(BISMARCK, ND) – On the 53rd anniversary of Medicare, here’s a non-comprehensive list of the times Cramer has jeopardized Medicare – from calling for “means testing” to suggesting that Congress had to “get after”Medicare in order to balance the budget after voting for a budget-busting tax cut for the wealthy.

“Congressman Cramer can’t fool North Dakota’s seniors with his election year pandering – they’ve heard his repeated signals that call for cuts to Medicare and know he’d get rid of their hard-earned benefits to pay for his massive tax cut to the wealthy. Come November, they’ll hold Cramer accountable.”

1. Cramer claimed Congress had to “get after entitlement reform” to deal with the debt and deficit – after he voted for a $2 trillion budget-busting tax cut for the wealthy [Dec. 19, 2017].
2. Cramer voted for a budget that would have begun the privatization of Medicare [March 25, 2015].
3. Cramer suggested implementing “means testing” so that some would “pay a little more of a premium for their Medicare” [July 19, 2018].
4. Cramer refused to fully protect Medicare that folks 50 to 55 have earned, saying they would either face “small” cuts with “policy changes today,” or face Medicare that is “cut dramatically” [July 19, 2018].
5. Cramer claimed he thought Medicare could use “some means testing” [February 14, 2018].
6. Cramer called for “little things like indexing, for example,” and “maybe a little means testing” for Medicare and Social Security [April 25, 2018].
7. Cramer claimed means testing for Social Security and Medicare could have “a huge impact” on balancing the federal budget [April 25, 2018].
8. Cramer claimed changes to Medicare were necessary [February 14, 15, 17, 2018].
9. Cramer clearly specified wanting to “do some things” with Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, suggesting “means testing”” and “changing age a little bit in the out years” [February 13, 2018].
10. Cramer claimed “entitlement” spending had to be dealt with [February 15, 2018].
11. Cramer wanted “entitlement reform” to come after passing his massive tax cut for the wealthy – in order to pay for the cut[September 7, 2017].
12. Cramer would not commit to protecting Social Security or Medicare from cuts in order to deal with the debt created by tax reform [December 20, 2017].

Welcome to Crooked 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.

DEM-NPL LAUNCHES GOOGLE ADS ON CRAMER’S DANGEROUS HEALTH CARE AGENDA. As first reported by the National Journal, the Dem-NPL launched Google search ads to mark the one year anniversary of the failure of ‘skinny repeal’ and remind North Dakota voters that, if Cramer had his way, they would be worse off: facing spiked premiums and stripped coverage. The ads direct viewers to a landing page that breaks down Cramer’s dangerous health care agenda, including harming folks with pre-existing conditions, imposing an ‘age tax’ on older North Dakotans, and spiking health care costs. See the ad:

And don’t miss Cramer’s infamous assertion that folks with pre-existing conditions are trying to “game” and “abuse” the system.

CRAMER’S HEALTH CARE PLAN “WRONG SOLUTION” FOR FARMERS. On top of Cramer’s harmful health care agenda, a recent report finds that skimpy health plans, the kind Cramer supports, “would be inadequate and unaffordable” and “would do more harm than good” to farmers and farm workers. With two out of three farmers and ranchers reporting having a pre-existing condition, this type of agenda is the exact opposite of what is needed – but that doesn’t seem to bother Cramer.

CRAMER’S TRADE WAR “A SELF-INFLICTED WOUND.” That’s how a former Ag Secretary described the Cramer-endorsed trade war amid concerns that North Dakota’s farmers and businesses are in for “a prolonged” standoff. Don’t forget: Despite overwhelming evidence that the trade war is inflicting real damage in the state, Cramer called these concerns “hysteria.” And while other Republican members of Congress are standing up against the trade war, Cramer is nowhere to be found. He’s still fanning the flames.

HEADLINE: NORTH DAKOTA AGRIBUSINESSMAN TELLS PENCE HE CAN’T SELL ENOUGH GRAIN.

• “The thing that is at the forefront for anybody that is in production agriculture is getting rid of our crop this fall,” said Burgum, the governor’s first cousin. “It’s not just that the administration is going to throw $12 billion at the farmer, it’s moving the crop.”
• “I think we believe across the board that tariffs are bad policy,” Skunes [president of the Corn Board for the National Corn Growers Association] said. “Instead of imposing tariffs, we would like the administration to be out creating new trade agreements … and get back to the bargaining table and finish up the negotiations with China so we can take all these tariffs off.”

#STANDWITHND. Anytime the White House comes to visit, it’s an opportunity for us to talk about the issues important to North Dakotans – and the Dem-NPL did just that, holding a Day of Action where nearly 200 volunteers reached out to over 10,000 voters. From concerns about the trade war that’s crippling our farmers and businesses to providing affordable care for families, we heard North Dakotans’ concerns. And Congressman Cramer? He was too busy holding a high-dollar, closed-door fundraiser. The contrast couldn’t be clearer.

DID YOU SEE OUR AD IN THE GRAND FORKS HERALD? In case you missed it, the Dem-NPL called on Cramer to put politics aside and put North Dakotans first during the VP’s visit by standing up for farmers, ranchers, and businesses against the disastrous trade war; standing up for the nearly 300,000 North Dakotans who have a pre-existing condition and are at risk of losing their care; and standing up for North Dakota’s seniors by supporting Social Security and Medicare.

But, in typical Cramer fashion, that didn’t happen. Here’s what we heard from him on how he’ll #StandWithND:

CRAMER’S ANTI-SENIOR AGENDA. Cramer is continuing to mislead North Dakotans, telling them he’ll protect Social Security and Medicare, while simultaneously advocating for “means testing” and increasing Medicare premiums. No wonder he has a lifetime score of nine percent from the Alliance for Retired Americans. North Dakotans won’t be fooled by his phony ads – they want someone like Heidi who’s fought and will keep fighting to protect their hard-earned benefits. Read more here.

TWEET OF THE WEEK.

On Anniversary of ‘Skinny Repeal’ Failure, Ads Will Remind North Dakotans About Cramer’s Hyper-Partisan Health Care Vote

(Bismarck, ND) – Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the failure of ‘skinny repeal’ in the Senate, today the North Dakota Dem-NPL is launching Google search advertisements highlighting Congressman Cramer’s vote for, and support of, his party’s dangerous health care agenda that would have spiked premiums and stripped away coverage for thousands of North Dakotans.

The Google search ads will reach North Dakota voters across the state who are searching for information about health care or Kevin Cramer and are part of a campaign-long, five-figure digital buy against Cramer. The ad directs viewers to a landing page with information on Cramer’s dangerous health care agenda, such as harming folks with pre-existing conditions, imposing an age tax on older North Dakotans, and spiking health care costs.

See the ad:

“If Congressman Cramer had his way, skinny repeal would have passed and North Dakotans would be facing higher health care costs and less comprehensive coverage. From now until Election Day, we’ll make sure voters know that Cramer chose to score political points rather than stand with North Dakotans when they needed it most,” said Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL.

Reminder: Health care remains top of mind for voters. Results of a HuffPost/YouGov poll found “American voters are more likely to say they’re focused about health care than any other issue” and Kaiser Health reported that many Americans are worried “about their out-of-pocket costs increasing so high that” they won’t be able to afford care.

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(BISMARCK, ND) – During their closed-door fundraiser, Congressman Cramer will have the opportunity to discuss issues of importance with the Vice President. We hope he takes the time to advocate for issues affecting North Dakotans every day – like Heidi does during her White House visits – rather than using the time to ask for more help from Washington to aid his campaign.

In case Cramer has forgotten what’s going on in his state, here’s a far-from-comprehensive list of what he could do to begin working on behalf of North Dakotans:

• End his support for the administration’s trade war that’s wreaking havocon North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and businesses.
• End his extreme efforts to rip affordable care away from nearly 300,000 North Dakotans with pre-existing conditions.
• End his repeated pushes to cut Social Security and Medicare, jeopardizing the dignity of a secure retirement for North Dakota’s seniors, to pay for the $1.9 trillion debt he helped create to fund a tax break for the wealthiest few.

“We sincerely hope Congressman Cramer uses his time with the Vice President in a productive manner, advocating for issues important to North Dakotans, rather than begging for more campaign help from Washington, D.C. – but we’re not holding our breath.”

(BISMARCK, ND) – Anytime the White House comes to North Dakota, it’s an opportunity to stand up for our values. Today, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL is doing just that with a full-page ad in the Grand Forks Herald.

The ad calls on Congressman Cramer to use today to put politics aside and put North Dakotans first by standing up for farmers, ranchers, and businesses against the disastrous trade war; standing up for the nearly 300,000 North Dakotans who have a pre-existing condition and are at risk of losing their care; and standing up for North Dakota’s seniors by supporting Social Security and Medicare.

See the ad below:

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