Hankinson News-Monitor Reporter Slams Cramer for “Shameful” Comments

(BISMARCK, ND) – From a member of the Hankinson News-Monitor team on Congressman Cramer’s “profoundly backward-looking,” “shameful” comments towards women:

Hankinson News-Monitor: Cramer’s comments are shameful
By Karen Speidel
October 5, 2018

I am a woman. That means I lived my entire life being treated differently. Girls grow up knowing that life isn’t always fair. We do the same work as male peers, but are paid less. Wage discrepancies aren’t the only problems. If a woman challenges the “good old boys club,” she is considered a bitch while a man is patted on the back and room is made for him at the proverbial table.

I am raising a teenage daughter. From the moment of birth I have instilled the concept “don’t be a victim.” I want her to fight back, to ask questions, to challenge the status quo.

It shamed me to hear Rep. Kevin Cramer’s comments about the alleged sexual assault orchestrated by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Three women so far have stepped forward. In the interest of full disclosure, these are only allegations.

If legitimate, Kavanaugh’s attacks are heinous enough. It doesn’t matter if he was a teenager when the alleged incidents occurred. Sexual assault is a crime. To hear Cramer dismiss the allegations because they “never went anywhere” or there “was no type of intercourse” is a tremendous step back in women’s equality and rights — from a man who wants to represent North Dakota in the U.S. Senate.

The concept that crimes can only be committed by adults is factually incorrect. Between 1 in 5 women are victims of sexual harassment. That is for all ages. Boys are just as guilty as men of trying to force themselves on a girl. Society no longer accepts the adage that “boys will be boys” when it comes to sexual assault.

Today’s girls are inundated with sexual slapstick as social media takes harassment to a new level. Girls are asked repeatedly by boys to send them a “naked selfie.” Harmless? Never. It portrays the continued objectification of women.

Attempting a sexual assault is still a crime, as can be attested by the #MeToo Movement that derailed powerful men from the entertainment industry and political spectrums.

Cramer’s caveman rhetoric is a profoundly backward-looking view of law and responsibility from someone who should know better. He went so far as to say Kavanaugh’s accuser was a drunk teenager when the alleged incident occurred, alleging she wasn’t a “good girl.” Intoxication is not a defense if someone is driving drunk. It most certainly cannot be used as a legitimate defense in this alleged incident either. For Cramer to suggest anything else is disturbing and shows his disregard for women.

I believe with my whole heart that Cramer’s comments are not representative of North Dakota values. My father never held such beliefs, nor do my husband, brothers, cousins, neighbors, friends, acquaintances … I could go on, but you get the picture.

There is no place in today’s culture for such a callous disregard for women. We deserve better. We expect better, especially from a person wanting to represent our state at the national level.

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CROOKED CRAMER’S CHRONICLES – NEW DIGITAL AD: “EMPTY PROMISES” – CRAMER PLAYING “DEFENSE” ON HEALTH CARE – NEW POLLING

NEW DIGITAL AD: “EMPTY PROMISES.” As first reported by the National Journal, the Dem-NPL released a new digital ad this week, “Empty Promises,” to hold Kevin Cramer accountable for failing to protect North Dakotans’ access to affordable health care, including folks with pre-existing conditions. The ad will run statewide through Election Day as part of a dedicated five-figure digital buy on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Our take: “Kevin Cramer can spout off election-year spin all he wants, but he can’t hide from his record of repeatedly voting to undermine the current health care law and jeopardizing coverage for folks with pre-existing conditions. From voting to gut vital patient protections to accusing folks with pre-existing conditions of abusing the system, Cramer has made one thing clear: he doesn’t care about North Dakotans’ health care.”

CRAMER PLAYING “DEFENSE” ON HEALTH CARE. Cramer is running from his health care record, “play[ing] defense” with voters and trying to hide their record of jeopardizing coverage for folks with pre-existing conditions. His latest attempts? Trying to paper over his record with toothless resolutions that don’t take any concrete action to safeguard protections for folks with pre-existing conditions.

NEW POLL SHOWS HEITKAMP’S STRENGTH IN TIGHT ND SENATE RACE. This week the Dem-NPL released initial regional polling from the eastern cities (Fargo, West Fargo, Grand Forks) and the rural east, which account for 45 percent of the state’s total electorate. The data show Heitkamp with an average 14-point lead over Cramer, with Heitkamp outperforming her 2012 margin in the eastern cities. Heitkamp’s lead in these must-win regions demonstrate the race’s virtual dead heat statewide. Read the polling memo and toplines here.

HEALTH CARE IMPORTANT TO VOTERS. In the same poll, respondents chose Heitkamp by a 34-point margin when asked who will do a better job to ensure health insurance companies are required to cover pre-existing conditions and, by a 20-point margin, respondents believe Heitkamp will do a better job making sure health insurance is more affordable.

MCFEELY: POLLSTER WHO CORRECTLY CALLED HEITKAMP’S 2012 RACE PUSHES BACK (SORT OF) ON LATEST N.D. SURVEY 

  • There is history with a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in North Dakota being given a 10-point polling margin over Heidi Heitkamp. It involves my newspaper, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, and became the state’s own “Dewey Defeats Truman” moment.
  • The Forum released a poll in late October 2012 […] that showed Fargo businessman Rick Berg leading Heitkamp by 10 points, 50 percent to 40 percent with 10 percent undecided. […]. Turns out the margin was not 10 percent, nor was it in favor of Berg. Heitkamp won the race by less than a percentage point, 50.2 to 49.3, in one of the great upsets of that political cycle.
  • But it’s telling that a respected Twin Cities pollster almost immediately took to Twitter after the NBC North Dakota poll was released and […] offered some numbers of his own that would bring the latest poll into question. DFM Research, owned by Dean Mitchell, published its own survey numbers of select areas of North Dakota that show Heitkamp outperforming her results in 2012. Why is this important? Because in 2012, DFM and Mitchell was the only polling firm to predict the outcome of the 2012 race. He consistently polled North Dakota that year and predicted a narrow victory for Heitkamp based on regional polling he did shortly before Election Day.
  • North Dakota is notoriously difficult to poll on a statewide basis and many experienced polling firms, including DFM, break the state down into specific geographic regions to get a better feel for what is happening. That was the basis of DFM’s tweets following the release of the NBC North Dakota poll.
  • [H]is research of the state shows the race is much more likely to be a tossup (which is much more near what all other public polling has shown).

BREAKING: US TRADE DEFICIT WIDENS TO $53 BILLION AS SOYBEAN EXPORTS PLUMMET AMID CHINA TRADE BATTLE. CNBC reports that soybean exports fell $1 billion for the month of August as a result of tariffs and the administration’s trade war. Yet Cramer continues to kowtow to the administration’s reckless trade war, putting his political self-interest ahead of the North Dakotans he’s supposed to represent.

#FBF: “CRAMER’S CAMPAIGN FUND USE COMES INTO QUESTION.” From KFYR on Cramer’s “morally kind of sticky” practice of paying his family with campaign funds:

  • Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., is facing reports that he is using campaign funds to pay himself and his family.
  • A report published last week in Politico and Federal Elections Commission Filings shows Cramer paid family members more than $140,000 and reimbursed himself nearly $200,000 since 2013.
  • Money in politics is a hot button issue, now Congressman Kevin Cramer might be feeling the heat.
  • “It’s the type of behavior that people have flagged in the past as just sort of part of the swamp so to speak. It’s a way that members of congress can sort of enrich themselves and their families just by virtue of their position,” said Kevin Robillard, Politico.
  • The Politico article and FEC filings also show Cramer has reimbursed himself nearly $200,000 for campaign expenses. Cramer says he errs on the side of caution to avoid spending tax payer dollars on politics.

BONUS THOUGHT: We’re always proud of our Senator, but we’re especially proud this week.

TWEET OF THE WEEK.

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NEW AD: “Empty Promises” Spotlights Cramer’s Empty Health Care Promises

(BISMARCK, ND) – Today the ND Dem-NPL released a new digital ad, “Empty Promises,” to hold Kevin Cramer accountable for his empty promises to protect North Dakotans with pre-existing conditions. The ad will run statewide through Election Day as part of a dedicated five-figure digital buy on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The ad was first reported by National Journal.

WATCH “Empty Promises”

“Kevin Cramer can spout off election-year spin all he wants, but he can’t hide from his record of repeatedly voting to undermine the current health care law and jeopardizing coverage for folks with pre-existing conditions,” said Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “From voting to gut vital patient protections to accusing folks with pre-existing conditions of abusing the system, Cramer has made one thing clear: he doesn’t care about North Dakotans’ health care.”

Background:

Cramer voted five times to repeal the current health care law without a replacement. This would have gotten rid of vital patient protections and could have caused costs to skyrocket for North Dakotans with pre-existing conditions. [March 21, 2013; May 16, 2013; September 20, 2013; March 25, 2015; February 2, 2016]

Cramer voted for the AHCA which would have increased health care costs for folks with pre-existing conditions, making coverage unattainable for many.

HEADLINE: The Hill: CBO predicts some with pre-existing conditions will lose coverage under GOP plan

The Hill: “A new provision in the GOP healthcare bill would lead to people with pre-existing conditions being charged much more for coverage.”

Politifact: “Insurers would be able to charge people significantly more if they had a pre-existing condition.”

HEADLINE: Kaiser Family Foundation: Analysis: 6.3 Million People with Pre-Existing Conditions Would Be at Risk for Higher Premiums under the House’s Health Bill

Politifact: “[Cramer’s] votes jeopardize coverage as it stands for pre-existing conditions […] coverage for many would be unattainable.”

Washington Post: Three Pinocchios for Cramer claim that the Republican House bill prevented price discrimination against folks with pre-existing conditions.

Cramer accused those with pre-existing conditions of trying to “game” and “abuse” the system. [KVLY, 5/2/17]

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New Eastern Polling Data Demonstrates Heitkamp’s Strength in Tight North Dakota Senate

(BISMARCK, ND) – Today the North Dakota Democratic-NPL released internal polling data of key eastern North Dakota regions which encompass approximately 45 percent of the state’s total electorate, where U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp holds an average 14-point lead over her opponent, Congressman Cramer. In fact, Heitkamp holds an 18-point lead over Cramer in the eastern cities, 4 points higher than her 2012 margin of victory.

This more detailed polling data from Fargo, West Fargo, Grand Forks, and the rural east provides more detail on Heitkamp’s strong lead in these must-win regions – and demonstrate the race’s virtual dead heat statewide.

Toplines: 

  • If The Election Were Held Today: 53 percent of respondents would vote for Senator Heitkamp; 39 percent would vote for Congressman Cramer.
  • Favorability: Senator Heitkamp has a 59 percent favorability rating, while Congressman Cramer is at 43 percent favorability.
  • Job Approval: 62 percent of those surveyed approve or somewhat approve of Senator Heitkamp’s job performance as U.S. Senator. 
  • Who Will Do A Better Job To Ensure Health Insurance Companies Are Required To Cover Pre-Existing Conditions? Respondents chose Senator Heitkamp by a 34-point margin.
  • Who Will Do A Better Job Making Sure Health Insurance Is More Affordable? Respondents chose Senator Heitkamp by a 20-point margin.

“As we’ve always expected, this race will come down to who North Dakotans believe will put their interests first, rather than kowtowing to a political party,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Senator Heitkamp’s strong independent brand, coupled with her lead on issues like health care and trade put her in a solid position for victory on November 6th.”

Read the polling memo and toplines here.

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Cramer “Plays Defense” on Health Care

(BISMARCK, ND) – Kevin Cramer is running from his health care record. The Hill reports that Republicans are “play[ing] defense” with voters and trying to hide their record of jeopardizing coverage for folks with pre-existing conditions. Cramer’s latest attempt is signing onto not one, but two, toothless resolutions that would take no concrete action to protect folks with pre-existing conditions – protections that would be gutted should the partisan lawsuit, which Cramer supports, succeed.

See key points from The Hill’s analysis below:

  • Republicans in tough reelection races are scrambling to show that they support protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
  • [T]he argument they are making has been complicated by their party’s repeated efforts to repeal ObamaCare, as well as a lawsuit supported by the Trump administration that seeks to overturn protections under the law for people with pre-existing health conditions.
  • A Morning Consult/Politico poll this month found that a large majority of voters, 71 percent, including 66 percent of Republicans, said insurers should be barred from charging people with pre-existing conditions more, a key provision of ObamaCare.
  • Vulnerable Republican lawmakers face headwinds, however, given the Trump administration’s support for the anti-ObamaCare lawsuit brought by 20 GOP-led states.
  • An ad from Sen. Heidi Heitkamp(D-N.D.), facing one of the toughest Senate races in the country, against GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer, features a woman with heart disease saying into the camera: “Mr. Cramer, I don’t know why you voted to let insurance companies go back to denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, but I know Heidi would never do that.”
  • [T]he House’s repeal and replace bill last year, which Cramer, Young, and all but 20 House Republicans voted for, allowed states to get waivers that would enable insurers to spike premiums for people with pre-existing conditions.
  • Larry Levitt, a health policy expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said that the House repeal and replace bill last year “opened the door to weakening protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”

Read more about Cramer’s health care record here.

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ICYMI: Dem-NPL Launches Digital Ad Highlighting “Cramer’s Comments on Kavanaugh Allegations, Women”

(BISMARCK, ND) – IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Roll Call: New Digital Ad Highlights Cramer’s Comments on Kavanaugh Allegations, Women
By Bridget Bowman
September 27, 2018

Key Points:

  • The North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party is launching a new digital adThursday featuring women listening to [Cramer’s] remarks [about sexual assault and other remarks relating to women] and reacting to them. The one minute and forty-second-long video is backed by a five-figure digital buy.
  • It will run first on Facebook until Election Day, and a state party source said the buy will likely increase and it will also likely be used on other digital platforms including Twitter, YouTube and Hulu.
  • The ad starts with video of Cramer in a local news interview addressing the allegations from Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while they were both in high school.
  • The digital ad also features other comments from Cramer, including when he said that feale lawmakers who wore white to Trump’s first joint address to Congress “looked silly” and “were being rude.”
  • The ad also uses audio of Cramer comparing being disloyal to Trump to cheating on one’s wife, as well as commenting on reports that the president was favorable towards Heitkamp potentially “because she was a woman.”
  • A woman at the end of the ad remarked, “He doesn’t treat everyone the same.”

Read the full article here.

WATCH the ad:

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100 Days of No Soybean Bids

Cramer’s Political Loyalty Hurting ND Farmers

(BISMARCK, ND) – Today marks the 100th day that no soybean bids have come in from the Pacific Northwest, causing grain companies to seek extra storage, yet Kevin Cramer is still doubling down on his support for the administration’s reckless trade policies, saying the “best way to end the trade war is by winning it.” Why? Because he’s promised to stand with this administration 100 percent of the time. Cramer has even opined that “tariffs are a tax on your own people,” but is still choosing to put his political career first by standing with the administration, rather than with North Dakota.

And Cramer seems ignorant to what’s actually happening on the ground, arguing that negotiations with China are progressing while, in reality, China canceled previously scheduled trade talks for this week.

While Cramer kowtows to the administration, North Dakota farmers are reaping the consequences of his partisan, political loyalty.

“Do you really think these countries will come back to us (to buy U.S. ag products) with open arms? […] We’re not spanking China with these tariffs. We’re not spanking any of these countries. We’re only spanking ourselves.” – Brian O’Toole, former chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates

“North Dakota is kind of the ‘whipping boy’ in my terms because we send 75 percent of our (soybeans) off the PNW (Pacific Northwest) […] Even if the tariffs came off today, we’re backed up enough that we might not see normal grain flows until next year (2019) at harvest time […] This could be a six-plus-month ordeal. – Tyler Stegman general manager, CGI Arvilla 

“It’s our opinion that things are compounding and getting worse. […] Technically, out of the PNW, there are no shuttles going out at this point. And we don’t foresee China coming back into the marketplace until late October/November. If that were the case, we’re at that point already geared up, shipping corn. You put the time it takes to move grain from North Dakota out to the PNW and onto boats, you’re looking at going to China in December.” – Tyler Stegman general manager, CGI Arvilla

Reminder: It’s been more than 27 days since Kevin Cramer missed his self-imposed deadline for when he’d become “concerned” enough to stand with North Dakota against the trade war.

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CROOKED CRAMER’S CHRONICLES – NEW DIGITAL AD: “REPRESENTATIVE” – CRAMER IS NORTH DAKOTA’S OWN TODD AKIN – 100 DAYS OF NO SOYBEAN ORDERS

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 DISMISSES SEXUAL ASSAULT AS “ABSURD,” QUESTIONS IF THEY ARE EVEN “DISQUALIFYING.” Cramer’s true character was revealed this week with his belittling, dismissive, and insensitive comments regarding sexual assault. Rather than editorializing, we’ll let you read – and watch – them for yourself:

CNN: GOP Senate nominee: Kavanaugh accusation ‘absurd’ because they were drunk and assault attempt ‘never went anywhere’
TPM: Top GOP Senate Nominee: Kavanaugh Accusations ‘Absurd’ Because ‘They Were Teenagers,’ Assault ‘Never Went Anywhere’
VIDEO: Cramer: “My Point Was That There Was No Type Of Intercourse Or Anything Like That”
VIDEO: Cramer: “Even If It Is All True, Does It Disqualify Him?”
CNN: GOP Senate candidate on Kavanaugh accuser: ‘I mean, how many 15-year-olds handle a lot of alcohol?’
The Hill: Cramer questions if allegations should disqualify Kavanaugh ‘even if it’s all true’
Politico: Cramer questions whether Kavanaugh assault allegation is disqualifying — even if true
NBC News: ‘Even if it’s all true’: GOP Senate candidate questions if Kavanaugh allegations disqualify him
MSNBC: GOP’s Cramer lands in a ditch, finds a shovel, digs deeper
NDxPlains: Cramer Struggles to Clarify Comments

NEW DIGITAL AD: “REPRESENTATIVE.” Yesterday the ND Dem-NPL launched a new digital ad, “Representative,” that highlights Cramer’s long record of derogatory and offensive comments towards and about women from belittling sexual assault and questioning whether it’s even “disqualifying” to mocking their physical appearance. Cramer’s belittling and insulting of women may be representative of his character, but they aren’t representative of North Dakota. The ad, which is backed by a five-figure buy and will appear on various digital platforms, was first reported by Roll Call.

WATCH “REPRESENTATIVE”

NORTH DAKOTA’S OWN TODD AKIN. Remember when Republicans actively searched for another candidate to run because they were worried about Cramer’s “Akin-like tendencies?” This week’s comments proved their fears were spot on.

100 DAYS OF NO SOYBEAN ORDERS. Cramer’s blind loyalty to the administration is hurting North Dakota farmers. Even though he created a self-imposed deadline of September for when he’d become “concerned” enough about the trade war to take a stand, Cramer has kept up his support for these detrimental policies. As one farmer put it, “Do you really think these countries will come back to us (to buy U.S. ag products) with open arms? […] We’re not spanking China with these tariffs. We’re not spanking any of these countries. We’re only spanking ourselves.”

CRAMER PAPERING OVER RECORD ON NATIVE AMERICAN. Now that it’s an election year, Cramer is rushing to paper over his record on Native American issues, putting his name on a new provision in VAWA that allows tribes to prosecute offenders for threatened domestic violence against children and law enforcement on reservations. But, as ThinkProgress points out, “his own record would also seem to contradict his support for this legislation. In 2013, he opposed the tribal provisions in the bill as “inadvertently placing in jeopardy future convictions under the act” because they could violate constitutional due process.”

#FBF: CRAMER GETS THREE PINOCCHIOS FOR FALSE HEALTH CARE CLAIM. Remember when Cramer received three Pinocchios for his false claim that the Republican House bill prevented price discrimination against folks with pre-existing conditions. North Dakotans sure do.

TWEET OF THE WEEK.

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NEW AD: “Representative” Details Cramer’s Long History of Insulting Comments Towards Women

(BISMARCK, ND) – As first reported in Roll Call, yesterday the ND Dem-NPL launched a new digital ad, “Representative,” which highlights Congressman Cramer’s long record of making derogatory and offensive comments towards and about women. While Cramer’s comments belittling sexual assault have garnered recent news, Cramer has a history of such statements. In “Representative,” North Dakota women react to comments made by Cramer and make it clear that his remarks don’t represent them. As one woman in the video states, Cramer “doesn’t treat everyone the same.”

The ad is backed by a dedicated five-figure digital buy and will run on Facebook and various digital platforms.

WATCH “REPRESENTATIVE”

“Congressman Cramer’s remarks belittling and insulting women are representative of his character, but they aren’t representative of North Dakota,” said Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “In November, folks across North Dakota will make one thing clear: Kevin Cramer doesn’t represent them.”

Background:

On Sexual Assault
Washington Post: GOP Rep. Cramer questions whether accusation against Kavanaugh should disqualify him, even if true
CNN: GOP Senate nominee: Kavanaugh accusation ‘absurd’ because they were drunk and assault attempt ‘never went anywhere’

On Women’s Appearances
Grand Forks Herald: Kevin Cramer: Women wearing ‘bad-looking white pantsuits’ have a ‘disease’

On Voting the Party Line
USA Today: GOP candidate for Senate compares opposing Trump agenda to cheating on wife 

On Defending a Convicted ‘Peeping Tom’
The Forum: McFeely: Cramer calls window-peeping Gardner ‘a very good man’
Mike Jacobs, Grand Forks Herald: “[Cramer] rushed to Gardner’s defense, calling him a good man and suggesting that he could be a candidate in another election some other time.” 

On Defending former Alabama Senate Candidate and Alleged Sexual Predator
Mike McFeely, The Forum: “Cramer downplayed Moore’s alleged sexual pursuit of teenagers as being ‘40 years past.’”

On Violent Remarks at Tribal Council Meeting on Domestic Violence
The Forum: Cramer Accused of Tirade at American Indian Meeting
Last Real Indians: North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer Verbally Attacks Native Victim’s Assistance Program Director at State Meeting, Threatens to [W]ring Spirit Lake Tribal Council’s Necks

On Senator Heitkamp
Washington Post: ‘It’s obscene’: GOP candidate seethes as Trump embraces Democratic senator
“‘I do think there’s a little difference in that she’s a woman,’ Cramer said. ‘That’s probably part of it — that she’s a, you know, a female. He doesn’t want to be that aggressive, maybe. I don’t know.’

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“With Kevin Cramer, North Dakota has its own Todd Akin”

(BISMARCK, ND) – Kevin Cramer continues to make headlines with his insensitive comments on sexual assault.

WDAY: With Kevin Cramer, North Dakota has its own Todd Akin
By Mike McFeely

  • It took six years, but North Dakota finally has its own Todd Akin. Um … congratulations?
  • Akin was a Missouri Republican who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and had a good chance to win. That is, until he tried to mansplain his views on why he opposed abortion even in the case of rape. He said doctors told him women rarely get pregnant when they’re raped and anyway, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
  • Akin was skewered. Republicans were embarrassed. He lost. The voters spoke: Rape is rape. Todd, meet Kevin. That would be Kevin Cramer, Republican U.S. Senate candidate from North Dakota. Cramer is locked in a tight race against incumbent Heidi Heitkamp, and he believes undying support for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will win him votes.
  • Kevin has spent the past several days saying that even if Kavanaugh did sexually assault the woman who made the first accusation against him, meh, what’s the big deal? […] And, in a coup de grace to his empathy to women, Cramer implied that a good girl wouldn’t have been at the party where she says Kavanaugh assaulted her.
  • Cramer’s first Akin-like moment came on a radio show last week when he called the accusation “absurd” because, “These are teenagers who evidently were drunk, according to her own statement. Again, it was supposedly an attempt or something that never went anywhere.”
  • On Berg’s show, Cramer dismissed the accusation because “there was no type of intercourse or anything like that.” Naive man, Kevin. He’s blissfully unaware of attempted rape or other types of sexual assault. Sexual assault in Cramer’s world, apparently, must be done by a sober adult male who penetrates a sober adult female with his penis. If those involved are teenagers or drinking or the assault doesn’t include intercourse, that doesn’t count.
  • Kevin, meet Todd.

See more:

CNN: GOP Senate candidate on Kavanaugh accuser: ‘I mean, how many 15-year-olds handle a lot of alcohol?’

MSNBC: GOP’s Cramer lands in a ditch, finds a shovel, digs deeper

  • As for the bigger picture, let’s not forget Cramer’s rhetorical history. As we discussedyesterday, it’s a record that includes making derogatory comments about Democratic women’s attire and an unfortunate defense of Alabama’s Roy Moore.
  • In April 2017, CNN quoted a Senate GOP campaign veteran who saidat the time, “On paper, it looks like he could win, but he also appears to have a few Akin-like tendencies that make a lot of people nervous.”
  • A year and a half later, perhaps those concerns were well grounded?

NDxPlains: Cramer Struggles to Clarify Comments

  • Rather than apologizing for his lack of empathy for the alleged victim and others like her, Cramer has more than doubled down. Instead, he blamed others for diminishing the seriousness of the allegations. Given the chance to say he perhaps misspoke and acknowledge – at the very least- that he could see how his word choice created an uproar, he blamed media for using his exact words directly in spoken form.
  • Though Cramer’s latest remarks are the most jaw-dropping, they aren’t out of character. In 2013, he made headlines for his comments at the Spirit Lake Reservation regarding the recently reauthorized Violence Against Women Act. Last year, he said “there is a disease associated” with women members of Congress wearing white suites. Months later, he called a female TV talk show host a “snob.” This pattern demonstrates why he is struggling to clarify his comments because he may have meant what he said in the first place.

The Hill: Cramer questions if allegations should disqualify Kavanaugh ‘even if it’s all true’

Politico: Cramer questions whether Kavanaugh assault allegation is disqualifying — even if true

NBC News: ‘Even if it’s all true’: GOP Senate candidate questions if Kavanaugh allegations disqualify him

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Cramer Papering Over His Record on Native American, Women Issues

(BISMARCK, ND) – Once again, Kevin Cramer is attempting to paper over his disastrous record on Native American issues and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Now that it’s an election year, Cramer is rushing to put his name on a new provision in VAWA that allows tribes to prosecute offenders for threatened domestic violence against children and law enforcement on reservations. The original 2013 tribal provision allowed tribal courts to prosecute non-Indian defendants accused of violence against American Indian women.

But back in 2013 when the tribal provision was first included in VAWA, Cramer had a completely different attitude. He bitterly complained about the provision he now seeks to expand, calling it unconstitutional, and said he would feel unsafe as a non-Native man going onto a reservation. Apparently that wasn’t offensive enough to show his displeasure with the provision. At one tribal council meeting, Cramer grew violent and allegedly said he would like to “wring the tribal councils’ necks and slam them against the wall” as he addressed a domestic violence survivor.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

ThinkProgress: Republican congressman dismisses Kavanaugh claims while pushing for tougher anti-abuse laws
By Josh Israel

  • Kevin Cramer (R-ND), his party’s nominee against incumbent Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, made national headlines on Friday when he dismissed the first set of allegations of attempted rape against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as “absurd.”  His reasoning: the parties involved were drunk teens and the alleged sexual assault was “supposedly an attempt or something that never went anywhere.”
  • But just one daybefore his suggestion that attempted attacks wouldn’t be disqualifying for a Supreme Court justice, he signed on as co-sponsor of a bill to make it easier for Native American tribes to prosecute threats of domestic abuse in their tribal court systems.
  • While his comments about the accusation against Kavanaugh of attempted sexual would seem to contradict his support for legislation protecting minors from attempted abuse, his own record would also seem to contradict his support for this legislation. In 2013, he opposedthe tribal provisions in the bill as “inadvertently placing in jeopardy future convictions under the act” because they could violate constitutional due process.
  • Weeks after that February 2013 vote, Cramer reportedly threatened members of the Spirit Lake Tribal Council with physical violence over tribal handling of child protection, saying that he wanted to “[w]ring the Tribal Council’s neck and slam them against the wall.” Cramer later apologized for his “tone and rhetoric, better suited for active debate in Congress rather than in addressing the protectors of our most vulnerable citizens.”

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ND GOP Candidates Silent on Cramer’s Only “An Attempt” Defense

While Cramer brushes off serious sexual assault allegations, the party’s down-ballot candidates choose party loyalty over supporting survivors

(BISMARCK, ND) — As Kevin Cramer continues his tailspin by tripling down on his comments regarding sexual assault, his colleagues in the ND GOP have closed ranks around him. Cramer initially downplayed the assault, calling it “absurd” and saying it “never went anywhere.” Now, Cramer has gone even further, questioning whether Kavanaugh should be disqualified from serving on the Supreme Court, even if [the alleged assault] is all true.”

Our question to the rest of the ND GOP candidates: When are you going to stand up for the women of North Dakota?

“The last few days have spoken volumes about the character of the ND GOP’s candidates,” said Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Instead of distancing themselves from Kevin Cramer’s insensitive and vicious remarks, the rest of the ticket has closed ranks and endorsed his anti-woman worldview with their silence. Survivors of sexual assault deserve to be heard without being immediately smeared and having their stories called ‘absurd.’ North Dakota’s women should have an ally in state government, but so far, the ND GOP – from the Governor to executive office holders to legislative leadership and candidates – has decided political loyalty is more important than doing the right thing.”

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