Capitol News

State Senator Jim Runestad has expressed concern over what he sees as increasing restrictions on political participation and free speech in other countries, while highlighting the openness of the American political system. In an opinion piece published in The Detroit News on October 14, 2025, Runestad compared the United States’ system with parliamentary democracies and the European Union, warning of growing limitations on dissent abroad.

According to Runestad, “One of the great and often underappreciated strengths of the American system is how open it is to dissent. Here, any citizen who believes they have something worth saying can step forward, pay a filing fee or gather signatures, and put their name on the ballot.”

He contrasted this with other countries: “They don’t need the blessing of a party boss or the nod of a political elite. The right to run for office belongs to the people themselves.”

Runestad criticized the candidate selection process in parliamentary systems, stating, “You must be handpicked by the party leadership or its committees. If you are not chosen, you are then forced to the margins — left to run as a lonely independent or attach yourself to a fringe outfit.”

He argued that this process limits voter choice, saying, “The gatekeepers hold the keys, and ordinary voters are left with a narrower set of voices chosen for them by detached elites.”

The senator also raised concerns about the European Union’s influence on national parliaments, describing the EU as “a supranational bureaucracy that claims the authority to override the laws, borders and decisions of sovereign countries.” He added, “Its unelected commissioners, regulatory technocrats and courts are empowered to dictate policies that no ordinary voter ever approved.”

Runestad pointed to immigration policy as a key example: “Across Europe, polls consistently show that overwhelming majorities of ordinary citizens oppose unlimited immigration and the social upheaval that comes with it. Yet the detached and isolated national governments, bound to EU mandates, continue to throw open their borders, resettle migrants and impose quotas — not because the people want it, but because bureaucrats in Brussels decree it.”

He further warned of censorship, noting arrests for speech violations in Russia and the United Kingdom. “In Russia, where repression dominates, more than 3,000 people have been arrested in recent years for so-called ‘speech violations.’ In the United Kingdom, the number is even more staggering: over 12,000 people have faced arrest or sanction for even the mildest comments spoken or posted online.”

Runestad argued that outside the U.S., “much of the West is moving rapidly toward becoming one of the most censored and tyrannical regions on Earth.”

He emphasized the importance of free speech protections in America: “Thank God, in America, we still have our First Amendment. We must guard this freedom with our lives. It is the last bastion preventing bureaucrats from becoming our overlords. It cannot shrink before power-brokering or easily offended elites.”

He concluded by affirming his support for open debate and dissent in American democracy: “It must stand as a bulwark for dissent, for debate and for the right of every citizen to challenge those in power.”

Runestad represents Michigan’s 23rd Senate District, which includes portions of western Oakland County such as South Lyon, Wixom, and Clarkston.