Jason Lewis meets the press

Eric Eskola and Cathy Wurzer host the weekly news review Almanac on our local PBS affiliate. This past Friday night they invited John’s and my congressman — Minnesota Second District Rep. Jason Lewis — to discuss the tax bill he had voted for. In the land of Lake Wobegon, Eric and Cathy are above average Minnesota journalists. They nevertheless carry on their discussion with Jason at a low level, I think it’s fair to say, based in part on Democratic talking points. Jason performs admirably with good humor. Having come out of the world of talk radio, he has excellent communication skills.

His hosts could have asked him some critical questions about the incentive effects of reforms on the individual side. Jason cites the Kennedy and Reagan cuts to individual income tax rates. Is there anything comparable in the pending bills? We can see the incentive effects on the corporate side discounted to present value in some part of the run-up of the stock market, though Cathy Wurzer is worried about what might happen when stock market values tumble. Jason points out that they tumbled momentarily thanks to ABC’s Brian Ross on Friday. This point escapes her completely.

At about 5:30 the discussion turns to current sexual harassment issues. Here Eric Eskola alludes to Jason’s career in radio broadcasting. Neither Eric nor Cathy takes up Minnesota’s own contribution to the issues as they have manifested in Congress. Rather, they ask him about Roy Moore.

As I dream of Sabo making a house call in Minnesota, Eric and Cathy remind us of the media air that we breathe. It is suffocating.

The Dems are gunning for Jason in 2018. The Second is a suburban swing district with a slight Republican tilt. He needs all the help he can get in this cycle. His campaign site is here. You can contribute here. We wish him well in what promises to be a difficult year for Republicans.

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