ICYMI: Trade War at Issue in #NDSEN as Cramer Rubber Stamps President’s Policies

Kevin Cramer has demonstrated time and again that he’ll be a rubber stamp for all of the president’s policies – even when those policies hurt North Dakotans. Unfortunately for Cramer, North Dakotans are taking notice, and they’ll hold him accountable in November.

Associated Press: How the trade war is changing minds in a Senate battleground
By Jonathan Mattise and Steve Peoples
July 7, 2018

Key Points:

  • Concerns [over trade] are roiling high-profile Senate contests in Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania and North Dakota and forcing GOP candidates to answer for the trade policies of a Republican president they have backed on almost every other major issue.
  • Now, as [the president] sparks an international trade war four months before the midterm elections, few policies could be more problematic for Trump’s allies in pivotal Senate contests.
  • The Trump administration imposed a 25 percent tax on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports on Friday, and China is retaliating with taxes on an equal amount of U.S. products, including soybeans, electric cars and pork. The administration has penalized steel and aluminum imports from allies such as Canada and Mexico, leading to retaliation against American-made products such as blue jeans, motorcycles and whiskey.
  • Nationwide, the U.S. Chamber reported that $75 billion in U.S. exports will soon be subject to retaliatory tariffs. Many of the hardest hit states are those that backed Trump and feature top-tier Senate races in November.
  • In North Dakota, Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp has seized on Republican challenger Kevin Cramer’s description of the tariff fallout as “hysteria.” Cramer blames China for the trade dispute that could affect as many as 111,000 jobs.

Read the full article here.

Burgum’s Buyouts Show Effects of Financial Mismanagement, Misguided Cuts

Forced to do more with less, state agencies brace for another round of buyouts because of Burgum and the Republican supermajority’s poor stewardship

(BISMARCK, ND) — Following the announcement of more buyouts to meet Governor Doug Burgum’s deep and harmful budget goals, Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the Democratic-NPL, released the following statement:

“Starting this week, hundreds of North Dakota’s state employees will face a terrible choice of giving up their careers by taking a buyout or risk termination for continuing to do their jobs. Nonspecific, across-the-board cuts are no way to balance the budget, especially when the Governor is using the state’s air fleet like his personal chauffeur. Governor Burgum’s decision to pursue 5 to 10 percent budget cuts not only affects the lives of dedicated and experienced state workers, but it also puts the important services they provide in jeopardy.

Our state agencies, the people they employ, and the thousands of North Dakotans who depend on their services are under attack by a Governor whose misguided ideological crusade and mismanagement of state resources are rubber-stamped by a Republican supermajority in the legislature. That is no way to run an efficient, well-balanced government that puts North Dakotans first, it’s a recipe for buyouts, layoffs, and reduced access to vital programs.”

NEW VIDEO: Cramer’s Repeated Calls to Cut Social Security & Medicare

Cramer Doesn’t Want North Dakotans to Know His True Record on Social Security & Medicare

Following Congressman Kevin Cramer’s ad in which he falsely claims that he’ll protect Social Security and Medicare, today the North Dakota Democratic-NPL is launching a new video highlighting the numerous times Cramer has called for these programs to be cut. The video is backed by a Facebook ad buy.

WATCH:

Cramer has advocated again and again and again and again for making significant cuts to vital programs like Social Security and Medicare. Here are just a few examples:

  1. Cramer claimed Social Security and Medicare cuts were unpopular, but necessary – and specifically mentioned means testing and raising the retirement age.
  2. Cramer claimed cuts to Social Security and Medicare were required to lower the deficit.
  3. Cramer voted for his party’s disastrous health care plan – against the urging of the AARP – that would have harmed Medicare and imposed an age tax on older Americans.
  4. Cramer voted for a budget that would have begun the privatization of Medicare.
  5. Cramer’s fellow House Republicans recently released an extremist budget proposal that would enact massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and other vital programs.

“Kevin Cramer is desperately trying to rewrite history, but his record speaks for itself. Time and again, he supported cuts to Social Security and Medicare, programs that thousands of North Dakotans rely on,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Cramer’s backward priorities leave us wondering: who is he looking out for in Washington, North Dakotans first or himself?”

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#FBF: Cramer’s Farm Bill Failures

Cramer Has History Of Playing Politics With Farm Bill

Don’t let the misinformation campaign fool you: Congressman Kevin Cramer – who has never even served on the House Agriculture Committee – has a history of playing politics with the Farm Bill.

Cramer voted for a purely partisan Farm Bill, despite the historically non-political nature of this legislation. He voted to cut funding to crop insurance and rural infrastructure – both of which North Dakota producers rely on. Cramer’s partisan bill also cuts over $20 billion in nutrition assistance programs, leaving behind North Dakota families who need assistance the most. That’s why over 300 ag-focused groups, the National Farmers Union, and North Dakota hunger relief advocates opposed the legislation.

Reminder: 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, all of which help North Dakota farmers and ranchers.

This isn’t the first time Cramer played politics with the future of North Dakota’s farmers. In 2013, Cramer was criticized for holding up passage of a bipartisan bill over his partisan political tantrums, with the Williston Herald Editorial Board calling on him to make it his top priority and to legislate more like Senators Heitkamp and Hoeven.

Williston Herald Editorial Board: Cramer needs to take a lesson from Hoeven and Heitkamp.

  • North Dakota needs its representation to step up… We feel Cramer needs to take a lesson from Hoeven and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in how to wield influence.
  • He needs to partner with the neighboring states of Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota on both sides of the aisle to make this work. He needs to make the farm bill his No. 1 priority, whether it is pushing to reconsider the House version or passing the Senate version.
  • The bill and North Dakota farmers need Cramer to reach into his influence to sway his fellow House members and reach out for bipartisan support, if for no other reason but to show signs of life in the farm bill fight.
  • [North Dakota voters] need to see real leadership, real influence and real fight in passing the farm bill.

“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,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL.

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#TBT: Cramer Calls Farmers’ Concerns Over Trade Fight “Hysteria,” Says They Need Higher “Pain Threshold”

As threats of a trade war heighten – with real, dire consequences for North Dakota farmers – Kevin Cramer calls concerns “hysteria,” telling farmers they “don’t have a high enough pain threshold.”

Cramer has pledged to be a rubber stamp for the President and vote with him 100 percent of the time and, when confronted with the harmful effects Trump’s trade fight is having on North Dakotans, Cramer has, at best, only given mealy-mouthed answers. Now we’re seeing what the consequences of Cramer’s reckless promise to vote with Trump all the time would entail:

WHSV: North Dakota farmers looking for answers amid tariff uncertainty.
“North Dakota farmers are scrambling for answers in Washington. As a trade war brews between the U.S. and its partners, an atmosphere of uncertainty looms. North Dakota agriculture leaders say can’t afford to lose these relationships.
…
With commodity prices already low, Mertz is fearful his industry could tank if a trade war with Mexico happens. He says they use North Dakota barley to make Corona. He doesn’t like being used as a negotiating tool.”

Washington Examiner: “But if the White House has found ways to shelter red-state farmers… they’ve been keeping it to themselves. On Thursday, China announced retaliatory tariffs on soybeans — a move that will disproportionately harm North Dakota.”

Wall Street Journal: Trade Fight Threatens Farm Belt Businesses.
“The president’s global trade offensive is threatening the livelihoods of many farmers. Mounting trade disputes, spurred by U.S. threats to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement and tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of goods from key trading partners, have cut U.S. agricultural exports and sent commodity prices tumbling. Many farmers, who depend on shipments overseas for one-fifth of the goods they produce, say they are anxious, especially because they are already expecting bumper harvests or grappling with a dairy glut.
…
Some farmers fear trade battles will jeopardize foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products that took decades to establish.
…
Others worry another bumper harvest this fall will compound pain inflicted by tariffs. The USDA expects farmers to reap the fourth-largest corn crop and third-biggest soybean crop in history.”

“It’s no surprise that someone who likened voting against Trump’s agenda to cheating on your wife would blindly follow such an ill-conceived policy, even when it’s detrimental to North Dakotans,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “North Dakota farmers are already experiencing devastating pocketbook consequences from Cramer’s inaction. It’s clear that his blind loyalty and his political ambitions are more important to him than standing up for North Dakota farmers and businesses.”

Background:

Cramer Asked North Dakotans To Blindly Trust Trump’s Actions On Trade:

  • Cramer On Trade: “President Trump Is Asking For Something That We Are To Give Him And That Is Patience […] The Longer Time We Give Him I Think The Better The Trade Deal Is At The End Of It.” CRAMER: “President Trump is asking for something that we are to give him and that is patience. And the longer that we, the longer time we give him I think the better the trade deal is at the end of it.” [Breitbart News Daily – Interview with Kevin Cramer – 6/29/18]
  • Cramer Claimed The Trade Negotiation Would End Quicker If “We” Stand With Trump And Help Him. CRAMER: “Right now, while we’re in the middle of a negotiation, I think if we want this to end quickly what we are to be doing is standing with our president and help him.” [NPR – Interview with Kevin Cramer – 6/15/18]
  • Cramer Claimed A Soybean Tariff Would Cause “Short-Term Pain,” But That Pain Did Not Change “The Long Term Goal.” According to NBC News, Cramer stated, “‘North Dakotans are sophisticated people and with a soybean tariff, it’s gonna be short-term pain, but that doesn’t change the long term goal.’” [NBC News, 4/8/18]

Cramer Refused To Acknowledge The Negative Effects Of Trump’s Trade Policies:

  • Amid Soybean Tariffs, Cramer Claimed It Was Not “All Doom And Gloom” For North Dakota Producers. According to KNOX-AM, “Many in the farm sector are concerned about a possible trade war with China having a negative impact on North Dakota soybean growers. But Congressman Kevin Cramer says he doesn’t believe it’s all doom and gloom.” [KNOX-AM, 1:04PM, 5/17/18]

Cramer Claimed Concern Over Trade Policies Was “Hysteria.”

  • Prairie Public HEADLINE: “Cramer: Cool The ‘Hysteria’ Over Chinese Tariffs.” [Prairie Public, 4/9/18]
  • On Tariffs, Cramer Claimed He Did Not “Fall For The Hysteria Thing.” According to Bismarck Tribune, “With that, he said the situation is ‘not without risk’ and ‘it causes me some concern’ but ‘I don’t fall for the hysteria thing.’” [Bismarck Tribune, 6/1/18]

Cramer Exploited Veterans for Political Purposes

Cramer Used Footage of North Dakota Veterans Cemetery for Campaign Purposes, Ignored Concerns of Veterans to Take It Down

(BISMARCK, ND) – In 2014, Congressman Cramer used footage of the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery in a campaign ad, even though the Department of Veterans Affairs expressly prohibits the filming of political ads. Despite explicit calls from local veterans and service members to stop airing the ad, Cramer dragged his feet – and even after he said he’d pull the ad from TV, he continued to “encourage people to view the ad online.”

There’s more: when confronted with why Cramer was so disrespectful to use this footage without permission, he didn’t apologize – in fact, he doubled down, saying “there’s nothing illegal” about it.

Here’s what North Dakota veterans had to say:

Vietnam veteran Neil Prochnow: “I would say it’s inappropriate…He should’ve used better judgment.” 

Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan veteran Bryan Watters: “I don’t think any political candidate should be cashing in on the sacrifices made by veterans in their final resting place. Let them rest in peace.”

Iraq veteran Christopher Deery: “Instead of showing us and the service members laid to rest in that cemetery the respect we deserved, he kept his ad online for the course of the campaign… Cramer didn’t care then whose rules he was breaking that he had disrespected veterans, and doesn’t care now.”

“Congressman Cramer campaigned on fallen soldiers’ graves, deciding that it was more important to exploit veterans for political purposes than to respect their final resting place and follow the rules,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “He even ignored calls from North Dakota vets and service members and kept directing folks to watch his ad online. It’s sad that North Dakotans have come to expect nothing less from Cramer: his refusal to admit wrongdoing is just another example of him putting his own interests above North Dakotans.”

See more:
MSNBC: Tasteless GOP political ad still online, despite rebuke.
Bismarck Tribune, LTE: Cramer continues to ignore rules.
Inforum: Cramer criticized for using vets cemetery as backdrop for ad.
MSNBC: Veterans’ cemeteries are not campaign props.

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Does Congressman Cramer Still Think Military Spending is “Difficult Pill to Swallow”?

(BISMARCK, ND) – When it comes to funding our military, Congressman Cramer thinks less is more. In the most recent government funding bill, Cramer complained that a necessary increase in military spending to supply up-to-date equipment and training to keep our troops safe was a “difficult pill… to swallow.”

“Ahead of Independence Day, North Dakotans deserve to know: does Congressman Cramer still think military funding – including vital equipment and training upgrades – is a ‘difficult pill to swallow,’” asked Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “North Dakotans want a Senator whose priorities are in line with their own – and Cramer’s comments make it clear that he is not that person.”

This isn’t the first time Cramer has sided against essential funding for our security:

Cramer On Funding For Pay Raises, Equipment, And Training For Active Duty Military: “There’s No Question It’s A Very High Priority, But It’s Becoming A Very Difficult Pill.” According to Reuters, “House Republicans emerging from a closed meeting on Tuesday morning, said there was little information provided by leadership about the state of play. ‘Most of the discussion … is trying to convince us that defense is so critical that we have to swallow everything else to give our soldiers and airmen and Marines and sailors the pay raise they need and the equipment and training they need,’ said Republican Representative Kevin Cramer. ‘There’s no question it’s a very high priority, but it’s becoming a very difficult pill,’ Cramer said.” [Reuters, 3/20/18]

Cramer Voted Against Motion To Concur With Senate Bill That Would Provide Funding For Department Of Homeland Security. [CQ, 3/3/15; H.R. 240, Vote 109, 3/3/15]

Cramer Opposed Shifting Additional Funds To Customs And Border Protection, Cutting ICE Administrative Funding. [HR 2217, Vote #197, 6/5/13]

The Best “Volunteer” Job in America? Crooked Kevin Cramer Misleads About His Own Nepotism, Payments to Family Members

Crooked Cramer also subject to FEC complaint for misusing campaign funds for personal gain

(BISMARCK, ND) – Kevin Cramer definitely wants you to forget that he’s used his long career in politics to get rich. He’s now trying to fool North Dakotans – saying that his “family is involved on a volunteer basis in a very, very big way.” If that’s the case, it must be the best volunteer gig in America.

The fact is that Cramer and his family have gotten “very, very big” paychecks from their involvement in his political career. Cramer and his family have pocketed more than $375,000 during the past few years – a practice a leading ethics watchdog called “morally kind of sticky.” Former Senator Kent Conrad went even further – slamming Cramer for making “a virtual cottage industry out of his campaigns.”

“Crooked Kevin Cramer can’t lie his way out of this one – voters know that he’s a self-serving corrupt politician who has used his campaigns as a ‘get rich quick’ scheme for himself and his family,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “The facts are clear – Cramer and his family have made more than $375,000 off of his career in politics and his net worth has nearly doubled since he went to Washington. You can’t drain the swamp without booting Cramer out of office.”

Burgum Air: Governor’s Use of Private Planes at Taxpayer Expense Raises Auditor’s Eyebrows

State Auditor chastises the Governor for jet-setting on North Dakotans’ dime, using government planes for “commuting” and carrying “non-state employees without a business purpose”

(BISMARCK, ND) — Governor Doug Burgum is in hot water with North Dakota’s State Auditor over improper use of state aircraft. The report cites the Burgum and Dalrymple administrations for violations including using the planes for personal commuting, carrying “non-state employees without a business purpose,” and choosing to fly on the taxpayer’s dime in a private aircraft out of state, even while available commercial flights were cheaper.

The report also advised that the Governor’s office submit Request for Air Transportation forms to the business purpose of each trip could be established, an oversight that is used for every other government agency using state aircraft. But the Governor pushed back in the report, insisting that it is one rule for him and a different rule for everyone else.

“Unfortunately for everyone concerned with good governance in North Dakota, Governor Burgum has continued to lack transparency and bend the rules to benefit his own convenience at taxpayer expense,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Instead of jumping on 94 for his trips between Fargo and Bismarck like every other commuter, he’d rather call up personal Uber for the Air and leave taxpayers with the bill. For an elected official who is calling on North Dakota’s K-12 teachers, higher education instructors and administrators, mental health professionals, and first responders to do more with less and proposing massive cuts to the state’s public services, a different standard seems to apply.”

Dem-NPL Passes Day of Action Goal

Hundreds of volunteers reached out to over 14,000 voters, beating expectations and energizing supporters

(BISMARCK, ND) — By the time President Trump took the stage at the Scheels Arena in front of 6,000 people, the Democratic-NPL had already doubled that number of voters reached in North Dakota and was on its way to speaking with many more.

The Dem-NPL originally had the goal of speaking with 12,000 voters on its Day of Action,but ended up surpassing their benchmark by listening to over 14,000 North Dakotans thanks to nearly 300 volunteers who made phone calls and knocked on doors across the state.

“It was amazing to see the groundswell of support for our federal, statewide, and legislative candidates,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Our amazing volunteers showed up and spent hours making phone calls or knocking on doors throughout the state. While President Trump talked at 6,000 in the Scheels Arena and Kevin Cramer readily admitted that he would be a rubber stamp for any of his policies, regardless of the effect on the state, the Dem-NPL and its volunteers listened to 14,000 voters who want to see independent leadership that puts North Dakotans first.”

Trump Visit Comes After Cramer’s Disastrous Month and as His Trade War Threatens North Dakota Farmers and the Economy

 

(BISMARCK, ND) — Kevin Cramer was desperate for a lifeline – after all, he’s had a disastrous month of headlines and missteps and his trade war is threatening the livelihood of North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers. That’s not to mention the open FEC complaint that was filed against Cramer yesterday for once again misusing campaign dollars to enrich himself and his family. Read more from the Forum and the Wall Street Journal below:

Forum: McFeely: Cramer hopes to get a needed jolt from Trump

  • From defending a peeping Tom as “a very good man” to saying that all chain-link fences are created equal, whether they are holding children like caged dogs or simply enclosing a playground, it’s been a rough past few weeks for Kevin Cramer.

  • When you defend putting children as young as 3 into cages after they’ve purposely been separated from their parents by the U.S. government because “chain-link fences are around playgrounds all over America, all over North Dakota,” it tends to make headlines.

  • When you pick a fight with the president’s legislative affairs director, suggest Trump gives Heitkamp preferential treatment “because she’s a, you know, a female,” insult the Koch Bros.-fueled Americans For Prosperity because the conservative advocacy group gave money to Heitkamp and generally whine that the president isn’t giving you enough love — as Cramer has done just in the past month — the political world is going to pay attention.

  • His has not exactly been an inspiring campaign thus far.

  • But in deeply conservative North Dakota, the fact that Heitkamp is hanging around is a story in itself. She is personally popular, liked by voters in both parties and has cast herself as a moderating voice in a crazy political atmosphere.

Wall Street Journal: Close North Dakota Senate Race Shadowed by Trump and Trade

  • The Senate race is shadowed by the growing threat of a trade war that could hurt North Dakota’s export-dependent farmers, and Ms. Heitkamp is working to align herself with them.

  • Soybeans are the state’s No. 1 export, generating about $1.1 billion in 2016, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Agriculture Department. China is the number one destination for those soybeans, according to the North Dakota Soybean Council.

  • Tom Campbell, a potato farmer who dropped his own Senate bid and is now a Cramer backer, warned that if the economic fallout of a trade war hits during fall harvest it could hurt Mr. Cramer.

  • Small-state intimacy could help Ms. Heitkamp’s efforts to draw ticket-splitting voters like John Dusek, an insurance agent who voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 but is inclined to support Ms. Heitkamp for reelection.

  • “She’s from a small town. She does what’s best for North Dakota. She’s a good person,” Mr. Dusek said while watching the Grafton parade.

  • Still, it may be risky to go too hard. Mr. Cramer acknowledges in one of his ads, “We all like Heidi.”