Schneider pledges loyalty to North Dakota, “no-nonsense” campaign on kitchen table issues

Grand Forks – North Dakota congressional candidate Mac Schneider today issued the below statement:
I want to congratulate Kelly Armstrong on securing the GOP nomination for U.S. House in Grand Forks today. While I understand the contest could possibly continue through the June primary, what is certain is that North Dakotans will have a clear choice between two candidates for Congress in November.
We have seen those competing for the GOP nod for the U.S. House attempt to outdo each other in terms of who will be more loyal to the administration. My highest loyalties, on the other hand, are to the people of North Dakota and to the United States Constitution.

I will gladly work with the administration on priorities like rolling back regulations that negatively impact our farmers and ranchers as well as strengthening our military. But I will also forcefully oppose any policy change that threatens North Dakota’s economy or our way of life.
This means working with Democrats and Republicans to reverse course on the administration’s trade policies, which if carried out could threaten the very heart of production agriculture in North Dakota. It also means opposing Nancy Pelosi in favor of a new generation of leadership that will pull up the stakes on the partisan circus and restore a focus on kitchen table issues that North Dakotans care about – jobs, balancing the budget, and preserving Social Security and Medicare.

I will run a no-nonsense campaign on these issues. I look forward to engaging with my opponent as we compete for the trust of North Dakotans from now into November.

Zinke, Cramer wrong on the Bureau of Land Management Rule

Studies show repealing the BLM methane rule would actually lower natural gas production, wouldn’t create jobs

(BISMARCK, ND) – Congressman Kevin Cramer and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke have had a lot to say about the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) methane rule – but much of it hasn’t been true. According to a recent analysis by the U.S. Department of the Interior, rolling back the rule wouldn’t create new jobs and it would actually lower natural gas production – not increase it.

“There’s been no stronger champion for North Dakota’s energy economy than Heidi, and it’s a shame that Cramer and his Washington smear machine have turned to bold-faced lies to distort her record,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. 

Here are two articles that show why the BLM rule is actually good for North Dakota:

The Bismarck Tribune: Preventing gas waste will be beneficial

  •  Gas that leaks or flares from America’s public lands benefits no one. That’s why regulations to prevent waste can provide broad benefits.
  • The BLM’s Methane and Waste Prevention rule is not a threat to “energy independence,” because it actually encourages putting more gas in the production pipeline.
  • On Feb. 22, U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick in California issued a preliminary injunction against BLM’s rule rollback. He found that the BLM’s decision to delay methane waste reduction was “untethered to evidence.”
  • All oil and gas producers on public lands should be held accountable for the actual costs of production — and lost production when gas that should generate royalties goes up in smoke.
  • The 2016 waste prevention rule is common sense and good stewardship of the public’s natural resources. The BLM should stop obstructing its own well-researched 2016 rule.

POLITICO Pro (paywall): BLM analysis: Lower gas production, no job growth under new methane rule

  • The Trump administration’s proposed roll back of an Obama-era rule cracking down on methane emissions would actually lower natural gas production without generating new jobs — contrary to its backers claims, according to a draft rule analysis.
  • The analysis of the new rule contradicts Interior Department claims that reducing the requirements in the methane waste rule finalized in late 2016 would remove constraints on oil and gas production, an argument in line with President Donald Trump’s calls to boost the domestic energy industry.
  • But the latest proposal, as written by Interior and lauded by Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming and House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop of Utah, would actually reduce natural gas supply from federal lands by 229 billion cubic feet over 10 years, according to the analysis from the Bureau of Land Management, the Interior agency that would be in charge of implementing the new rule.
  • It could also reinforce the reasons that even some Republicans have stated in their reticence to rolling back the old rule. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) voted against repealing the Obama-era methane rule via a Congressional Review Act maneuver last year that Republicans had used to kill numerous other Obama-era rules.

5 things you didn’t hear from Kevin Cramer at the NDGOP Convention – and that Cramer doesn’t want you to know

(BISMARCK, ND) – Kevin Cramer showed his true colors today, proving that he puts partisan politics before what’s best for North Dakota families. From refusing to stand up for North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers to getting rich off his political career, there’s a lot you didn’t hear from Kevin Cramer in his speech at the 2018 NDGOP Convention. Here’s a short rundown:
  1. CRAMER REFUSES TO STAND UP FOR NORTH DAKOTA ON TARIFFS
Kevin Cramer talked a lot about how President Trump is standing up for North Dakota – but he failed to mention his support for the president’s tariffs that would devastate North Dakota’s agricultural economy. Instead, Cowardly Kevin Cramer has decided to put the president and his political party before North Dakota. He even went so far as to delete a tweet where he initially said he opposed them – cowering in fear of the president and refusing to stand up for North Dakota farmers and ranchers.
  1. CROOKED CRAMER WILL CONTINUE TO GET RICH OFF OF HIS POLITICAL CAREER
Heidi got involved in public service to make a difference for North Dakota – Kevin Cramer went into politics to get rich. He’ll do everything he can to hide it, but Cramer has made a killing off his political career. Since he was elected to Congress, his net worth has almost doubled – and let’s not forget he and his family have pocketed more than $350,000 from his campaign committee.
  1. CRAMER IS A TOTAL HYPROCRYITE ON THE NATIONAL DEFICIT
Kevin Cramer claims to be a fiscal conservative, but reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Cramer voted for a tax bill that will add $1.5 trillion to the national deficit – and some estimates say it’s even more. He continued to lie and say the tax bill will pay for itself. And most recently, Cramer actually got a hearty laugh when asked about adding trillions to the national debt.
  1. CRAMER HID HIS DESIRE TO MAKE DEVASTATING CUTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE
After voting to add at least $1.5 trillion to the deficit, giving tax cuts to billionaires, Kevin Cramer is all the sudden really, really concerned about spending. Or at least he’d like you to think so. But really, Cramer is using his fake concern for the debt as an excuse to swing an ax at programs like Social Security and Medicare.
  1. CRAMER HAS NO RESPECT FOR THE FREE PRESS               
It wasn’t too long ago that Kevin Cramer attacked the First Amendment – calling for investigations into TV networks for alleged media bias. He was roundly criticized by the North Dakota press – including editorials from the Grand Forks Herald and the Williston Herald.

What’s strange is that Cramer called for investigations into TV stations but has continually criticizedRobert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in our election – even when reports show that hostile foreign actors like Russia targeted North Dakota’s voter rolls. Once again, it’s a classic example of Cramer putting partisanship before what’s right for North Dakota.

BONUS: Kevin Cramer highlighted that Congress lifting the crude oil export ban – an effort Heidi led in the Senate and helped make a reality. Here’s an example from the New York Times praising Heidi’s work across the aisle with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK):

For months, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, and Senator Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat of North Dakota, formed a quiet, persistent alliance as they sought to convince their colleagues that it was time to end a more than 40-year ban on crude oil exports.

They turned the Senate floor into a symposium on the history of Nixon-era oil price controls. They offered up lectures on modern-day energy economics. They stressed the potential for using crude oil exports to increase American soft power — by limiting the reliance of American allies on oil-producing rivals like Iran and Russia.

And they also regularly drew the anger of liberal senators who warned that lifting the ban would harm the environment and potentially raise energy costs in the United States.

In the end, it seems, their efforts were an exemplar in soft-power legislating.

5 lies you’ll hear at the NDGOP Convention

 (BISMARCK, ND) – If the North Dakota Republican Party’s 2018 Convention is anything like what we’ve seen from them and Washington establishment smear machine, it’ll be completely devoid of facts. Here are five of the biggest whoppers you’ll hear from Congressman Kevin Cramer, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and failed 2012 Senate candidate, current NDGOP chair and slumlord Rick Berg today:
  1. CRAMER ON TAXES
Kevin Cramer and his party boss Mitch McConnell just can’t tell the truth about the Republican tax plan. That’s because they don’t want North Dakotans to know  that low- and middle-income North Dakotans will see a tax hike.

On the other hand, Heidi fought for a fiscally responsible tax bill focused on hardworking families – even offering an amendment that would have prevented a tax hike on the middle-class. But Cramer voted to add more than $1 trillion to the national deficit –to give massive tax breaks to billionaires and corporations. And he even had the audacity to laugh about passing that debt on to the next generation. Fiscally responsible? More like fiscally reckless.

  1. CRAMER ON HEALTH CARE
Kevin Cramer and Mitch McConnell have worked really, really hard to increase health care costs for North Dakotans – and it’s working. Because of changes to the ACA that they’ve pushed for, premium costs are expected to continue increasing. Cramer even voted to repeal health care reform without a replacement, which would have jeopardized coverage for more than 300,000 North Dakotans with pre-existing conditions. And Cramer supported legislation that would have kicked more than 30,000 North Dakotans off their health coverage – increasing premiums here in the North Dakota by almost $1,000 per year.

Perhaps worst of all, Cramer accused people with pre-existing conditions like cancer of trying to “game the system” by getting covered.

  1. CRAMER ON ENERGY
Kevin Cramer and Mitch McConnell’s D.C. smear machine have been spreading a lot of “fake news” about the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) methane rule, so let’s set the record straight. Repealing the BLM methane rule would actually lower natural gas production – not increase it, as Cramer and McConnell say. An editorial in the Bismarck Tribune called the rule “common sense” and noted that the “rule is not a threat to ‘energy independence,’ because it actually encourages putting more gas in the production pipeline.”

Rather than just paying disingenuous lip-service to North Dakota’s energy industry, Heidi’s gotten real results. She worked tirelessly across the aisle to lift the decades-old ban on crude oil exports and recently, President Trump signed her bill into law that will help pave a viable path forward for coal.

  1. CRAMER ON HEIDI’S RECORD
Kevin Cramer and failed Senate candidate Rick Berg – still a slumlord and now the NDGOP Chair – will do everything they can this weekend to distort Heidi’s record. They’ve already gotten caught lying about it. But here are the facts: Heidi has a strong record of working across the aisle to get results.

Despite their false claims, Heidi votes with President Trump nearly 70 percent of the time. She’s voted for more than 90 percent of President Trump’s nominees – including Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. And President Trump has called Heidi a “good woman” and Vice President Pence called her a “strong leader.”

  1. CRAMER’S WASHINGTON SWAMP ATTACKS
Kevin Cramer launched his entire campaign based on a lie, so there’s no question it’ll come up today. They’ve tried to turn a greeting between two senators into something nefarious, but PolitiFact examined their argument and deemed it outright “False.”

#WherewasWayne?

Democratic-NPL candidate for Attorney General David Thompson issued the following release after Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem accepted the North Dakota Republican Party endorsement for Attorney General.

(GRAND FORKS, ND) – When Wayne Stenehjem accepted the North Dakota Republican Party endorsement for Attorney General, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents throughout the state have to ask themselves, #WherewasWayne?

  • This past week, when a Republican District Court Judge required changes to portions of the voter ID law passed during the 2017 Legislative session, where was Wayne to provide legal guidance to the Legislature to ensure a voter ID law that was constitutional, protected every North Dakotan’s right to vote, and the integrity of our elections?
  • Where was Wayne when the Industrial Commission voted in favor of special interest land use deals for out of state billionaire Harold Hamm after he donated tens of thousands of dollars to Industrial Commission board member Governor Jack Dalrymple?

“The Attorney General’s office is the people’s law firm and North Dakotans are the clients. North Dakotans deserve better than wondering where Wayne is when they need him to defend their voting rights and elections as well as their interests on the Industrial Commission,” said David Thompson Democratic-NPL candidate for Attorney General. “North Dakotans deserve an Attorney General who will always fight for them and not a 16-year incumbent who is nowhere to be seen when North Dakotans need him the most.”

Cowardly Cramer: Dem-NPL statement on Kevin Cramer’s latest stunt on tariffs

Cramer continues to put political ambitions ahead of North Dakotans

(BISMARCK, ND) – Today, the Democratic-NPL released the following statement on Kevin Cramer’s latest stunt on the president’s reckless tariffs:”Rather than stand up to President Trump, Congressman Cramer is more worried about saving face than he is about the North Dakota farmers he’s completely abandoned. There’s only one word for the kind of politician who would do such a thing: Coward,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Dem-NPL. “Cramer’s latest stunt show’s that instead of making it clear where he stands and fighting to stop the tariffs, he’s passing the buck to someone else. North Dakotans don’t need Cramer to become Secretary Perdue’s pen pal, they need a strong leader who will put politics aside to stand up for farmers and ranchers. Our economy can’t afford to elect a coward like Cramer.”

Earlier this week, Cramer’s opposition to the president’s tariffs only lasted for a few minutes – Cramer even deleted his tweet and then posted a watered down response where he praised the president’s reckless actions. Even conservative outlets like the Washington Examiner have slammed Cramer for “standing by his man” on policies that would be devastating for North Dakota and rural America.

Crooked Cramer, Crooked Zinke

Leading up to NDGOP Convention, Cramer and Zinke face serious ethical questions about campaign finances

(BISMARCK, ND) – Kevin Cramer and Ryan Zinke have both shown that they can’t be trusted with taxpayer dollars – but they’ve also demonstrated that they can’t be trusted with campaign donations, either.

Earlier this week, Politico reported that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) is investigating Ryan Zinke, the NDGOP Convention’s keynote speaker, for a whopping $600,000 in unreported donations to his PAC. This isn’t the first time Zinke’s shady mismanagement of campaign donations has come into question.

Arguably worse, instead of mismanaging donations to his campaign, Kevin Cramer actually pockets them. KFYR News reported that Cramer has pocketed nearly $200,000 in campaign donations and paid various family members more than $140,000. A Politico reporter referred to Cramer’s practice as “a way that members of congress can sort of enrich themselves and their families just by virtue of their position.”

“Kevin Cramer rails against the swamp, but he’s exactly the type of Washington politician who keeps it alive,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “North Dakota deserves better than scam artists like Kevin Cramer and Ryan Zinke who swindle their campaign donors just to get ahead and make themselves even richer.”

ICYMI: Leading up to NDGOP Convention, Cramer garners more brutal headlines for putting politics before North Dakotans

Cramer said voting against President Trump is like cheating on a wife

(BISMARCK, ND) – In case you missed it, Congressman Kevin Cramer is once again churning out more embarrassing headlines this week by suggesting that voting against the president – even when it’s bad for North Dakota – is equal to cheating on a wife. Apparently, Kevin Cramer would rather be a loyal foot-soldier for the president and his party than a foot-soldier for North Dakota families.

That begs the question – does Kevin Cramer have what little courage it takes to stand up to the president on his devastating trade and tariff policies? Or would that count as cheating, too? Based on his deleted tweet, it sure doesn’t look like he can be an independent voice for North Dakota. Kevin Cramer has some serious explaining to do.

Here are some highlights (or lowlights?) from the coverage:

Washington Examiner: Trump trade war will test the faithfulness of rural GOP candidates

  • Rep. Kevin Cramer has a really interesting understanding of marriage and faithfulness.
  • Palling around with the president, he is at risk of ignoring the farmers who have been some of the Republican Party’s most loyal supporters for decades. Trump went to war over trade and Cramer cheered him on.
  • But if the White House has found ways to shelter red-state farmers, those guys with Trump bumper stickers on their trucks, they’ve been keeping it to themselves.
  • Cramer should be furious about the president stumbling into a trade war and endangering that industry. If he is, he hasn’t shown it publicly. Instead, Cramer is standing by his man.
  • If prices continue to plummet on soybean futures, voters will be the ones wondering about Cramer’s faithfulness as they head to the polls.
  • North Dakota Democrats are calling out Rep. Kevin Cramer after the U.S. Senate candidate compared his election rival’s votes against the agenda of President Donald Trump to cheating on a spouse.
  • A Thursday news release from the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party highlighted excerpts of the CNN article. “In an interview with a right-wing radio host yesterday, Kevin Cramer compared voting against President Donald Trump to cheating on a wife. This is not The Onion,” the release said.
  • But Cramer told The Forum on Thursday that his comments weren’t a “gaffe.”
  • “So, my illustration was that’s like going home and telling your wife, ‘Honey, I’ve been faithful to you 55 percent of the time.’ That’s a very low percentage, to say the least.”
  • The cringe-worthy comments continue for Congressman Kevin Cramer.
  • He believes loyalty to Trump is either above his responsibility to North Dakota or that they are one in the same. Either way, he is utterly wrong.
  • In his remarks, Cramer displays his eagerness to be obedient and subservient to President Donald Trump. It is loyalty to Trump over North Dakota.
  • There has been and will continue to be times where President Trump is wrong about what is best for our state. In those moments, North Dakota deserves an independent thinker.
  • Rep. Kevin Cramer, the Republican challenging Sen. Heidi Heitkamp this fall in North Dakota, compared voting against President Donald Trump in Congress to cheating on a spouse.
  • “Here’s the good news about Donald Trump: Most of the time, he’s for North Dakota, and that’s my point where I’ve heard her say, ‘Gee, I voted with him 55% of the time,'” Cramer said. “Can you imagine going home and telling your wife, ‘I’ve been faithful to you 55% of the time?’ Are you kidding me? Being wrong half the time is not a good answer.”
  • Cramer’s penchant for off-key remarks was part of why Republicans spent part of 2017 searching for an alternative Senate candidate before settling on him as their best option. Cramer waffled himself, opting against a run this year before changing his mind.
  • Last year, in a radio interview, he criticized Democratic women for wearing “bad-looking white pantsuits” to Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress in solidarity with women’s rights.
  • He also raised eyebrows by saying that then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s analogy between Adolf Hitler and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is “not without some validity.”
Read even more about Cramer equating voting against Trump to adultery in USA Today, The Hill and the Washington Examiner.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Portions of the Jaeger Voter ID Law

(BISMARCK, ND) – North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger played a key role in advising the legislature on the legality of the voter ID measure they passed in 2017. Unsurprisingly, many sections of the measure Jaeger helped draft were struck down this week in a decision by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland.

Hovland, a Republican appointee, ruled that the state must accept multiple forms of identification or other documentation that includes a residential or mailing address. The ruling also states that Jaeger must create a voter education system to fully inform voters of the ID requirements that are still in force. Unfortunately we have already seen that when a task like this is placed in the hands of Al Jaeger, it is not ‘easy as pie.’

“Judge Hovland’s ruling, once again proves to North Dakotans that Al Jaeger is simply not capable of handling the modern demands of the office of Secretary of State,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party. “Ensuring our elections are run smoothly and fairly and that the citizens of North Dakota can vote easily is the most important role of the Secretary of State’s office. Once again, Secretary Jaeger has fallen down on the job.”

McNeil continued, “I would like to thank the members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and Bismarck attorney Tom Dickson for filing this lawsuit and fighting to maintain North Dakotans most fundamental right as citizens.”

Zinke: Higher costs, less access for National Parks

Teddy Roosevelt National Park has nearly 600,000 visitors per year
(BISMARCK, ND) – From health care to national parks, Ryan Zinke and Kevin Cramer are cut from the same cloth: they believe in higher costs and less access for hardworking families.

Just this month, the North Dakota Republican Party’s 2018 Convention keynote speaker has come under fire from more than 100,000 Americans for drastically increasing costs for families who want to visit our National Parks. In fact, Zinke’s entrance fee hike is the largest increase since World War II.

“Whether it’s health care or our national parks, Ryan Zinke and Kevin Cramer share a radical ideology that will lead to higher costs and less access for North Dakota families,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Theodore Roosevelt National Park is an integral part of North Dakota’s spirit and history, and it’s’ a shame that Ryan Zinke wants to hike costs and limit access for folks who want to visit our state.”

On top of increasing costs for folks visiting National Parks, Zinke cut the number of free access days by more than half. Here in North Dakota, Theodore Roosevelt National Park attracts nearly 600,000 visitorsper year.

DIVAS: Zinke is just as reckless with taxpayer dollars as Kevin Cramer

From fancy doors, personalized coins and tax cuts for billionaires, don’t trust Zinke or Cramer with your wallet

(BISMARCK, ND) – Yesterday, Kevin Cramer got a hearty laugh out of his vote to add more than $1.5 trillion dollars to the national debt. So it’s no surprise to us that the keynote speaker for the 2018 North Dakota Republican Party Convention, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, is just as reckless with hard-earned taxpayer dollars as the big-spender himself, Kevin Cramer.

“Ryan Zinke and Kevin Cramer both share an affinity for swindling the American taxpayer so it’s fitting that the North Dakota Republican Party chose such a scandal-plagued Washington insider to keynote their convention,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “From office doors that cost twice as much as the average household income in North Dakota to a tax bill that adds more than a trillion dollars to the national deficit, Zinke and Cramer are two peas in a pod that can’t be trusted with taxpayer dollars.”

Independent watchdogs have raised serious concerns with Zinke’s use of taxpayer resources on personal vacations to Greece and Turkey. And even his home-state newspaper called into question if taxpayers can trust Zinke to be a good steward of their resources after his obscene travel expenses on the government’s dime.

In addition to Zinke’s jet-setting, he’s commissioned a commemorative coin to be personalized for his tenure at Interior. He also came under fire for spending a whopping $139,000 to replace doors in his office. For context, the median household income in North Dakota is less than $60,000 and the average home costs approximately $165,000.

Whether it’s Ryan Zinke or Kevin Cramer, North Dakotans can always trust them to put their own personal interests over that of the American taxpayer.

Taking Orders from Washington: Cramer Flips, Flops and Deletes Tweets to Support Trump’s Tariffs, Leaving North Dakota Farmers Behind

 

AUDIO: Listen to Cramer Flip Flop on Trump’s Tariffs This Week 

Cramer Really, Really, Really Has a Tough Time Saying No To Trump –Here Are His Deleted Tweets


FARGO, N.D. – It’s no secret that Congressman Cramer values loyalty to Washington and President Trump over what’s best for North Dakotans, and perhaps the starkest example came this week when he flip-flopped, then fumbled on Twitter, abandoning North Dakota farmers to toe the party line.

“North Dakota farmers won’t forget that when it came time for Congressman Cramer to defend them against back-breaking tariffs, he left them in the dust,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of North Dakota Dem-NPL. “By defending President Trump’s tariffs as part of the president’s ‘long game,’ Congressman Cramer proved he doesn’t have what it takes to stand up to the president when North Dakota producers needed him most. North Dakotans deserve a U.S. Senator that will represent them – not someone who is running scared of the president.”

North Dakota exports more than two-thirds of its soybean crop to China. But when it came time for Cramer to stand up for farmers against President Trump’s tariffs, which could have a crippling affect on North Dakota soybean growers and producers – particularly if China’s retaliatory 25 percent levies on soybeans go into effect – he refused. When asked on KFGO this week about President Trump’s tariffs, Cramer first called the policy one of the president’s “emotional reactions”:

 

FLIP:

“So, yes, there are these short-term sort of emotional reactions by the markets and others, and frankly, by the president himself.  And this is one of my concerns again. He tends to have rather emotional responses rather than you know sort of long game more thought out perhaps communication.”

But it didn’t take long for Cramer to remember his marching orders – and quickly changed his tune to support the tariffs as part of the president’s “long game” strategy.

FLOP:

“Well, Joel, because I think we have a president who is looking at the long game.”

The next day, Cramer was still so focused on doing what’s best for Trump over North Dakotans, he forgot to deliver the message to his social media team, who wrongly assumed he would want to do the right thing for North Dakota and oppose President Trump’s harmful tariffs. Here are their tweets he deleted:

 

Instead, he chose to leave North Dakota farmers behind, making it perfectly clear that he takes his cues straight from the White House: