Former Republican House Majority Leader Earl Strinden used to say, “Perception is reality.” It is especially true in politics.

I recently interviewed Rebecca Binstock, executive director for the North Dakota Ethics Commission. We reviewed their annual report and it is apparent the North Dakota Legislature needs to step up and appropriately fund the Ethics Commission.

North Dakota consistently ranks at the bottom nationally on ethics as compared to other states when it comes to ethical standards for elected officials. It does not mean we have crooked or bad elected officials representing us. It means we have very poor tools and lack standard guidelines to hold our elected officials accountable.

While many Republicans claim transparency or accountability, it is anything but. The voters in

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