ICYMI: Cramer’s Baffling Week in the News

(BISMARCK, ND) – Kevin Cramer is spiraling after a week of missteps, strange comments, and falsehoods on the issues North Dakotans care most about. See for yourself:

🤔MONDAY: Cramer once again states that we need to “support” this trade war, no matter what – while a farmer from Rugby, ND expresses what’s really happening on the ground: “I’m terrified of this trade thing. I lose sleep over it […] It’s just the uncertainty of it.”

🤔TUESDAY: Cramer is called out for his latest “misleading” TV ad.

🤔THURSDAY: Cramer called Senator Heitkamp “an enemy of our own country” for working to stop the trade war and mitigate harm to North Dakota farmers, leading Politico Morning Score to call him “not so North Dakota nice.”

🤔ALSO THURSDAY: Cramer pens a misleading op-ed that claims he’s always been against tariffs and the trade war in an attempt to rewrite history. In reality, he’s blindly supported this effort from the beginning.

🤔FRIDAY: Cramer compared someone wanting him to stand up against tariffs to “shoot[ing himself] in the head.”

🤔ALSO FRIDAY: Axios fact checked Cramer’s claim that he’s protected pre-existing condition coverage, finding that folks “could be offered coverage that was too expensive to be attainable or that excluded health benefits that they needed — making the remaining coverage guarantee relatively worthless.”

🤔NEXT WEEK: Damage-control mode continues.

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CROOKED CRAMER’S CHRONICLES – LAWSUIT COULD GUT PRE-EXISTING CONDITION COVERAGE – NEW GOOGLE ADS – “CATTY CRAMER” TRYING TO REWRITE HISTORY ON THE TRADE WAR

Welcome to 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.

CRAMER-ENDORSED LAWSUIT COULD GUT PRE-EXISTING CONDITION COVERAGE. Last week, Kevin Cramer announced his support for the ill-advised, partisan lawsuit that could remove coverage for the more than 300,000 North Dakotans who have pre-existing conditions, furthering his blatant attack on our health care.

OUR TAKE: Cramer’s decision leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind that he’d rather cater to his political bosses than stand up for the quality care that North Dakotans need and deserve.

DEM-NPL LAUNCHES GOOGLE ADS ON HEALTH CARE. This week, the ND Dem-NPL launched updated Google search ads that direct viewers to a health care landing page to hold Cramer accountable for his support for this disastrous lawsuit and his broader health care agenda that could harm folks with pre-existing conditions by making them pay more out of pocket for their care, impose an ‘Age tax’ on older adults, and spike health care costs. The ads were first reported by NBC and the National Journal. See the ads below:

AND DON’T MISS… Heidi for North Dakota’s latest TV and digital ad, “Denise,” where Heitkamp promises to defend protections for pre-existing conditions for folks like Denise from Killdeer against Cramer’s dangerous attacks.

“CATTY CRAMER” TRYING TO REWRITE HISTORY ON THE TRADE WAR. Cramer has been a staunch cheerleader of the trade war from the beginning. But now, as Election Day nears and endorsing the trade war hasn’t been the most politically expedient decision, he’s scrambling to rewrite history by claiming that he’s always been against it. That’s false – and desperation has clearly set in. This week, Cramer even called Senator Heitkamp “an enemy of our own country” for working to stop the trade war and mitigate harm to North Dakota farmers, Cramer is in full damage-control mode, but his attempts to paper over his long record of blind support for the trade war won’t work.

You’ll be dizzy after reading these flip flops, so fair warning before you click here to read more on Cramer’s full embrace of the trade war in which he fulfills his promise to be a rubber stamp, even when it’s bad for North Dakotans.

VALLEY NEWS LIVE: CRAMER’S AD “MISLEADING.” From Valley News Live on Cramer’s latest TV ad: “By using the video, it appears as though we are questioning Senate Majority PAC on their latest ads. We are not. […] Because of this, we must label the most recent ad from Cramer’s campaign as ‘misleading.’”

This isn’t the first time Cramer and his campaign have been called out for their falsehoods: See more:
HEADLINE: PolitiFact: Kevin Cramer Distorts Record On Government Shutdown
HEADLINE: PolitiFact: Kevin Cramer distorts Heidi Heitkamp’s record on banking regulations
HEADLINE: Washington Post: N.D. Republican’s Senate campaign ‘fact-checking’ website promotes false claim on CBO estimates

CRAMER, THE INEFFECTIVE CONGRESSMAN. Cramer is certainly living up to his ranking at the least effective member of the North Dakota congressional delegation. Maybe that’s why he’s continually taking credit for Senator Heitkamp’s work:

1. Claim: Cramer took credit for lifting the oil export ban.

Reality: Heidi became “something of a fixture” in panel discussions and on TV and worked “for months” to form “a quiet, persistent alliance” with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski to overturn the ban.

2. Claim: Cramer has taken credit for introducing a fix to the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) commodity support program included in the Farm Bill.

Reality: Heidi introduced and pushed for a fix to ARC issues and the farm safety net program.

3. Claim: Cramer touted that he introduced legislation which incentivized carbon capture technology.

Reality: Heidi has always been a champion for clean coal and carbon sequestration technology, and has worked across the aisle to bring together “an unprecedented coalition” for commonsense solutions.

JEOPARDIZING SOCIAL SECURITY. Wonder how many times Cramer has called for changes to Social Security, from means testing to raising the retirement age to privatization, that all signal his desire to gut this vital program? We counted at least seven – and that’s a far from comprehensive number. No wonder he’s trying to paper over his record now that an election is near. Read them here. 

TWEET OF THE WEEK.

Cramer, On Defense, Tries to Rewrite History on Support of Trade War

(BISMARCK, ND) – Just days after Congressman Cramer called Senator Heitkamp an “enemy of our own country” for working to stop the trade war and mitigate harm to North Dakota farmers, Cramer is in full damage-control mode: rapidly trying to rewrite history and paper over his long and detailed record of blind support for the trade war. Take a look:

And he’s been doubling down on his support for tariffs and the trade war ever since.

See how often Cramer has fully embraced the trade war, fulfilling his promise to be a rubber stamp:

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NEW: Google Ads on Cramer’s Support for Disastrous Health Care Lawsuit

(BISMARCK, ND) – Today the North Dakota Dem-NPL launched updated Google search ads highlighting Congressman Cramer’s support for the disastrous health care lawsuit that could deny coverage to the more than 300,000 North Dakotans with pre-existing conditions.

The Google search ads will reach North Dakota voters who are searching for information about health care, Kevin Cramer, and the Senate race, and are part of a campaign-long, five-figure digital buy against Cramer. The ad directs viewers to a previously-released landing page with information on Cramer’s dangerous health care agenda that has been updated to include Cramer’s support for this partisan lawsuit.

See the ads:

“When Kevin Cramer announced his support for this lawsuit, he left no doubt in anyone’s mind that he’d rather cater to his political bosses than stand up for the quality care that North Dakotans need and deserve,” said Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Cramer is doing everything he can to make care more expensive, from supporting this lawsuit to his 65 votes to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act – and we’re here to remind voters of that every day from now until Election Day.”

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently found that protections for pre-existing conditions have become the most important health care concern among voters, and ranked the most important campaign issue for many of them overall. On top of that, 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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Congressman Cramer: Ineffective As Can Be

(BISMARCK, ND) – When it comes to getting results for our state, North Dakotans just can’t depend on Congressman Cramer to effectively work on their behalf. Case in point: Cramer met with administration officials and North Dakotans to discuss trade on a Friday and, the very next Monday, the administration announced another $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, sending North Dakota spinning deeper into a trade war. Unless Cramer’s goal was to escalate the trade war using North Dakotans as collateral, it sure doesn’t seem like an effective meeting.

It’s not just trade in which Cramer is ineffective at advocating for North Dakotans. Cramer was ranked 145th out of 250 congressional Republicans in effectiveness and sponsored only one “substantive and significant bill” during the last congressional session. In fact, he was ranked the LEAST effective member of the North Dakota Congressional delegation. Even conservative groups are running from Cramer because of his ineffectiveness and inability to lead on negating the trade war.

“If Congressman Cramer can’t effectively advocate on an issue as important as trade, what makes him think he’ll be able to defend North Dakota’s best interests?” asked Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “It’s clear Cramer is gunning for a promotion he didn’t earn – and doesn’t deserve.”

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ICYMI: Cramer’s Ad “Misleading” [Valley News Live]

(BISMARCK, ND) – IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Valley News Live: Cramer’s Ad “Misleading”

Transcript:

MIKE MORKEN: Valley News Live is fact-checking the campaign ads this election season. This time, it’s a new ad supporting Republican Kevin Cramer calling into question claims made in another ad by a Democrat political action committee. The ad supporting Cramer started running yesterday and calls out an ad by Senate Majority PAC claiming Cramer sold out North Dakota by voting to change labeling guidelines for beef.  

In calling out Senate Majority PAC, they use a piece of video from Valley News Live taken from a completely different fact-check where we reported what PolitiFact had said about the Senate Majority PAC. By using the video, it appears as though we are questioning Senate Majority PAC on their latest ads. We are not. Watch and listen.
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MIKE MORKEN: Because of this, we must label the most recent ad from Cramer’s campaign as ‘misleading.’ Due to federal law, television stations cannot control how our video is used in campaign ads, and it is, too, important to note that Kevin Cramer did vote ‘yes’ to change the labeling guidelines for beef, but so did Democrat Heidi Heitkamp back in 2015. The bill was then signed into law in December of that year by then-President Barack Obama.

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Cramer Continues to Jeopardize Social Security On Its 83rd Anniversary

(BISMARCK, ND) – On the 83rd anniversary of the Social Security Act, here’s a look back at the times Kevin Cramer has supported cutting or endangering Social Security, earning him a lifetime score of nine percent from the Alliance for Retired Americans. In contrast, Senator Heitkamp has a lifetime score of ninety percent. Between his signals to gut Social Security – and Medicare – it’s clear Cramer’s anti-senior agenda is wrong for North Dakota.

  1. Cramer claimed not touching Social Security was “good to campaign on, but it’s hard to do.”
  2. Cramer suggested raising the retirement age.
  3. Cramer has advocated for altering Social Security for folks 50 years of age and younger.
  4. Cramer called for “maybe a little means testing” for Social Security.
  5. Cramer would not commit to protecting Social Security or Medicare from cuts in order to deal with the debt created by tax reform.
  6. Cramer has supported privatizing Social Security.
  7. Cramer voted against protecting Social Security from a government shutdown.

It’s no wonder Cramer is hurriedly trying to paper over his record of support for gutting Social Security in an election year.

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Cramer Out of Touch with ND, Example Infinity

(BISMARCK, ND) – It’s clear Kevin Cramer is out of touch with the needs of North Dakotans. The latest example? Cramer has doubled tripled quadrupled quintupled down on his blind support of the administration’s trade war- despite the growing evidence that its havoc-wreaking effects are increasing. See for yourself:

Cramer, just yesterday: “POTUS has chosen the use of tariffs in trade negotiations. While I would prefer a different approach, it’s essential we support his efforts.”

Rugby, ND farmer: “I’m terrified of this trade thing. I lose sleep over it […] It’s just the uncertainty of it.”

Read more about the Cramer-endorsed trade war here and how he’s flipped and flopped on helping North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers to kowtow to his D.C. political bosses.

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ICYMI: Cramer Supports Lawsuit That Could Jeopardize Health Care For More Than 300,000 North Dakotans

(BISMARCK, ND) – Kevin Cramer announced his support late Friday for the dangerous, partisan lawsuit that could lead to health insurance companies denying care to the more than 300,000 North Dakotans who have a pre-existing condition. Rather than looking out for North Dakota’s interests, Cramer has once again rubber stamped his political bosses’ ill-advised agenda to advance his own self-serving plans.

From the Forum:

  • Heitkamp has called for reforming what she described as an imperfect law, while Cramer has backed so-called “repeal and replace” efforts.
  • National polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests candidates’ views on pre-existing condition protections are “at least very important” to most voters.
  • Cramer has said he supports protections for pre-existing conditions, although a bill he supported last year would have allowed states to waive certain protections, said Larry Levitt, senior vice president for health reform at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
  • [Cramer] predicted Congress will make another run at health care if Republicans maintain their majorities.
  • Meanwhile, the Trump administration has taken several steps of its own that critics argue amounts to sabotaging the law and could drive up premiums. The Department of Justice said in June it would not defend provisions of the ACA in litigation brought by Texas and 19 other states, including North Dakota.
  • Heitkamp called the lawsuit “ill-advised” while Cramer said he supports it.

Reminder: Cramer has voted to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act 65 times and has signed onto Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan’s plans to sabotage the health care system that could spike costs and strip coverage.

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Three Times Cramer Took Credit for Heidi’s Work for the Ag and Energy Industry

(BISMARCK, ND) – As Energy Secretary Rick Perry visits North Dakota today, here are three times Kevin Cramer tried to pass off Senator Heitkamp’s work to strengthen North Dakota’s agriculture and energy sectors as his own.

CLAIM: Cramer took credit for lifting the oil export ban.

REALITY: Heidi became “something of a fixture” in panel discussions and on TV and worked “for months” to form “a quiet, persistent alliance” with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski to overturn the ban.

  • Roll Call HEADLINE: “How Heitkamp Kept Crude Oil From Being ‘Keystoned’”
  • CNBC HEADLINE: “Sen. Heitkamp: Obama Should Lift Ban On Oil Exports” 
  • Bismarck Tribune HEADLINE: “Heitkamp Introduces Second Bill To Lift Oil Export Ban” 
  • GOP Rep. Joe Barton: Heitkamp “represented her constituencies […] and took a lot of heat in her caucus. But she stood her ground” on lifting the crude oil export ban.
  • GOP Sen. Murkowski: Heitkamp was “just dogged in her efforts to help educate her party” on the crude oil export ban and “was able to.”

CLAIM: Cramer has taken credit for introducing a fix to the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) commodity support program included in the Farm Bill.

REALITY: Heidi introduced and pushed for a fix to ARC issues and the farm safety net program.

CLAIM: Cramer touted that he introduced legislation which incentivized carbon capture technology.

REALITY: Heidi has always been a champion for clean coal and carbon sequestration technology, and has worked across the aisle to bring together “an unprecedented coalition” for commonsense solutions.

  • Energy Collective: Heitkamp’s FUTURE Act was “one of the most significant energy and environmental accomplishments by Congress in recent memory.”
  • Minot Daily News: Heitkamp took the lead on the FUTURE Act to support the continued use of coal and natural gas.
  • Grand Forks Herald: Heitkamp “championed” CCS legislation, “to offer tax credits for research and development of carbon capture technology.”
  • Inforum HEADLINE: “Heitkamp Introduces Bill Encouraging Reduction Of Carbon Emissions And Technological Innovation In Energy Sector.”
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BREAKING: Cramer Supports Lawsuit That Could Deny Coverage for Folks with Pre-Existing Conditions

(BISMARCK, ND) – In response to Congressman Cramer announcing his support for the ill-advised, partisan lawsuit that would no longer guarantee health care coverage for the more than 300,000 North Dakotans who have a pre-existing condition, Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL released the following statement: 

“This blatant attack on North Dakotans’ health care is reprehensible and Congressman Cramer should be ashamed to support it. Pre-existing conditions affect almost every individual and family in North Dakota – if you don’t have a pre-existing condition, you almost certainly know someone who does. North Dakotans won’t soon forget how Cramer turned his back on them.”

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently found that protections for pre-existing conditions have become the most important health care concern among voters, and ranked the most important campaign issue for many of them overall. That isn’t stopping Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and Cramer’s D.C. bosses from repeatedly attempting to sabotage health care: now they’re just trying to keep it a secret from voters. Don’t forget: Cramer has voted 65 times to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act.

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CROOKED CRAMER’S CHRONICLES – CONTRADICTING HIMSELF ON TRADE WAR – LYING TO ND – CRAMER (R-SPECIAL INTERESTS)

Welcome to 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.

CRAMER CONTRADICTS HIMSELF ON TRADE WAR TIMELINE. Kevin Cramer is contradicting himself on the trade war timeline—telling one audience that negotiations with China would “take a while,” and telling another that he “expect[s] some quick action.” His political doublespeak is even more egregious when you consider his acknowledgement that markets lost due to this trade war could “be lost for years.” But North Dakotans know why he’s suddenly faking interest: he’s worried about his election chances.

That reminds us: See how much time Cramer has left until his self-imposed September trade war deadline.

CRAMER CONTINUES LYING TO ND. Cramer just can’t seem to tell North Dakotans the truth – lying, distorting, and papering over his record to hide his self-interested, unsavory agenda.

HEADLINE: POLITIFACT: KEVIN CRAMER DISTORTS RECORD ON GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.

  • “Cramer… touted a clean record without any support for shutdowns… We took a closer look.
  • Cramer has cast votes that indirectly resulted in a shutdown.
  • We found multiple instances where Cramer indirectly helped to cause a shutdown by voting for bills that defunded Obamacare — these bills had no chance of survival in the Senate or of being signed by then-President Obama. While Cramer’s actions were not direct votes on keeping the government open, they encouraged the 2013 shutdown.
  • We rate this statement Mostly False.

FORUM’S ZALESKI: CRAMER’S “FALSE” MEDICARE AD “WORST SPOT SO FAR.”

  • The ad’s premise is false. Cramer has always wanted to mess with Medicare—cut benefits, privatize portions of the program, etc. He can’t fudge his record, although he is one of the best fudge masters in Washington, D.C.
  • The ad relies on shrewdly ambiguous weasel-words: He will protect benefits for oldies like his mom (and me) and make sure Medicare is there for younger generations, like the kids in the ad. Sounds great. Notice the distinction? The distortion? He is vague about future Medicare for people currently in the workforce (would he gut benefits?), while he preaches to oldsters who are on the program now, who vote, that he’s their Medicare evangelist. It’s not blatant deceit; it’s duplicitous half-truth.

See more:
HEADLINE: PolitiFact: Kevin Cramer distorts Heidi Heitkamp’s record on banking regulations
HEADLINE: Washington Post: N.D. Republican’s Senate campaign ‘fact-checking’ website promotes false claim on CBO estimates
HEADLINE: TPM: Kevin Cramer’s Campaign Images Shot Far From Fargo

PAPERING OVER HIS MEDICARE, SOCIAL SECURITY RECORD. Surprise, surprise: Cramer is trying to paper over his record and fake support for protecting Medicare and Social Security with a toothless resolution that takes no concrete action to protect and strengthen these vital programs. But Cramer can’t erase the dozen times he’s jeopardized these programs, and North Dakotans will see this political stunt for what it truly is: a pathetic attempt to cover up his record of not standing up for North Dakota seniors in favor of his hyper-partisan, put-special-interests-first agenda.

CRAMER (R-SPECIAL INTERESTS). Remember Harold Hamm, the out-of-state billionaire who convinced Cramer to run by promising to help him fundraise? The High Plains Reader has an in-depth look at how Hamm’s money “trails to Cramer branches like tributaries of the Missouri River.” It makes you wonder, if Hamm and his outside special interests are bankrolling Cramer’s campaign, whose interests will Cramer look out for in D.C.?

HIDING CRAMER’S HEALTH CARE AGENDA. Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and the rest of Cramer’s D.C. bosses don’t want voters to know that they’re gunning for another shot at making health care more expensive and less accessible for North Dakotans. One political operative referred to their plans to take away health care from millions as “like fight club. […] First rule is not to talk about it.” Will Cramer finally stand with North Dakotans against this dangerous plan or continue to kowtow to the special interests funding his campaign?

#FBF: CRAMER’S DISRESPECTFUL COMMENTS ABOUT VETS. Cramer once claimed that military service is often “a result of lack of other opportunity or revenue.” And, in case you missed it, Cramer was caught using a stock photo of an “authentic Vietnam veteran” in a campaign web ad, which a local veteran called “outrageous,” saying he “shouldn’t be surprised… Cramer has a long history of using veterans as political props.”

MUST READ – Grand Forks Herald: Heitkamp: Cramer’s support of trade war policies ‘present a threat to North Dakota’.

TWEET OF THE WEEK.

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