“No insurance company should be able to put a cap on the life of my child” 

(BISMARCK, ND) – North Dakotans are calling out Kevin Cramer and his Washington, D.C. bosses for jeopardizing their health care. Cramer’s votes to repeal or undermine the current health care law 65 times and his support of a reckless, partisan lawsuit threaten protections for people with pre-existing conditions, jeopardizes access to affordable care in rural communities, and could charge older North Dakotans five times more for their care than younger people.

Unfortunately for Cramer, new polling from Protect Our Care finds that 52 percent of voters “say health care is very important when deciding their vote for the U.S. Senate” and 61 percent of voters have a “major concern” with Cramer’s votes to repeal the current health care law.

High Plains Reader: ‘Tale of Two Economies’
By C.S. Hagen

• [Jennifer Restemayer, a] West Fargo resident displayed a picture of her daughter, Allison, who suffers from a genetic disorder, and wouldn’t be alive today if the Affordable Care Act hadn’t been passed.
• Allison, a high school senior now, needs approximately $300,000 worth of hospital care every year just to live, she said. Before the Affordable Care Act was passed her hospital insurance bills were close to reaching the limit. She’s worried now with North Dakota joining a Texas lawsuit to declare the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional that she will have to go back to the days of denied healthcare coverage.
• “Democrats and Republicans need to come together for families like mine so they don’t hit a lifetime max,” Restemayer said. “No insurance company should be able to put a cap on the life of my child.”
• In an attempt to help spread Restemayer’s and other’s concerns about protecting current healthcare laws, a nonpartisan group, Protect Our Care, made its 26th stop at Fargo’s Island Park Tuesday morning to meet with candidates for state office.
• While more than half of North Dakota wants to keep the Affordable Care Act and fix what doesn’t work, elected officials currently in power but up for reelection have launched a full-scaled assault to tear it all down, without a validated backup plan.
• After 967 registered voters in North Dakota were recently surveyed, the poll discovered that most people – 60 percent – voted for President Donald Trump, and 54 percent want to keep what works with the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, while 36 percent would rather start over with new healthcare laws.
• A total of 52 percent of those surveyed stated that healthcare issues are the deciding factor on who to vote for in the U.S. Senate election, according to Change Research, an organization attempting to make polling accessible and affordable.
• Additionally, 47 percent strongly opposed U.S. Congressman Kevin Cramer’s support of the state joining the Texas federal lawsuit to declare the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. Another 61 percent of people said it was a major concern that Cramer voted to repeatedly repeal the Affordable Care Act.
• Senator Jim Dotzenrod is running for the state’s Agricultural Commissioner, and said the current situation is a “tale of two economies,” with farmers taking most of the punches. First, the agricultural community was preparing for a tough year, he said, then came the trade war with China, which is hurting trade deals painstakingly made over years of negotiations with China. And now as the federal lawsuit further threatens to eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions, of which 102,000 people in Fargo currently have and more than 60 percent of Cass County farmers share, Dotzenrod questioned how much worse can conditions get for the agricultural community.
• “We are seeing some big issues affecting us with agriculture and healthcare,” Dotzenrod said. “This lawsuit that is going on now, North Dakota should have stayed away from, but North Dakota has joined in and if it is successful it will take away about $27 million from rural hospitals.” A hit, Dotzenrod said, that rural hospitals won’t recover from.
• The Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion has helped the state, especially in rural areas, but if the Texas lawsuit is successful, all help will disappear. “Unfortunately, all of that is now threatened by this unusual, ideological lawsuit by attorneys in Texas,” [Mac] Schneider said. “This might sound strange coming from an attorney, but you don’t have to sue about everything. This is the time to fight for healthcare.”

Read the full article here.

LISTEN: KFGO: Where Ag and Health Care Cross Paths with Jim Dotzenrod
LISTEN: KFGO: Protect Our Care Bus Tour promotes keeping protections for pre-existing conditions with former State Representative Ben Hanson

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ND ag bankers are told to “brace for a ‘long’” and “unpredictable, unforeseen event with extreme consequences”

(BISMARCK, ND) – The Cramer-endorsed trade war is having disastrous consequences across North Dakota, not only for farmers but for bankers, agribusinesses, and the state’s overall economy. AgWeek reports that “the period of soybean price reductions due to the Chinese trade war […] will have a ‘long’ effect” on the state,” specifically citing “secondary effects” to agribusinesses.

Meanwhile, CNBC reports that North Dakota “soybeans from 2017 are still in storage after China pulled its contracts. Of the 15.9 million bushels left from that year’s crop, 12.1 million bushels are sitting in grain elevators. That is an increase of 68 percent.”

And what has Kevin Cramer done to mitigate these disastrous effects? He’s continued to pay lip service to North Dakota’s farmers, claiming he doesn’t support tariffs but still standing with the administration 100 percent when it comes to implementing them. What’s worse, now AgWeek reports that Cramer’s actions and rhetoric “almost derailed” trade negotiations with Canada. According to several officials in Canada, Cramer’s “public comments during the negotiations… almost derailed the inclusion of [a revision to the grain grading system] in the final agreement.”

See more:

AgWeek: ND ag bankers riding the ‘black swan’

• The period of soybean price reductions due to the Chinese trade war, initiated by the Donald Trump administration, will have a “long” effect, says a North Dakota State University distinguished professor of agricultural economics.
• Wilson said the U.S. “would have to capture virtually 100 percent of every other small market to offset what we lost from China, which is impossible. It can’t happen.”
• In an analysis in April 2018, Wilson calculated that soybean prices should be about $13 per bushel in the absence of a trade war, and about $7 per bushel with a trade war. “We’re just under $7 per bushel right now,” he said.
• Wilson, who researches and teaches grain marketing, showed a Thomson Reuters map that plots the physical coordinates of soybean shipments moving worldwide. Trade showed ships going all over the world in December 2016 but in July 2018, no ships were leaving the U.S.
• That’s an effect on farmers, and then secondary effects will come to agribusinesses, He concluded: “I’m really scared of where we are,” Sinner said, adding, “We’ve got a big problem.”

CNBC: Farmers struggle to store crops as US tariffs start to take their toll

• United States tariffs are beginning to take their toll on farmers and the storage, shipping and freight operations they need to move their crops to market.
• In North Dakota, soybeans from 2017 are still in storage after China pulled its contracts. Of the 15.9 million bushels left from that year’s crop, 12.1 million bushels are sitting in grain elevators. That is an increase of 68 percent.
• “There aren’t any shipping contracts to move them out of those facilities and get them to ports in the Pacific Northwest for export, either,” said Simon Wilson, executive director of the North Dakota Trade Office.
• With this year’s crop now being harvested, the lack of available storage means some soybeans may have to be stored on the ground in bags, a challenge for this temperamental crop. According to the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association, farmers in the state contracted to sell an estimated 40 percent of the 2018 crop.

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(BISMARCK, ND) – Here comes more election year spin from Kevin Cramer: While Cramer has consistently voted to undermine North Dakotans’ access to affordable health care, he’s now 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.

The Washington Examiner reports that “endangered” House Republicans, including Cramer, offered a “sense of the House” resolution that “discusses the need to protect pre-existing condition protections, but [it] is not legislation.” That’s typical for Cramer though – he referred to his previous 65 votes to undermine North Dakotans’ health care ‘symbolic’ – and has continually paid lip service to North Dakotans about his dangerous health care record.

Earlier this week, the ND Dem-NPL released a digital ad, “Empty Promises,” to hold Kevin Cramer accountable for his empty promises to protect North Dakotans with pre-existing conditions.

WATCH “Empty Promises”

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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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(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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(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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