CROOKED CRAMER’S CHRONICLES – CRAMER HAPPY WITH PROGRESS OF TRADE WAR – LASHING OUT AT LAW ENFORCEMENT – “ONE OF THE BEST FUDGE MASTERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.”

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 HAPPY WITH PROGRESS OF TRADE WAR. As Kevin Cramer’s self-imposed trade war deadline of September 1st approaches, Cramer is bafflingly stating that the use of tariffs and the ensuing trade war are all “playing out the way that [he] hoped.”

You read that right. Farmers and manufacturers’ concerns are growing over this conflict, yet Cramer is happy with the progress that has been made – all because the president says it’s going well. It’s just another proof point that Cramer will always stand with the administration 100 percent of the time rather than standing with North Dakotans.

NEW DEM-NPL AD: ND BEING USED AS WEAPON IN THIS TRADE WAR.” This week the North Dakota Dem-NPL released :15 and :30 digital ads on the trade war to highlight how Cramer’s refusal to stand up to the administration – and for North Dakotans – against these tariffs is hurting North Dakota’s economy. WATCH the ad here. The ads will run on Facebook for a minimum of two weeks.

LASHING OUT AT LAW ENFORCEMENT. After Senator Heitkamp received an endorsement from the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), Cramer did what he does best: lashes out – this time by bitterly trying to discredit the organization representing over 18,000 border security agents that endorsed President Trump in 2016. One passionate border patrol agent called into the program and took Cramer to task for playing politics and not standing up for them. Listen HERE.

CRAMER PROVES HE’S “ONE OF THE BEST FUDGE MASTERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.” That’s how the Forum’s Jack Zaleski referred to Cramer’s attempts to paper over his record of putting himself and his special interests above North Dakotans. There are still 65+ days to go until the Election, but Cramer’s misinformation campaign has already kicked into full gear to distort his record on health care, the trade war, and border security, to name a few. See for yourself:

HEADLINE: PolitiFact: Kevin Cramer distorts record on government shutdown

  • We rate this statement Mostly False.

HEADLINE: Washington Post: N.D. Republican’s Senate campaign ‘fact-checking’ website promotes false claim on CBO estimates

  • Four Pinocchios. 

HEADLINE: PolitiFact: Kevin Cramer distorts Heidi Heitkamp’s record on banking regulations

  • We rate this statement False. 

Valley News Live: Cramer’s Ad “Misleading”

  • We must label the most recent ad from Cramer’s campaign as ‘misleading.’ 

PolitiFact on the Cramer-Endorsed Trade War:

  • Economists tell us the effects of the tariffs, while imprecise so far, are not pretty.

PolitiFact on Cramer’s Health Care Agenda:

  • Whatever Cramer’s wish is, his votes jeopardize coverage as it stands for pre-existing conditions […] The limits of what insurance companies could charge would have been watered down, which would have sent premiums skyrocketing, experts say, to the point that coverage for many would be unattainable.

CRAMER’S ACTIONS RAISED SERIOUS QUESTIONS AS TO THE “APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY.” While on the Public Service Commission, Cramer faced a lawsuit for allegedly taking “improper campaign contributions” – over $55,000 – from the same industries with applications before the PSC. The judge who oversaw the case called Cramer’s actions “devoid of common sense” and said they raised serious questions as to the “appearance of impropriety.” BOTTOM LINE: Cramer will always act with his own interests in mind, even when it goes against the interests of North Dakotans and even when it means throwing his own integrity to the wayside.

HEADLINE: CRAMER COULD BE USING A LOOPHOLE TO SKIRT REPORTING Cramer’s finances keep getting called into question. From Tyler Axness:

  • As Congressman Kevin Cramer is seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate, he may be using a loophole to skirt the reporting requirements of his assets on his personal financial disclosure.
  • This wouldn’t be the first time Cramer’s financial reporting has raised questions. In fact, if he is using a loophole it only leads to more questions.
  • As far as I can tell, Cramer has not reported having a bank account on his federal personal financial disclosure dating back to the mid-1990s.
  • [Cramer earned] approximately $995,650 in [between 2011 and 2016]. Earlier this year, Politico reported that Cramer has reimbursed himself approximately $200,000from his campaign account. Yet no bank account reported on his personal financial disclosure.
  • It seems odd Cramer hasn’t reported a bank account. Other candidates for the U.S. Senate have done so. Unless he has distributed these funds at numerous banks as to not have an aggregated amount over $5,000 then perhaps he found a creative loophole to not disclose all of his financial assets. If that is the case, further scrutiny is needed. What would he be hiding?

Read more here.

ND RURAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION SPEAKS OUT AGAINST CRAMER-BACKED LAWSUIT. The President of the North Dakota Rural Health Association spoke out against the Cramer-backed lawsuit that could remove patient protections for up to 300,000 North Dakotans.

TWEET OF THE WEEK.

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