Unethical arrangement allowed anonymous donor to launder left-wing agenda through public university

As reported by the Pioneer Press, DFL legislator Jamie Long resigned from his job as an Energy Research Project Specialist at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment after questions were raised about his hiring and potential lobbying conflicts. According to emails obtained in a data practices request, the position created at the university for Rep. Long was expected to “provide a ‘truth squad’” to “debunk right-wing misinformation spread by a local ‘think tank’ about the reliability and cost of renewable energy, fossil fuels, and nuclear.” This undoubtably refers to Center of the American Experiment policy fellow Isaac Orr, who testified in the Minnesota House several times this spring against renewable energy mandates that his research showed would significantly increase the cost of energy and destroy jobs, yet have no measurable impact on the global climate.

John Hinderaker, President of Center of the American Experiment, released the following statement:

“DFL politicians conspired, with the help of the University of Minnesota, to launder a left-wing climate agenda through a publicly-funded higher education institution – and almost got away with it. This is the type of scandal that has damaged the reputation of public universities that claim to objectively seek the truth and act in the public interest.

“Center of the American Experiment’s research, backed by reams of supporting data directly from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, proved the Minnesota Green New Deal is completely unworkable and would cause Minnesotans’ energy costs to skyrocket. Obviously, this caught the attention of an anonymous donor who decided the best way to combat the truth was to hand-pick a politician, elevate his stature by creating a job for him at the U, and pay him to push a left-wing agenda. This is unquestionably unethical.”