Law & Government
Jan 15, 2012
What was Tom Emmer thinking when he applied for a faculty position at Hamline University? Surely he knows that our campus intelligentsia generally view conservatives like him as knuckle-dragging Neanderthals.
At many campuses, Emmer might have made it to the second round of interviews if he had been a disabled "person of color" or confused about his sexuality. But even then he probably couldn't have overcome the cardinal rule of campus "diversity" -- diversity of political views will not be tolerated.
Given his rejection by Hamline (after he thought he had a job), Emmer might be pleased to know that some aspiring conservative faculty members who are victims of political discrimination are gaining new traction through the courts.
Dec 18, 2011
Democrats' flagship campaign theme for Nov. 2012 has emerged in full force in recent weeks.
It's this: Behind all our nation's economic problems—from abysmal unemployment numbers to sky-high deficits—lurks a greedy businessman.
Nov 11, 2011
As you may recall, another Texas governor not too long ago – someone who actually did wind up in the White House – also was known to occasionally commit syntactical violence when speaking in front of big crowds with cameras, among other situations and places.
Nov 4, 2011
After years of threatening to sue Minnesota over the Next Generation Energy Act of 2007, the state of North Dakota finally filed suit in federal court.
Oct 24, 2011
Herman Cain recently said he was not terribly familiar with neoconservatism. For a serious presidential candidate, this frankly was not impressive. Then, again, one might fairly grant that the term has been conceived in different ways over the last nearly five decades, with at least one definition used more as an indictment than a description. One might also grant that only folks who type for a living – not successful captains of industry – generally have the time to keep track and decipher such matters.
Oct 20, 2011
Earlier this week, Rep. Ryan Winkler wrote in the Star Tribune in favor of the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board’s recent decision to broaden disclosure requirements on nonprofits that work to support or oppose ballot questions. My column last week made the general case for how disclosure of individual names and contributions can infringe on First Amendment rights to speech, association, and privacy of belief. I noted the real risk of harassment when individuals speak out on various issues. In a follow-up blog, I noted how it seems to be conservatives that are the most likely to be harassed these days, whether the issue is gay marriage, right-to-work, affirmative action or something else.
Due to Left’s intolerance, the Right leads litigation against burdensome campaign finance disclosure
Oct 12, 2011
Yesterday (Oct. 11), the Star Tribune published my column explaining how disclosure of contributions made to support or oppose ballot questions can infringe upon First Amendment rights of speech, association and privacy of belief.
Oct 10, 2011
An Oct. 6 editorial praised the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board's recent opinion requiring the disclosure of the source of certain donations to support or defeat ballot questions ("Voters should know amendment donors").
The editorial, unfortunately, failed to acknowledge the difficult and important issue at stake, focusing entirely on the virtue of transparency without ever mentioning how transparency can conflict with First Amendment speech, association and privacy-of-belief rights.
Aug 2, 2011
On the day Gov. Mark Dayton called the special session to end Minnesota’s historic government shutdown, I decided to head over to the Capitol to get a better sense of how the final deal had come together. While there, I had the pleasure of engaging in a little banter with Rep. John Benson, a DFLer from Minnetonka who I knew in 1990 as Mr. Benson, my tenth grade AP American History teacher. With a smirk, he usually introduces me as one of his students that went to the dark side—i.e., the conservative side.
Jul 31, 2011
Minnesotans have just emerged from an unprecedented state government shutdown. We're so preoccupied with the battle we've endured that we may not be paying much attention to the knock-down-drag-out next door in Wisconsin.
