Reject the elites

Minnesotans deserve better than what they have offered.

Trust, accountability, and common sense are three foundational characteristics of a society that are also good measures of that society’s health and prosperity. In my recent columns, I highlighted these traits in our state and gauged their presence — or lack thereof — to how Minnesota is doing in terms of economics, education, crime, and overall well-being. Lately, we have been failing — or have been failed — by our leaders in St. Paul. But we are on the verge of a significant change.  

If the November election proved anything, it was that voters are done with politicians and the mainstream media’s constant effort to make us accept a reality different than what we see and experience. This “gaslighting” has ranged from economic issues and crime to public school performance and even climate change. Remember when we were told inflation was only “transitory”? Or that crime wasn’t really that bad, or that public schools needed to remain closed indefinitely during the COVID-19 pandemic?  

All of these claims had one thing in common: a cadre of elites who thought they could take advantage of their positions in power to tell the rest of us how to think, act, and even what to believe. Well, that didn’t turn out well for those at the top of the presidential ticket on Election Day — including for our governor, Tim Walz.  

In fact, it was a resounding rejection of the elites. Thankfully, the voters displayed the common sense that is lacking in our leaders.  

It isn’t just that these elites try to gaslight us into ridiculous policies. They lob accusations about our history and heritage to make us feel ashamed and then bow down to the ideological zeal of identity politics. Take the Minnesota state flag and seal, for example. Baseless claims that it was a sign of Minnesota’s racist past — and present — spurred the Democrat-controlled legislature to change it. There was no groundswell calling for the redesign, nor evidence that the claims made by a few politicians were accurate. Quite the contrary. American Experiment’s economist John Phelan has written extensively about Minnesota’s courageous and sacrificial contribution to the Union’s victory in the Civil War. 

Four years after the riots, “defund the police” movement, and political handwringing after the death of George Floyd, there is still a belief common in elite circles of academia and politics that Minnesota’s criminal justice system perpetuates racism. American Experiment policy fellow David Zimmer, who had a long career in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, has a new report, “Minnesota’s Offender Outcomes Devoid of Racial Bias.” Through well-researched and data-driven analysis he dispels the narrative that black Minnesotans are disproportionately represented throughout the criminal justice system due to racism.  

Commonsense Minnesotans see through the political bias and reject the wholesale condemnation of our state’s history. This year, American Experiment’s annual Golden Turkey Award went to the redesign and implementation of the new state flag and seal. Minnesotans resoundingly rejected this waste and absurdity in a statewide vote that received the most ballots cast in Golden Turkey Award history.  

An injection of common sense and rejection of the elite system of rule is exactly what we need to regain trust in institutions that seemed to work very hard to sever it. It is a testament to American Experiment that when Gov. Walz was picked for Vice Pres. Kamala Harris’s ticket, that national media outlets and conservative activists — from the Daily Wire to Fox News — looked to us and American Experiment policy fellows’ long record of data and research about Walz’s administration and his policies as governor.  

Why did so many high-profile organizations look to us? Because we do the work the local media fails to do time and again. In fact, our Thinking Minnesota Poll from spring 2022 revealed that “respondents — regardless of political affiliation, age, or geographic location — believe the media bias cuts dramatically against conservatives. Almost half (49 percent) of the people surveyed believe THINKING MINNESOTA that bias in the Minnesota media favors liberals and harms conservatives. Just 10 percent believe that Minnesota media favors conservatives and harms liberals.” Does anyone think those sentiments have improved in the last two years? I certainly do not.  

It’s no wonder, then, that when Minnesotans want the truth about what is happening in our state, they turn to American Experiment for honest, trustworthy answers and commonsense solutions to the state’s troubles — whether that’s crime, public education, health care, or economics.  

This trust goes both ways. Our organization has a greater belief in the people of the state to be informed about what works and what doesn’t for themselves and their families, much more so than government bureaucrats or political elites. That’s why we’re starting our own group of volunteers to help get the message out to family, friends, and neighbors — the people we trust the most — about American Experiment initiatives and events. It is crucial to the betterment of Minnesota, and to realize a hopeful future for our kids and grandchildren, that we capitalize on this moment of grassroots activism in defiance of an overreaching government. North Star Rising (NSR) is American Experiment in action. It is a small army of activists ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, both online and in person. Wearing our signature t-shirts, members of NSR will be found at the State Capitol, local school board meetings, or anywhere that requires a show of support for conservative principles.  

We will continue to shed light on what is happening in the state legislature, speak out on the issues most important to the taxpayers and families of Minnesota, and hold events promoting conservative principles in communities across the state. But the world belongs to those who show up. American Experiment will keep fighting and showing up; will you?