ICYMI: “Yes, Kevin Cramer Does Want to Destroy Social Security”

Don’t miss this op-ed from the president of Social Security Works PAC, an organization that focuses on senior issues, which lays out a number of ways Congressman Cramer has voted against the interests of North Dakota’s seniors – including calling for “means testing” and “raising the retirement age,” aka: cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Social Security Works: Yes, Kevin Cramer Does Want to Destroy Social Security
By Jon Bauman

Key Points:

  • Nearly every vote [Cramer] has taken indicates his hostility towards Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
  • Cramer’s score from the Alliance for Retired Americans in both 2016 & ’17 was a great big ZERO, and he has a lifetime score of nine percent, a strongly anti-senior voting record. In contrast, Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), who Cramer is currently running against for U.S. Senate, has a ninety percent lifetime score.
  • Rep. Cramer… suggest[ed] that we “do a little more means testing, maybe increase the age by a month or two for a while.” Both of these suggestions are simply euphemisms for cutting benefits.
  • Raising the retirement age is an across the board benefit cut, one that hurts low-income and minority families the most. Means testing benefits does not produce any significant savings unless middle class benefits are cut. This is because implementing the means test would add significant administrative costs to Social Security.
  • North Dakota’s 125,786 Social Security beneficiaries (not to mention every North Dakota worker who pays into Social Security and will be a future beneficiary) deserve better.
  • They deserve to know what “means testing” and “raising the retirement age” really mean. They deserve to know that this April, Rep. Cramer voted for a Balanced Budget Amendment which, if it had passed, would forbid Social Security from using its $2.9 trillion surplus to pay promised benefits. They deserve to know that back in 2012, Cramer stated that we should “introduce more private sector options” into Social Security and Medicare, code for destroying them by handing them over to Wall Street and insurance corporations.
  • Not only that, they deserve to know that Cramer’s opponent, Senator Heidi Heitkamp, is a staunch supporter of Social Security who voted against the tax giveaway. They deserve to know that they have a real choice.

Read the full article here.

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CROOKED CRAMER’S CHRONICLES – CRAMER’S ME-FIRST PARTISAN STRATEGY – DON’T LET CRAMER’S FARM BILL SPIN FOOL YOU – POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM CAN’T COVER UP REAL RECORDS

Welcome to Cramer’s Chronicles where, every Friday, we’ll break down the latest and greatest weekly hits about Cramer’s crooked, self-serving, extreme, and gaffe-prone behavior that puts himself and his partisan politics ahead of North Dakotans.

CRAMER’S ME-FIRST, PARTISAN STRATEGY. If there’s one thing Cramer has mastered, it’s the art of the flip flop – especially when it comes to the trade war that’s dealing blows to North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and businesses. Cramer has put politics above the people he is supposed to represent, acting as a rubber stamp for the trade war to gain political favor. FIRST, Cramer took a wishy-washy position on the trade war, even though he was aware the damage it would cause to North Dakotans. NEXT, Cramer very briefly took a stand against the trade war, signing a letter with other House colleagues asking the president to reconsider broad tariffs. THEN, HE FLIPPED, claiming the president was right to enact tariffs and, since then, has refused to forcefully speak out against the trade war, claiming he doesn’t know whether they’ll have any real impact and stating that such CONCERNS ARE “HYSTERIA.”

See more on Cramer’s Anatomy of a Flip Flop here.

ND DEM-NPL LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL AD ON CRAMER’S TRADE WAR. Congressman Cramer abdicated his responsibility to protect North Dakota’s farmers and businesses from the growing trade war. That’s unacceptable and it’s why the North Dakota Democratic-NPL launched its latest digital ad: to call on Cramer to work across the aisle and stop the harmful trade war, rather than continuing to kowtow to the president to win political favor. WATCH the ad here.

DON’T LET CRAMER’S FARM BILL SPIN FOOL YOU. Cramer’s Washington party bosses may be trying to hand him a political lifeline by appointing him to the Farm Bill Conference Committee, but this appointment won’t erase the well-documented years Cramer has spent playing politics with North Dakota’s farmers and the Farm Bill. Here are the facts:

  • Cramer has never served on the House Committee on Agriculture.
  • In 2013, Cramer tried to sink the Farm Bill, earning him the label of ideologue, someone who “rejects compromises and insists on policies that are ideologically pure” by the Grand Forks Herald.
  • Cramer’s partisan antics prompted the Williston Herald to call on him to “take a lesson” from Senators Heitkamp and Hoeven on working across the aisle to get results.
  • Cramer is a dues-paying member of an extreme anti-agriculture group that has pushed for eliminating the Renewable Fuel Standard, eliminating the sugar program, and for devastating cuts to crop insurance and nutrition programs.
  • Cramer didn’t even know when the Farm Bill passed out of committee earlier this year.

OUR TAKE: “There’s only one person in this race who has, and will continue, to advocate on behalf of North Dakota’s interests – and it isn’t Kevin Cramer.”

HEADLINE: POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM CAN’T COVER UP POLITICAL RECORDS. NDxPlains’ Tyler Axness sums up Cramer’s appointment to the Farm Bill Conference Committee perfectly when he asks, “If [Cramer] couldn’t be effective then, what makes us think he could be effective on a packed conference committee?”

ICYMI: HEITKAMP HOLDS “FUNDRAISING ADVANTAGE” OVER CRAMER. Heidi has more than double the cash on hand of Congressman Cramer, $5.2 million to $2.4 million – shattering fundraising records for any North Dakota U.S. Senate candidate. Heidi raised nearly $2 million in the second quarter.

CRAMER DECLINES MORE DEBATES THAN HE ACCEPTS. So far, Heidi and Congressman Cramer have agreed to three debates before the election, but what he doesn’t want North Dakotans to know is that he’s declined to participate in at least four more, whereas Heidi has agreed to ten. This leaves us wondering: what’s Cramer hiding? Tyler Axness of NDxPlains Blog observed, “Perhaps it is proving difficult to discover those accomplishments which leads him to shy away from true debates. Quite simply, it makes a person wonder if he is afraid of debating Heitkamp and speaking about his record?”

REMEMBER WHEN CRAMER SAID THE TRADE WAR WAS “POSITIVE” FOR ND? This makes us wonder: has Cramer seen the news or talked to anyone in North Dakota lately?

(BONUS) QUOTE OF THE WEEK.
Steele County, ND farmer: “Cramer boasts about (how) he votes with the president all the time. I don’t think that’s good for North Dakota.”

TWEET OF THE WEEK.

Hope to see you all at the state fair and parade this weekend!

ATTN Congressman Cramer: “Political Opportunism Can’t Cover Up Political Records”

“If [Cramer] couldn’t be effective then, what makes us think he could be effective on a packed conference committee?”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

NDxPlains: Political Opportunism Can’t Cover Up Political Records
By Tyler Axness
July 19, 2018

Key Points:

  • Election year politics has been injected into our nation’s agriculture policy and members of the House of Representatives are to blame.
  • First, Congress failed to pass the Farm Bill because ideological positions were inserted into the historically non-controversial bill. A couple of weeks later, Congress reconsidered and narrowly passed its version riddled with issues.
  • Now, they’re packing the conference committee with 47 members. Why? Because it’s an election year and everyone wants to put it in an advertisement. Look no further than Kevin Cramer for an example of this election year bailout.
  • Political opportunism can’t cover up political records. So, let’s look at the record. One of the first attempts to inject ideological poison pills into our agriculture policy came in 2013 and 2014. It threatened passage of the Farm Bill. Cramer was steadfast behind those efforts and it caught the attention of North Dakota. The Williston Herald told Cramer to start acting like Hoeven and Heitkamp to get something done for farmers. “We feel Cramer needs to take a lesson from Hoeven and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in how to wield influence.” The Grand Forks Herald was more direct when they called Cramer an “ideologue” who “rejects compromises.” Both said during the last Farm Bill debate. Both can be repeated again in 2018.
  • Cramer is also a member of the Republican Study Committee. In their budget proposal for 2019, the group called for cutting crop insurance responsibility in half, eliminating the renewable fuel standard, and eliminating the sugar program. Either Cramer endorses those ideas, or he failed to convince them these positions are harmful to North Dakota farmers. 
  • If he couldn’t be effective then, what makes us think he could be effective on a packed conference committee?
  • A Farm Bill needs to be passed amid an international trade war. Yet the House version followed the same path of 2014. They knowingly put provisions in making it more difficult to pass. Cramer chose not to serve on the Agriculture Committee, but that doesn’t stop him from bragging about the House bill.
  • In his comments about being on the conference committee, The Forum reported Cramer said he was “very involved” in developing the bill. In essence, he is taking responsibility for creating this mess and now he wants recognition for being a part of the clean up.
  • 47 members this year compared to 29 members in the 2014 conference committee. It would be more prudent to narrow the appointments to those who are actually effective on agricultural policy. But, it is an election year and that leads to political opportunism.

Read the full article here.

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Burgum’s Blinders: Governor Doubles Down on Extreme Cuts Despite Increased Revenue

Refusing to budge despite the new facts, Governor Burgum continues his commitment to cutting funding for education, essential government services, and much-needed infrastructure projects

(BISMARCK, ND) — Governor Doug Burgum is so committed to his draconian budget cuts that he won’t let the facts get in the way of scoring partisan points. Despite reports of increased revenue from an uptick in gas prices, Burgum has doubled down saying he will stick with his plan to cut funding for state agencies 5 to 10 percent across the board.

“Governor Burgum should know that flexibility is key to governing, but that doesn’t seem to be a lesson he has learned in Bismarck,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “These cuts are drastic and will hurt agencies already underfunded and overextended. Restoring fiscal responsibility in Bismarck is a goal shared by both parties, but the budget should not be balanced the backs of working families who rely on government services or students who are looking for a good education. North Dakotans deserve legislators who will stand up against these irresponsible cuts and produce a budget that puts North Dakotans first.”

NEW DIGITAL AD: Cramer Abdicates Responsibility, Ignores Concerns of ND Farmers, Businesses Hurt By Trade War

Cramer Has Rubber Stamped the Trade War, Putting Political Ambitions Ahead of North Dakotans

Congressman Cramer has heard the concerns of North Dakotans over the president’s trade war, but he’s chosen not to do anything about it.

To call attention to Cramer’s abdication of responsibility, today the North Dakota Democratic-NPL is launching a new video, backed by a Facebook buy, that calls on Cramer to finally put North Dakotans first and work to stop the trade war, rather than kowtowing to the president to win political favor.

WATCH:

 

See some of the public outcry over Cramer’s inaction on the trade war:

NDxPlains: For Cramer it is Loyalty to Trump above what is best for North Dakota.
Cramer displays his eagerness to be obedient and subservient to President Donald Trump. It is loyalty to Trump over North Dakota. There has been and will continue to be times where President Trump is wrong about what is best for our state. In those moments, North Dakota deserves an independent thinker.”

Prairie Public News: Cramer: Cool the ‘hysteria’ over Chinese tariffs.

Bismarck Tribune: LTE: Farmers in state need some loyalty.
“Farmers and ranchers face enough uncertainty with the weather — we don’t need any more caused by politicians in Washington. That’s why along with so many farmers across North Dakota and the nation, I’ve been deeply concerned by the president’s proposed tariffs. […] I was disappointed that Rep. Kevin Cramer has refused to stand up to the president on this issue. I understand that they’re both from the same party — but that shouldn’t stop Cramer from doing what’s right and standing up for North Dakota.”

Fargo Forum: Letter: Cramer’s blind allegiance to Trump’s tariffs bad for ND farmers.
“Congressman Kevin Cramer certainly pledges his allegiance to the Trump administration every time I listen to his interviews. Cramer is wrong to embrace the Trump tariffs as they are going to have a serious negative impact on middle America and looking at the economic numbers, we cannot afford a set back. […] Congressman Cramer’s blind allegiance to Trump is letting our farmers and ranchers down.”

4-Traders: Major Cramer Supporter: “Any Tariffs Are a Bad Idea.”
“As Kevin Cramer prepares to testify in the U.S. House of Representatives today on Chinese tariffs that could have a devastating impact on North Dakota’s ag economy and energy industry – it’s worth reminding: Not even one of Cramer’s biggest donors thinks these tariffs are a good idea – in fact, he flatly told CNN: ‘I think any tariffs are a bad idea.’

But since the day Cramer drew a line in the sand – saying voting against President Trump is akin to marital infidelity, and deleting a tweet in opposition to the tariffs he knows are a bad idea for North Dakota farmers and energy producers – he’s been towing the D.C. swamp’s party line ever since. Rather than stand up policies that would grow North Dakota’s economy, he’s chosen to put his own career first to the detriment of working families.”

Read more about how the Cramer-endorsed trade war is threatening the livelihoods of North Dakota farmers and ranchers here and watch here. And see how Cramer flipped positions on the trade war to gain political favor with the president here.

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VIDEO: Kevin Cramer Doesn’t Know Anything About The Farm Bill

(BISMARCK, ND) – Yesterday Congressman Kevin Cramer was named to the Farm Bill Conference Committee – which doesn’t make a lot of sense, since he doesn’t know anything about the Farm Bill. WATCH this clip to see Cramer reveal he didn’t even know that this critical bill, which provides support for North Dakota’s agriculture community, passed out of committee.

Question: Quickly too with the farm bill, speaking of farmers, it just passed out of committee.

Cramer: Oh did it, I’ve been wondering.

Don’t forget, Congressman Cramer is still backing the trade war and has dismissed farmers’ concerns about their livelihood as “hysteria,” even though we’ve seen prices for crops like soybeans plummet by 20 percent.  

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Cramer’s Bad Behavior on Farm Bill Issues Rewarded By Washington Party Bosses

(BISMARCK, ND) – Congressman Cramer, who has never sat on the House Agriculture Committee, has a history of playing politics with the typically non-political Farm Bill. In 2013, Cramer tried to sink the Farm Bill, earning him the label of ideologue who “rejects compromises and insists on policies that are ideologically pure” by the Grand Forks Herald, and prompting the Williston Herald to call on him “to take a lesson” from Senators Heitkamp and Hoeven on working across the aisle to get results.

Cramer has been oblivious to the ins and outs of the Farm Bill and its importance to North Dakota’s farmers. He didn’t even know when the Farm Bill passed out of committee earlier this year.

Now he’s being rewarded for his party-above-all-else loyalty with a seat on the Farm Bill Conference Committee. In response to Cramer’s bad behavior and his harmful ideology, Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL released the following statement:

“This is Washington politics at its worst: rewarding a position to someone who has never had any interest in advocating for agricultural issues on behalf of North Dakotans. But North Dakota’s farmers know Cramer’s history on this issue and they won’t be fooled by the machinations of Washington Republicans.”

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Anatomy of a Flip Flop

Cramer Touts The President’s Positions To Gain Political Favor, Regardless Of Their Impact On North Dakota

Congressman Cramer may not be a master of many things, but he has perfected the art of the flip flop. Cramer has flipped and flopped positions on the trade war – from giving wishy washy answers about the president’s tariffs, to briefly taking a stand against them, to making a complete turnaround and becoming a rubber stamp for the trade war.

From Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL: “At best, Congressman Cramer is ambivalent to the needs and concerns of North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and businesses who are hurting under the trade war. At worst, he is turning a blind eye in order to be a rubber stamp to the president to curry political favor. And North Dakotans? They’re left to deal with the detrimental results of Cramer’s do-it-all-for-politics strategy.”

See for yourself:

CRAMER’S WISHY-WASHY POSITION.
March 2: Cramer doesn’t denounce the president’s decision to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports, even though it is known that a trade war would harm North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and businesses.

CRAMER (VERY) BRIEFLY TAKES A STAND AGAINST THE TRADE WAR.
March 7: Cramer joins other House colleagues in asking the president to reconsider his plan for “broad” tariffs and work with Congress to draft “a more targeted approach.”

March 10: Cramer claims he isn’t “over the moon” about the trade war and would like to see them “more narrowly defined.”

CRAMER’S FLIP FLOP. 
April 4: China announces retaliatory tariffs on $50 billion worth of U.S. goods, including soybeans. Reminder: North Dakota is a major exporter of soybeans. 

April 4: Cramer posts on Twitter citing his opposition to the trade war, claiming they have “the potential to harm North Dakota’s agricultural sector.”

THAT SAME DAY, APRIL 4: CRAMER DELETES THE PREVIOUS POST AND REPLACES IT with a statement claiming the president is “right to stand up to China” with regard to the trade war.

CRAMER BECOMES RUBBER STAMP FOR PRESIDENT’S TRADE WAR. 
Since then, Cramer has refused to forcefully speak out against the trade war, claiming he doesn’t know whether tariffs will have any real impact and stating that such concerns are “hysteria.”

April 5: Cramer applauds the president’s goals on trade.

April 9Cramer says concerns over the trade war are “hysteria.”

April 20: Cramer’s campaign says he will “support” the president’s position on the trade war in the Senate.

May 17: Amid soybean tariffs, Cramer says it’s not “all doom and gloom” for North Dakota producers.

June 7Cramer says farmers need to have a higher “pain threshold” in the trade war.

July 16: Cramer encourages other DC politicians to “rally behind the administration[‘s]” trade war.

Read more about how the Cramer-endorsed trade war is threatening the livelihoods of North Dakota farmers and ranchers here and watch here

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What They’re Saying, Pt. 2: Trade War “Creating More Problems” for Farmers

WDAY: “Concerns are High… That They Could Lose Millions of Dollars in Profits”
(BISMARCK, ND) – As concerns from North Dakota farmers and ranchers continue to rise over the Cramer-endorsed trade war, Congressman Cramer doesn’t seem to be listening. Instead, while North Dakotans experience uncertainty, potential losses of millions of dollars in profits, and canceled shipments, Cramer’s sole interest is rubber-stamping the president’s harmful policies. See what North Dakotans are watching about the disastrous impact of this trade war on the ground.

WATCH:

Transcript:

KVRR: China and Mexico issuing new tariffs on American goods just last week, creating more problems for farmers who rely on the international markets to sell their crops.” 

KVLY: “Soybeans are down almost $2 a bushel for about 40 days. [Reporter] Just from when the president made this announcement? [Farmer] Just from when they started having the tit-for-tat for trade.”

WDAY: “Now, an estimated 1.14 million tons of soybeans that are expected to export by the end of August could be canceled.” 

WDAY: “And due to Chinese tariffs, concerns are high from farmers in North Dakota that they could lose millions of dollars in profits.” 

WDAY: “Farmers across the country say they hope this dispute is temporary. ‘Given profit margins we have, that’s enough to take a majority chunk out of our profits.’” 

WDAY: “Earlier today the price per bushel sat at $8.55. The U.S. trade war with China is to blame.” 

KVRR: “The American Soybean Association estimates that more than $6 billion has been lost over the last month as a direct result of the trade feud.”  

And see what North Dakotans are reading about the Cramer-endorsed trade war here.

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Cramer Again Prioritizes Defense of the President Ahead of National Security

(BISMARCK, ND) – Highlighting Congressman Cramer’s inability to prioritize  leadership above bizarre partisan defenses of the president, Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL reacted to Congressman Cramer’s mealy-mouthed statement on yesterday’s Helsinki Summit: 

“Whether it’s quibbling over the semantics of cages instead of offering stronger border security solutions, defending insensitive Nazi comparisons instead of holding Syria accountable, or rushing to absolve President Trump instead of offering tough, smart national security strategies, time and again Congressman Cramer runs from any opportunity to lead in favor of petty partisan politics. North Dakotans deserve serious leadership that puts the safety and security of our communities first, not playing second fiddle to his own political agenda.”

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Fears of Trade War “Animating” Senate Race

From Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL: “Despite hearing concerns across North Dakota about the detrimental effects this trade war is having, Cramer has turned a blind eye – choosing to recklessly side with the president and endorse this trade war rather than working across the aisle to come up with solutions.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

Grand Forks Herald: Some farmers fret amid trade war, animating ND’s Senate race
By John Hageman
July 13, 2018

Key Points:

  • A flurry of trade news in recent months has Richards [a farmer near Hope, ND] worried. It reached a crescendo last week, when China imposed retaliatory tariffs on a range of U.S. products, including 25 percent on soybeans, one of the crops Richards grows.
  • The cost of equipment is going up because of previous tariffs President Donald Trump’s administration imposed on steel and aluminum imports, he said. And amid those fights, the Trump administration is renegotiating the 24-year-old trade agreement linking the U.S. with Canada and Mexico.
  • “I’ve been doing this for 46 years,” said Richards, the Steele County president for the North Dakota Farmers Union. “Right now, I am the most scared I’ve ever been as to where the future of farming is going.”
  • Heitkamp this week described the trade war as “misguided” and called for rallying U.S. partners to confront China rather than using a “blunt instrument” like tariffs. Cramer, a Trump ally who previously denounced Democratic “hysteria” over Chinese tariffs, said he’s “on board with what (Trump) is trying to do” but expressed distaste for tariffs.
  • “Cramer boasts about (how) he votes with the president all the time. I don’t think that’s good for North Dakota,” said Richards.
  • Robert Kudrle, a professor in the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, said “…the ag sector is really paying for this big time.”
  • Soybeans have become the poster child for the trade war with China, given that the Asian nation is the biggest market for the U.S. North Dakota Trade Office Executive Director Simon Wilson estimated the state exports $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion worth of soybeans to China annually.
  • But a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released this week lowered soybean export projections for 2018-19. Monte Peterson, a Valley City area farmer who’s a leader in state and national soybean groups, pointed to soybean futures that have dropped steadily in recent weeks. “This price that we’re at today … we’re below any potential for profit,” he said. “We’re looking at losses.”
  • Heitkamp has signed on to legislation to nullify the steel and aluminum tariffs and to require congressional approval for tariffs imposed in the name of national security. She hoped a non-binding Senate vote this week would send a message to Trump’s administration that “patience is running thin.”

Read the full article here.

And see how the Cramer-endorsed trade war is playing in local media:

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ICYMI: Cramer Reportedly Declined to Participate in at Least Four Debates Against Heitkamp [NDxPlains]

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

NDxPlains: Cramer Reportedly Declined to Participate in at Least Four Debates Against Heitkamp
By Tyler Axness
July 13, 2018

Key Points:

  • Earlier this week, we learned that Heidi Heitkamp and Kevin Cramer have agreed to three debates in October. What has been left out of those reports is that Kevin Cramer has rejected participation in at least four other debates. For an individual who prides himself on accessibility and willingness to take on tough topics, this is a little surprising. We should ask why he declined.
  • A spokesperson for the Heitkamp campaign indicated Heitkamp had agreed to five more debates, but Cramer had rejected four of those… To my knowledge, Heitkamp has not turned down a debate to date.
  • The debates Cramer has turned down are a bit interesting. A Prairie Public & AARP debate. Cramer agreed to one of the two offered. Perhaps limiting the debate to one hour instead of two also limits the amount of time Social Security and Medicare would be discussed.
  • He also rejected a debate hosted by the Chamber of Commerce focused on agriculture. Defending tariffs might not have been ideal for his candidacy.
  • So what gives? Why avoid these debates with your opponent? It certainly wouldn’t be the same as going on friendly talk shows every week.
  • Another negative ad [launched on Friday] lacking accomplishments of Cramer’s tenure in Washington. Perhaps it is proving difficult to discover those accomplishments which leads him to shy away from true debates. Quite simply, it makes a person wonder if he is afraid of debating Heitkamp and speaking about his record?

Read the full article here.

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