Huston: The Woeful History of Third Parties
by Tom Charles Huston Third-party campaigns can have an effect in national elections. The Populist uprising west of the Mississippi cost the Republicans control of Congress in 1890 and Benjamin Harrison his bid for reelection in 1892. The Progressive insurgency in 1912 which led to a three-way race among President William Howard Taft (R), New Read the full article…
Huston: A Pre-Revolutionary Environment?
UNDER WHAT CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE or democratic theory is it legitimate to deny political opponents access to the public forum? How do you conduct democratic elections if political rallies are shut down and candidates are silenced by partisans of the other party? The answer from the Left is that some candidates simply don’t have a right Read the full article…
The Outstater: Ben Franklin’s Defense of the Middle Class
THE MIDDLE CLASS is in the news. Analysts say it is ignored by Republicans and misread by Democrats. It is thought to be the critical factor in winning the 2016 presidential election. Good. What is meant by the term, however, is less than flattering. It seems to be code for average, undistinguished, perhaps even low Read the full article…
Indiana at 200 (72): Sadly, Indiana Pioneered Eugenics
by Andrea Neal Long before Adolf Hitler espoused his ideas about a master race, Hoosier scientists advocated selective reproduction to improve the gene pool. Indiana Gov. J. Frank Hanly signed the nation’s first eugenics law in 1907, mandating sterilization of certain “criminals, idiots, rapists and imbeciles” in state custody. Thirty states followed suit. “Today they Read the full article…
The Outstater: LGBT or STEM
IT IS DIFFICULT for outsiders to follow the logic of a legislative session. There are decisions and votes that would make perfect sense — or so we are told — if we knew the backstory. Even so, comparing the history of two issues this session, both known by their acronym, one summarily killed without discussion Read the full article…
Watts: Who Took What Jobs?
by Tyler Watts, Ph.D. Demagogue politicians love to play on popular fears that low-wage foreigners are “stealing” good paying American jobs by way of outsourcing and globalization. The claim is made by nativists and protectionists of all political stripes, whether leftists complaining of a “rigged economy” or rightists speaking of other countries “beating” us economically. Read the full article…
