“He begged me”: Cramer Tries to Muddy the Waters About Motivations for Senate Run

Kevin Cramer previously admitted he got into the race because of Harold Hamm

(BISMARCK, ND) — Kevin Cramer (R-Harold Hamm) really, really wants some love from President Donald Trump. But it looks like he’s going about it all the wrong ways – last month, he lashed out at the president’s top aide for GOP legislative failures.

Now, he’s even telling the Associated Press that the president “begged” him to run for the Senate – wining and dining him at a fancy, Washington, D.C. meal.

But we all know that Cramer didn’t get into the race for the president or for, you know, North Dakotans – as WDAY reported, Cramer got into the race at the urging of out-of-statebillionaire, Harold Hamm.

That’s right – it wasn’t the president or his constituents that got him into the race. It was a pledge from an out-of-state billionaire to bankroll his campaign that got Cramer to do an about-face on his Senate campaign.

“Make no bones about it – Kevin Cramer is so full of Kevin Cramer that he actually thinks he’s better than the president, this time claiming that the president ‘begged’ him to get into the race. But Cramer has been and always will be more motivated by his own pocketbook, getting into the race only when an out-of-state billionaire asked him to,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Cramer has never been interested in getting results for North Dakota, and his ineffectiveness was center stage has the Farm Bill failed spectacularly in the House. Cramer should spend less time currying favor with Harold Hamm and more time working across the aisle — and maybe even with the president — to pass a strong Farm Bill that’ll give certainty to North Dakota’s ag producers.”

When deciding not to run for Senate the first time, Cramer had said he couldn’t effectively fight for a strong Farm Bill at the same time he ran a competitive statewide campaign. And it looks like he’s right – Cramer failed to pass a Farm Bill in the House. It just looks like a fat campaign contribution from Harold Hamm was more important than the wellbeing of North Dakota farmers and ranchers.

Jaeger In Violation of Court Order Leading Up to Primary

The North Dakota Secretary of State did not implement a voter education program despite a federal judge’s orders

(BISMARCK, ND) — Lawyers for North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger admitted to ignoring a ruling from a George W. Bush-appointed federal judge that ordered the state to implement a voter education program to clear up confusion surrounding voter ID requirements.

As North Dakotans prepare to vote in Tuesday’s primary election, confusion remains for many voters who want to cast their ballot in a legal way. While the state has been stuck in a costly and ongoing court battle, Jaeger’s office has not taken the proactive steps ordered by District Court Chief Judge Hovland to ensure eligible voters have the information they need.

“Al Jaeger is acting like he is above the law by not implementing a court-mandated voter education program,” said Scott McNeil, North Dakota Democratic-NPL Executive Director. “On Tuesday, thousands of North Dakotans will walk into their polling places without the certainty that their voice will be heard. North Dakota deserves a Secretary of State that follows the law and puts the integrity of our elections first. This sort of incompetence is why Republicans decided to kick him to the curb at their convention, only to come crawling back when Will Gardner’s past became public. Al Jaeger might be too busy gathering enough signatures so he can appear on November’s ballot to follow Judge Hovland’s ruling, but that is no excuse for ignoring the law.”

Republicans Seek to Gut ACA Pre-Existing Conditions Through Courts—After the Midterms

The administration seeks to strip away protections for people with pre-existing conditions — where does Kevin Cramer stand?

(BISMARCK, ND) — When Washington Republicans stripped provisions from the Affordable Care Act in their budget busting tax bill, they raised costs for hardworking North Dakota families. Now, they are going after the folks who need protection from exorbitant premium increases the most: seniors and patients with pre-existing conditions.

But to make sure Washington Republicans don’t take a political hit, the Justice Department took an extra step and asked a federal court not to implement the action until after the midterm elections.

“This is what Kevin Cramer voted for — higher costs and fewer protections for North Dakotans,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “The Republican tax bill is a massive giveaway to out-of-state corporate executives, is expanding the national debt, and now is being used to rip health care away from the families and seniors who need it most. But Kevin Cramer is running ads that tout his support for the legislation, while failing to acknowledge the thousands of North Dakotans who are at risk of losing or paying even more for their health care. The underhanded way that Republicans are going about the systematic dismantling of an important safety net is disturbing.”

Politico: Trump administration backs court case to overturn key Obamacare provisions

  • The Trump administration is urging a federal court to dismantle two of the most popular provisions of Obamacare, but to delay taking such drastic action until after the midterm elections this fall.

  • Responding to a lawsuit from conservative states seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, the Justice Department told a judge in Texas on Thursdaythat Congress’ decision to repeal the penalty for failing to buy health insurance renders unconstitutional other Obamacare language banning insurers from charging people more or denying them coverage based on a pre-existing condition.

  • The Texas-led lawsuit filed in February claims that the recent elimination of Obamacare’s individual mandate penalty means that the whole health care law should now be ruled invalid. The mandate penalty was wiped out effective in 2019 as part of the GOP tax law passed late last year, H.R. 1 (115).

  • The administration’s evening filing says it agrees with states bringing the suit that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, as are two of the law’s major insurance provisions meant to protect people with expensive medical conditions. With the filing, the Trump administration is asking the courts to wipe out protections that many congressional Republicans were wary of eliminating in their failed efforts to repeal Obamacare.

  • “I am at a loss for words to explain how big of a deal this is,” University of Michigan health law professor Nicholas Bagley, an authority on Obamacare, wrote on Twitter. “The Justice Department has a durable, longstanding, bipartisan commitment to defending the law when non-frivolous arguments can be made in its defense. This brief torches that commitment.”

ICYMI: Bipartisan Group of Senators Warn That Looming Trade War Threatens Farm States

“Automobiles and agriculture are almost always the first things where we get retribution. Those happen to be two of the things we’re really good at”

(BISMARCK, ND) – The president’s plan to use tariffs on steel and aluminum to pressure China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union into making better trade deals doesn’t appear to be working, according to a recent editorial reprinted in the Bismarck Tribune. In fact, the administration’s blustering threats and stern language has brought the United States closer to a global trade war that would likely treat America’s farm states as collateral damage.

Unwilling to ask their constituents to tighten their belts for the sake of the president’s pride, farm-state Republicans are pushing back on the administration’s ill-advised trade policy. Senate Republicans from John Hoeven to Chuck Grassley to John Thune are lining up to protect their states from these harmful policies. Even the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers have come to the conclusion that tariffs will hurt economic growth. Kevin Cramer, on the other hand, hasn’t shown the courage to stand up to the White House. After deleting his tweet in support of North Dakota’s farmers, Cramer has fallen in line, supporting the president’s plans at the expense of North Dakotans.

While Cramer dismisses the economic anxiety of his constituents as hysteria, Senator Heitkamp is rolling up her sleeves and getting to work. Heidi is reaching across the aisle to team up with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker to introduce legislation that would ensure that the voices of farmers, ranchers, and small business owners in North Dakota and other rural states would be heard before Washington dives head-first into a trade war.

Highlights from the editorial below:

Bismarck Tribune via St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Trade moves may backfire on president

  • …China made it clear to U.S. negotiators over the weekend that it won’t be threatened into buying more U.S. goods. Also over the weekend: Leaders of the six other G-7 nations meeting in Canada rebuked the U.S. for using bogus “national security” concerns to levy tariffs on its allies, saying such tariffs “undermine open trade and confidence in the global economy.”

  • That’s stern language by international norms. It means a global trade war that will devastate large parts of the U.S. economy is edging closer.

  • Trump’s approach appears to be driven by whim. He announced the steel and aluminum tariffs in March, then backed off. Now they’re on again. He threatened trade war with China all spring, then two weeks ago Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said things were “on hold.” Now they’re on again, though U.S. markets appear to be betting Trump will back off. Ginning up uncertainty is no way to run an economy.

  • Any retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural products will be disastrous, as farm state Republicans quickly pointed out. “This is dumb,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. “Europe, Canada and Mexico are not China, and you don’t treat allies the same way you treat opponents.” Even Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, who is usually loath to criticize the president, chimed in. “We have a lot more people dependent on getting steel for the jobs they have than people that make steel,” Blunt said last Thursday in Kansas City.

  • Trump doesn’t seem to care that far more U.S. workers benefit from free trade than benefit from higher tariffs. He has said American farmers are “patriots” who won’t mind getting hammered by high tariffs. By one estimate, a trade war would cost the average U.S. family $210 a year, wiping out most benefits of the tax bill passed last December.

As Senate Releases Bipartisan Farm Bill, a Reminder of Kevin Cramer’s Reckless Record on Agriculture

Kevin Cramer has never even served on the House Agriculture Committee, Enables Farm Bill’s failure in the House

(BISMARCK, ND) — Today, the U.S. Senate released a bipartisan Farm Bill that would provide certainty and a strong safety net to North Dakota farmers and ranchers. But while the Senate works across the aisle, Kevin Cramer has been fanning the flames of partisanship and abandoning North Dakota’s agricultural producers when they need him most.

Here’s a quick rundown of Kevin Cramer’s reckless and abysmal record on agriculture:

  • FARM BILL: Despite previously touting his seniority and influence, Kevin Cramer wasn’t able to get the House Farm Bill over the finish line. In fact, Kevin Cramer even called the Freedom Caucus’ hostage-taking efforts that sank the Farm Bill “not inappropriate.” Kevin Cramer is also part of the Republican Study Committee – which has proposed slashing crop insurance in half, eliminating the Renewable Fuel Standard and eliminating the sugar program North Dakota farmers rely on. Despite their radical anti-agriculture agenda, Cramer stood by the RSC as a ‘good group.’

  • NAFTA: North Dakota farmers and ranchers are bracing for the president’s withdrawal from NAFTA, but the only thing Kevin Cramer has done is heap on praise for the president’s tactics. Rather than defending NAFTA like Senator Heitkamp and members of his own party, Cramer is more concerned with advancing his political career and catering to his audience of one.

  • TARIFFS: As the president starts a trade war with China and allies like Canada, Mexico and the European Union, Kevin Cramer has been cheering from the sidelines. He’s refused to stand up for North Dakota farmers and ranchers – even dismissing their valid concerns as “hysteria.” He said opposing the president is like cheating on a spouse, so North Dakota’s ag producers have learned not to count on Cramer for any loyalty.

Kevin Cramer Continues to Face Heat from Farmers on Membership to Radical, Anti-Agriculture Group

“Cramer already left us in the dust by cheering on a trade war that would harm our ag producers. Now, this looks like the final blow.”

(BISMARCK, ND) — Kevin Cramer is continuing to face heat for his dues-paying membership to the Republican Study Committee (RSC) – a radical, anti-agriculture group in the House of Representatives. Earlier this year, the RSC released their budget which included severe cuts to the crop insurance program, the elimination of the Renewable Fuel Standard and the elimination of the sugar program.

The Williston Herald first reported on Cramer’s RSC membership after Cramer and the House failed to pass a Farm Bill – with Cramer calling the partisan hang-up that led to the bill’s derailment as “not inappropriate.” The Wahpeton Daily News also reported on Cramer’s anti-ag associations, where he called the anti-ag RSC a ’good group.’

Bismarck Tribune: Cramer lets down farmers

  • The Republican study committee is a far right-wing group in the House of Representatives that supports a radical anti-agriculture agenda. That’s why I’m so disappointed that Kevin Cramer, who claims to represent his state’s farming community, is a member of this ideological caucus.

  • Growing up in a third generation farm family, this year’s document was downright frightening for me to read.

  • Why did Cramer sign on to a group that openly advocates for policies that would harm the agricultural community? How can we trust our lone vote in Congress to stand up for farmers when he’s joining up with such a dangerous, ideological committee?

Medicare is in Jeopardy Due to Cramer-Supported Tax Legislation

Kevin Cramer has a reckless, dangerous agenda for North Dakota seniors

(BISMARCK, ND) — Today, a new report shows that the Washington Republican tax law that Kevin Cramer (R-Harold Hamm) supported is threatening the future of Medicare for North Dakota seniors. But this isn’t the first time Cramer has tried to ax the programs seniors rely on – he’s salivated over the chance to cut Medicare and Social Security, proposing “means testing” and raising the retirement age.

“Kevin Cramer got into this race to help his wealthy donors like Harold Hamm – not to protect the benefits hardworking North Dakotans have earned,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “As we learn more about this partisan tax bill, it becomes even more clear that it’s a giveaway to the wealthy and corporate CEOs at the expense of programs like Medicare and Social Security. Kevin Cramer’s vote for the tax bill was simply a vote to add more than a trillion to the national debt and to undermine the Medicare system North Dakotans earned – plain and simple.”

In addition to undermining Medicare with his vote for the partisan tax bill, Kevin Cramer also voted for the American Health Care Act – which would have placed an age tax on seniors and astronomically raised the cost of their health care.

Washington Post: A crucial Medicare trust fund will run out three years earlier than predicted, new report says

  • The financial future of the part of Medicare that pays older Americans’ hospital bills has deteriorated significantly, according to an annual government report that forecasts that the trust fund will be depleted by 2026 — three years sooner than expected a year ago.

  • The report, issued Tuesday by a quartet of Trump administration officials who are trustees for Medicare and Social Security, reveals that policy changes ushered in by the president and the Republican Congress are weakening the financial underpinnings of the already fragile insurance program.

  • According to the report, less money will be flowing into the hospital-care trust fund in part because the tax law passed this year.”

Shot/Chaser: Cramer’s Tax Bill Defense is a Whopper

Shocker: Cramer’s “Get the Facts” Website is Full of Bogus

(BISMARCK, ND) — Kevin Cramer can’t defend his reckless vote on the Washington Republican tax bill without stretching the truth. Case in point – his dismissive and outright fabrications about the cost of the bill:

SHOT: Kevin Cramer said that Senator Heidi Heitkamp’s concerns about the deficits were “pure speculation” and doesn’t take into account economic growth.

CHASER(S): Even after accounting for economic growth, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated the tax bill will cost more than $1 trillion over 10 years. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office also reported that largely due to the tax bill, budget deficits are rapidly increasing and will surpass $1 trillion two years sooner than previously anticipated – even while considering economic growth projections.

It looks like you can’t even trust Kevin Cramer to get the facts straight on his “Get the Facts” website. Sad!

Buchmann and Brandt Statement on Establishment of North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality Public Comments

Dem-NPL candidates for the Public Service Commission call for increased transparency and balanced oversight of environmental health

(BISMARCK, ND) — Today, North Dakota Democratic-NPL candidates for Public Service Commission Casey Buchmann and Jean Brandt attended a public comment meeting on the administrative rules relating to the establishment of the Department of Environmental Quality and released the following statements:

“North Dakotans deserve an open and transparent agency to monitor our state’s natural resources and how they impact the environment we share,” said Casey Buchmann, candidate for Public Service Commissioner. “My campaign is about accountability. We need voices on Public Service Commission that will challenge powerful interests to ensure the best outcomes for our citizens. The Department of Environmental Quality must be set up in a way that puts the public interest first.”

“My attendance at the public comment meeting was to voice my concerns and expectations of the newly formed North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the protections it will provide our citizens,” said Jean Brandt, candidate for Public Service Commissioner. “I urged the panel to make certain the Department of Environmental Quality is not only transparent but brings voices to the table that truly represent the public interest today and for years to come.”

Cramer Flips on Tariff Flops

Despite months toeing a reckless line on tariffs, Kevin Cramer is getting nervous his anti-farmer stance is coming back to bite him

(BISMARCK, ND) — Kevin Cramer is getting nervous. Despite months of toeing the administration’s line on tariffs and brushing aside farmers’ concerns as political hysteria, he seems to have realized just how far out of step he is with North Dakotans.

He’s tried the revisionist history before, but now he’s going for a complete 180. In an April 20 email he said we need one vote in the Senate to support the president’s disastrous trade policies.

One month later, Cramer is singing a different tune – he’s still trying to have it both ways, but farmers are feeling burned by his Washington-speak.

“Kevin Cramer is talking out of both sides of his mouth on tariffs,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “One day he’s a cheerleader for these misguided trade policies, and now he says he’s standing up for North Dakotans? Give me a break, he’s spun around so fast he must have whiplash. North Dakotans need consistent and outspoken leadership on this issue, but Kevin Cramer has shown us he doesn’t have the spine to stand tall in support of our farmers and ranchers.”

PolitiFact Takes Down Cramer’s Lies about Heidi’s Legislative Record

“We rate [Cramer’s] statement False.”

(BISMARCK, ND) – Kevin Cramer (R-Harold Hamm) can’t seem to catch a break. After being snubbed by President Trump, blaming the White House for GOP legislative failures and defending a GOP candidatewho was caught peeping on college freshmen women, Cramer is now being called out by PolitiFact for lying about Senator Heidi Heitkamp’s record.

“North Dakotans are seeing Kevin Cramer come completely unglued right before their eyes – defending a convicted window-peeper, lashing out at the White House for his own insecurities and now, telling baseless lies about Heidi Heitkamp,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “It’s clear that Cramer doesn’t have real accomplishments to run on, so now, he’s taking a page from Mitch McConnell’s swampy playbook and campaigning from the gutter. Fortunately, North Dakotans won’t let Kevin Cramer lie his way into the U.S. Senate.”

Below are key points from PolitiFact’s takedown of Kevin Cramer’s lie:

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

  • North Dakota Democrats bragged on Twitter that during the bill’s signing Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, got a shoutout from President Donald Trump while Rep. Kevin Cramer, a Republican, lurked in the background. Cramer shot back that Heitkamp only discovered an interest in relieving regulations for banks after Cramer applied pressure.

  • We were curious: Did Heitkamp’s interest in regulatory relief flower overnight? It’s something other Democrats have criticized her for, so we wondered if it was an election-year stance.

  • A review of the evidence shows that Heitkamp has been working on banking issues since she was elected in 2012. She joined the Senate Banking Committee in 2013.

  • “During the entirety of (her tenure), she has often expressed a desire for regulatory relief for community banks and credit unions,” said Rob Blackwell, editor of American Banker. “The idea that she’s a johnny-come-lately to regulatory reform just doesn’t hold water.”

  • “The North Dakota Democrat has emerged as a key player on the Banking Committee, helping to work on a bipartisan housing finance reform bill and championing legislation to provide relief to small banks,” the profile reads. “In doing so, she has impressed bankers in her home state and her fellow legislators with her commitment to financial issues and willingness to work across the political aisle.”

  • Heitkamp has been an advocate of regulatory relief for small banks since she ran for the Senate in 2012. Cramer announced his Senate bid in February.

As Unpopular Tariffs Threaten Millions of Jobs, Kevin Cramer Stands By Trade War

New reports spell trouble for North Dakota industries and pro-tariff pols like Cramer

(BISMARCK, ND) — Another day, another example of how unpopular and dangerous Kevin Cramer’s support of the Trump administration’s trade war is — and how it spells trouble for opportunistic pro-tariff politicians like him.

In a U.S. Chamber of Commerce memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal, experts estimate that as many as 2.6 million jobs could disappear if the Administration continues down this path. We have already seen retaliations promised by China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union, and in a state that depends heavily on exports, North Dakota’s industries are extremely vulnerable.

But it’s not just the economists and business experts who are sounding alarm bells. Increasingly, the American people are speaking out against the threat that these misguided policies pose to their bottom line through loss of jobs, increased taxes, and higher prices. In a new poll published by Politico, 70 percent of voters would like to see the administration focus on negotiating trade deals that open up new markets for American goods.

So, tariffs are bad for the economy, may cost millions of jobs, will hit North Dakota hard, and are extremely unpopular. Why is Kevin Cramer still supporting them?

WSJ: Trump’s Trade Policies Threaten Millions of Jobs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Says

  • The Trump administration’s trade policies will hamstring the U.S.’s robust economic growth and threaten as many as 2.6 million jobs, according to a memo from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s top official on Thursday.

  • The memo—from Tom Donohue, the chamber’s chief executive, to his board of directors—followed news Thursday morning that President Donald Trump’s administration would make good on threats to apply tariffs to steel and aluminum imports from neighbors and allies, including Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

  • In the memo, Mr. Donohue cited a number of the administration’s trade initiatives that he wrote would hurt growth and employment. Should the president, for example, pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, as Mr. Trump has threatened to do many times, it would cause a net loss of 1.8 million jobs, he wrote. Efforts to reach a deal and enact a new version of Nafta this year have stalled.

  • Meanwhile, the administration has threatened tariffs on autos and auto parts, on steel and aluminum, and on intermediary goods from China that are used in U.S. supply chains, all of which would contribute to job loss and an economic slowdown, Mr. Donohue wrote in the memo, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

  • Canada, Mexico and the European Union all threatened retaliation against the U.S. after Mr. Trump’s administration declined Thursday to renew a tariff exemption that prevented Canada, Mexico and the EU from facing broad duties on steel and aluminum shipments to the U.S. Those products will face tariffs as of Friday.

  • “The current approach—and the obvious retaliation that will occur in response—poses a serious risk of raising barriers and reducing Americans’ access to vital global markets,” Mr. Donohue wrote in the memo. “Our businesses will lose customers, workers will lose jobs, and American consumers will lose family income through higher taxes and higher prices.”

Politico: Poll: Voters want trade deals, not tariffs

  • A huge majority of U.S. voters would prefer that President Donald Trump focus more on negotiating new trade agreements rather than imposing tariffs on foreign imports, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released Thursday.

  • The poll of nearly 2,000 registered voters found that 70 percent of them would prefer the Trump administration focus more on “negotiating trade agreements to open new markets to sell American-made products and goods.” Only 14 percent, in contrast, answered that they would prefer the administration focus on “imposing tariffs or taxes on foreign products to slow down their sales in the United States.”

  • When voters were asked which they would prefer Congress focused on, the numbers were similar: 67 percent wanted lawmakers to focus on negotiating new deals, while 16 percent said they would prefer they focus on imposing tariffs.