Schultz's Take

Minnesota's 2013 legislative session will forever be known as the one that legalized same-sex marriages. Yet while many were celebrating this act the governor and the legislature are on the verge of adopting legislation that takes a giant step toward undoing political reform in the state and significantly increasing the chances that special interest money will further damage the Minnesota elections and law making process. The result is more money out of the taxpayer wallet funding special interest projects while legislators get free meals and gifts from lobbyists.

The best thing that could happen to the Republican Party of Minnesota (RPM) if not the national Republican Party, is for same-sex marriage to be legalized. Its legalization would remove from the agenda one that the Republicans are losing on, and one that is continuing to alienate them from younger millennial voters and moderates. Legalization of same-sex marriage would permit Republicans to move away from social issues and concentrate on their core economic and limited government message.

Should president Obama have been surprised that the Senate rejected almost all of the gun measures despite the fact that large majorities supported some of the ideas, such as universal background checks? Not really. In part rejection of the gun control measures speak to the power of money in politics or the power of a well organized group to act more effectively than unorganized public opinion. But more specifically, the gun measure speaks to a broader and more serious problem in Washington–how Congress has become a counter-majoritarian institution and is now functioning in ways contrary to what and how the Constitutional Framers envisioned the government to operate.

The economic situation and choices for America are not terrific. This is clearly the case after the April 2013 unemployment report indicated only 88,000 new jobs generated last month, coupled with nearly 500,000 individuals leaving the job market. But the jobs’ numbers only point to one part of the overall American economic paradox.