Plain Talk: Let’s talk about big money in politics

MINOT, N.D. — Gov. Doug Burgum is spending big to influence the North Dakota Republican Party’s legislative primaries.

The people on the pointy end of that stick, namely the Bastiat Caucus wing of Trumpy populist candidates, don’t like that so much, and they’ve even come up with some dubious legal arguments claiming it may be illegal.

Are they right? Almost certainly not. But even beyond the legalities, is what Burgum doing kosher from just an ethical point of view?

I discussed it on this episode of Plain Talk with my Wednesday co-host Chad Oban. We also hit on the state of some of those legislative races around the state — it’s not looking so good for the Bastiats but District 8 is still a battleground — and touched on some upcoming conversations about gun control we’re going to have on the show.

Also on this episode, Cody Schuler, the new advocacy manager for the ACLU of North Dakota, joins to talk about his job and what issues his organization will be prioritizing going forward, with abortion being a big one given that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to overturn the Roe v. Wade precedent.

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