Cody Stanley

Grand Forks

Representative Kelly Armstrong recently said on Rob Port’s podcast that Socialism has failed everywhere. This was surprising to hear, because North Dakota has two huge Socialist institutions; a State Bank, and a State Mill. The State of North Dakota owns them. Moreover, by the state owning them they are better able to serve the unique needs of the people of the State of North Dakota. Both of them are highly profitable, and provide countless necessary services to the people of North Dakota.

Rep. Armstrong’s words underscore the fundamental problem with the Republican Party today. Republicans are dominated by their rhetoric that all forms of Democratic Socialism are bad. The cold hard fact is that they are not. Police, public schools, all forms of street maintenance (especially our snow removal crews), firefighters, public water, rural electricity regulations that allow most of North Dakota to have power, and the aforementioned State Bank and State Mill; are successful and necessary Democratic Socialist institutions.

Representative Armstrong and his Republican colleagues need to produce the political integrity to put aside the rhetoric, and actually do what is best for North Dakota. Finally admit that some things are better when they are owned by the State, and there are some things that need to be private. That is Democratic Socialism, and North Dakota has a significant amount of it already, and it is working.