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Friday, October 12, 2018

With private charity there is no public accountability for administrative overhead, a/k/a money leakage. When the government meets its safety net duty, in Minnesota there is a Constitutional Office of the Auditor which can monitor public accounting of funds, leakage then being less a concern given an independent public scrutiny and accountability apart from the appropriating entity. [UPDATED]

And our next Minnesota Auditor after the election, Julie Blaha, is surely up to the task. Why the private charity question comes to mind at all may seem a mystery, but give a hat tip to Steve Timmer, yet again, for posting a video segment from back in 2011 where a patient man calmly answers an impatient one, too courteous to point out the leakage question; post and video. The inexperience of the inexperienced can be disquieting. Especially when there transparently is an ax to grind vs. insight seeking of an agenda-free inquiring mind.

A reminder we all should weigh - it was our Senator Franken who added the 20% cap on administrative overhead, i.e, mandating a minimum 80% spending on actual services as a constraint on private insurance back at the time the ACA was being debated and amended prior to passage. Administrative leakage can be a tempting thing, absent scrutiny and constraint, sunshine and good "rule of law" being best as Justice Brandeis noted decades ago. Taxing and spending for public good and to bolster private sector attractiveness to businesses looking for best locations, with our State having enjoyed such beneficial public sector allocations, formed a part of the studied answers the inquirer was given during the string of questions. That was 2011.

___________UPDATE__________
The above was posted with knowledge of the AG having jurisdictional oversight of local and statewide non-profits, witness Mike Hatch having exercised oversight with Allina. Which might have had blowback when he ran in 2006 for Governor against Pawlenty with Peter Hutchinson in the contest.

The problem with AG oversight of private nonprofit charities, and possibly Wardlow winning, is obvious. Dobson folks could run amok and unchecked.

Beyond that, this election cycle does carry a third party consideration. See, this MinnPost item.

Might this be why Wardlow has moved to differentiate himself from who he has posed to be prior to his triple-decimation of the AG staff declaration? Or is he just stupid? MinnPost reported:

Some candidates run for office because they want to be elected. [...] But every now and then comes a candidate who would rather win the issue than win the office. Noah Johnson, for example, said last week he might consider encouraging a vote for one of his rivals for Minnesota Attorney General. All they have to do is agree with his position on the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

That surely shouts out, set-up, so disagree if you read it differently. MinnPost continuing:

Johnson is the attorney general candidate of the Grassroots-Legal Marijuana Now party. The party has candidates for Minnesota governor (Chris Wright), lieutenant governor (Judith Schwartzbacker) and state auditor (Michael Ford). But it is in the attorney general race where the party has a chance to impact the result.

Johnson isn’t likely to win, of course. But he did collect enough support in a recent Star Tribune/MPR poll — 5 percent — to be invited to take part in a forum on Twin Cities PBS’ Almanac show. And in a race where the DFL and GOP candidates are tied, 5 percent is a lot.

That sets the story, but this requires reflection:

Johnson’s own politics are on the left of the spectrum. “The DFL, I find a little conservative.” He supported Bernie Sanders for president in 2016 and then supported Hillary Clinton. He said he has voted for Ellison for the 5th Congressional District representative.

Johnson, therefore, is practiced in answering the question often directed at third-party candidates: would he feel responsible if his presence on the ballot leads to the election of Wardlow, who not only opposes legalization of marijuana but is much more conservative than the Legal Marijuana Now candidates.

His answer is surprising. While he doesn’t concede that legalization of marijuana is a partisan issue in the AG race — saying there is support among Republicans, especially libertarian-leaning ones — he does agree that Ellison is likely to lose more votes to him than Wardlow.

Third party stalking horse usage is not new in Minnesota. This seems to be precisely that. Certainly civilized outlook would have had recreational mj use legal decades ago, but then what easy busts would Bob Kroll and cohorts have had over that time span? What leverage over community snitchs? It looks like a Republican stalking horse in "more liberal than Ellisoon clothing." Opinions can differ. At any rate the candidacy cannot hurt Koch and Garvis, LLC getting its name out more widely to the public, as a criminal defense boutique:

Among his internships were with the ACLU Minnesota and the Minnesota Innocence Project, and he graduated from the merged Mitchell Hamline School of Law in 2017.

After getting his degree, Johnson returned to the firm he had worked for before becoming a lawyer, Koch and Garvis, where his practice now includes criminal defense and family law.

He was approached about running for attorney general by Oliver Steinberg, a longtime marijuana legalization advocate. At the time he agreed to seek the office, he expected to be running against incumbent Lori Swanson, who has said she opposes legalization.

“I was eager to do it because obviously I’ve always thought politics was a great way to help people, if you do it right ….. and I strongly believe that marijuana should be legal,” Johnson said.

Yeah, sure. We all do think that if we think at all. But giving a boost to Wardlow to be opposition Devil's advocate while Parker-Monahan pile on Ellison, who are you really, sir?

Leaving that question for mainstream media to resolve, if they care, VOTE ELLISON. Keith is not going to prioritize busting casual users anymore than he would be the one wanting to reorient the AG office from its central duty of protecting consumer interests against wrongful exploitation by unprincipled fraudsters to being top cop motorcycle club Bob Kroll's megaphone. Where selective enforcement might be a worry. Huh?

Might, could, possibly or probably, you can guess on your own about what likelihoods would look like in Wardlow World, Kroll standing to the man's right hand.

Just Say No. To stalking horses, be they actual or perceived.

In closing, a Wardlow/Kroll AG presence would likely boost criminal defense specialist business, rather than lessening it.