Minnesota Lawyer

Some of Rep. Paul Ryan’s biggest fans are disappointed in his latest budget.

The idea that we should reform the way we handle allegations of medical malpractice is enjoying a new vogue. At the end of a long cover story for Time magazine on high U.S. health care costs, Steven Brill suggested that doctors who follow the best practices in the field should be shielded from liability.

People who want to see American politics take a turn to the right, and a few who don’t, have been giving a lot of advice to conservatives lately. Move this way on the social issues; move that way on economics; get more technology-savvy. You’ve heard it all, sometimes from me.

Some Republicans haven’t gotten to the first step: the one where you admit there’s a problem. In a roundup of reactions to the 2012 U.S. presidential election by the magazine Commentary, for example, conservative writer Wilfred McClay says Republican worriers are “wildly overwrought” because the 2012 election was “close.”

Frustrated by the persistence of large deficits and alarmed by the long-term gap between spending and revenue, congressional Republicans are promoting a constitutional amendment to require balanced budgets.

Conservatives often point out that laws, no matter how benign they may appear, have unintended consequences. They can reverberate in ways that not many people foresaw and nobody wanted: Raising the minimum wage can increase unemployment; prohibition can create black markets.

Conservatives need to get over President Barack Obama. It’s time to adjust to a world in which he is never going to be on the ballot again.

When I saw Alexis Haller last week, he looked much as I remembered him from college: just more tired, and a lot sadder. It wasn’t the reunion either of us would have wanted.

Congratulations! The cost of your health insurance is increasing. What? You don’t think that’s a reason for celebration? Good, you’re avoiding a mistake that’s far too common among economic analysts, especially Republicans.

“We cannot just be a party that protects the rich,” said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal of his fellow Republicans. “The rich can protect themselves.”