days? I have attempted to contact his office three times in the past month regarding a complaint I filed against a Montana Highway Patrol trooper back in July, but Fox’s silence has been deafening. After forwarding my complaint up the MHP chain of command without resolution, Read More…
Last week, freshman Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortz (a.k.a. AOC) decided to jump into the issue of New York City taxi drivers and the financial problems they’ve been facing in the era of the gig economy. Even though she’s a federal elected official, I don’t knock her for entering the debate since many of her constituents are Read More…