CROOKED CRAMER’S CHRONICLES – CRAMER’S DANGEROUS HEALTH CARE AGENDA IN THE SPOTLIGHT – CRAMER’S TRADE WAR “A SELF-INFLICTED WOUND” – #STANDWITHND

Welcome to Crooked Cramer’s Chronicles where, every Friday, we’ll break down the latest and greatest weekly hits about Cramer’s crooked, self-serving, extreme, and gaffe-prone behavior that puts himself and his partisan politics ahead of North Dakotans.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TWEET OF THE WEEK.

After Increasing Debt Nearly $2 Trillion, Cramer Yet Again Reminds Us He’s Fiscally Irresponsible

(BISMARCK, ND) – As the trade war’s biggest cheerleader, Kevin Cramer has been pushing a reckless trade agenda that’s threatening the very livelihood of North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers. It looks like it’s starting to threaten taxpayers, too.

Last year, Cramer voted to blow up our national debt to the tune of nearly $2 trillion dollars. Now, he’s at it again – by making our economy vulnerable to ‘self-inflicted’ wounds that will cost taxpayers a whopping $12 billion. Asked if he supports Senator Heitkamp’s legislation to give farmers aid – at no additional cost to taxpayers – Cramer said he’d rather take the budget-busting approach.

“Time and again, Kevin Cramer has shown North Dakotans that he can’t be trusted with taxpayer dollars,” said Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “From his vote to add nearly $2 trillion to our national debt to helping start the trade war and pushing to make health care more expensive, it’s clear that Cramer cares more about advancing his own political career than the debt burden we’re passing onto our children and grandchildren.”

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Dem-NPL Launches Google Ads On Cramer’s Dangerous Health Care Agenda

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

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

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

See the ad:

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

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

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Cramer Yesterday On How He Will #StandWithND

(BISMARCK, ND) –

While we heard crickets from Cramer, here’s what he could have done to #StandWithND:

  • Stand with farmers, ranchers, and businesses against the disastrous trade war.
  • Stand with the nearly 300,000 North Dakotans who have a pre-existing condition and are at risk of losing affordable coverage.
  • Stand with North Dakota’s seniors by supporting Social Security and Medicare.
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Will Cramer Advocate for ND Issues at Closed-Door Fundraiser or Spend His Time Begging for Campaign Help?

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

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

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

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Other GOP Members of Congress Are Standing Up Against the Trade War – Where is Kevin Cramer?

(BISMARCK, ND) – The president’s trade war is already hitting the bottom lines of North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers – so much so that the administration announced a whopping $12 billion bailout of the agriculture industry to stop the bleeding from the trade war they created.

While Kevin Cramer continues to fan the flames of this trade war and jeopardize North Dakota ag producers – other Republicans are speaking out and standing up for farmers:

Senator Bob Corker (R-TN): “So, you create a policy that causes people to need to be on welfare and then you provide the welfare. […] “It would be much better to just reverse the policy that’s creating this.”

Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Chairman of the Senate agriculture committee: “I think the agriculture community has made it clear. […] They much prefer trade rather than aid.”

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI): “This is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here: Commissars deciding who’s going to be granted waivers, commissars in the administration figuring out how they’re going to sprinkle around benefits. […] I’m very exasperated. This is serious.”

Senator John Thune (R-SD): “Taxpayers are going to be asked to initial checks to farmers in lieu of having a trade policy that actually opens and expands more markets. There isn’t anything about this that anybody should like.”

Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE): “This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White House’s ‘plan’ is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches. America’s farmers don’t want to be paid to lose – they want to win by feeding the world. This administration’s tariffs and bailouts aren’t going to make America great again, they’re just going to make it 1929 again.”

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ): “This is what we feared all along, that these markets would be replaced by handouts. […] You lose some of these markets, you lose them for good or a long time.”

What will it take for Kevin Cramer to finally stand up for North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers and manufacturers? 

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See Our Full Page Ad in the Grand Forks Herald

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

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

See the ad below:

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Will Cramer Continue To Threaten Social Security & Medicare?

Vice President Pence Supports Health Care Plan That Would Shift Burden onto Seniors

(BISMARCK, ND) – Ahead of Vice President Pence’s visit to Grand Forks tomorrow, Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL questioned whether Congressman Cramer will continue to stand with his Washington party bosses and support a policy that jeopardizes the dignity of a secure retirement:

“Congressman Cramer has already made clear his support for dangerous, anti-senior policies and would support chipping away at earned benefits for Social Security and Medicare recipients. Ahead of Vice President Pence’s visit, Cramer needs to demonstrate whether he stands with North Dakota’s seniors. If he does, we hope he’ll use his time with the Vice President to advocate on their behalf.”

Read more on Cramer’s anti-senior agenda here and here.

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Cramer’s Health Care Plan “The Wrong Solution” for Farmers

(BISMARCK, ND) – A recent report from the nonpolitical Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that skimpy health plans, the kind endorsed by Congressman Cramer and his Washington party bosses, “would be inadequate and unaffordable” and “would do more harm than good” to farmers and farm workers. Cramer has supported plans that don’t guarantee affordable protections for folks with pre-existing conditions, could increase premiums, and could allow insurers to impose an age tax on older North Dakotans. With two out of three farmers and ranchers reporting having a pre-existing condition, skinny health plans are the exact opposite of what farmers and ranchers need – but that doesn’t seem to bother Congressman Cramer.

From the report:
“The plans could deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, provide coverage to such people but decline to cover their pre-existing conditions, charge far higher premiums based on a person’s health status, age, and other characteristics, and leave out benefits such as maternity care and prescription drugs.
…
Farmers are more likely than the general population to buy their own insurance, perhaps because they are more likely to be self-employed and without access to an employer plan.  
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In a survey funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2 out of 3 farmers and ranchers reported having a pre-existing health condition.  Skimpier plans are unlikely to meet the needs of this group.
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As a statement from 16 patient groups including the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association explained, expanding enrollment of skimpier health plans that are subject to weaker rules “has the potential to price millions of people with pre-existing conditions and serious illnesses out of the individual insurance market and put millions more at risk through the sale of insurance plans that won’t cover all the services patients want to stay healthy or the critical care they need when they get sick.”

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Cramer’s Anti-Senior Agenda: Hiked Medicare Premiums, Calls to Cut Social Security & Medicare

Despite his false ads, Cramer is still pushing for “means testing” and cuts to ND seniors’ benefits – and even suggested increasing premiums for Medicare

(BISMARCK, ND) – Congressman Cramer is continuing to lie to North Dakotans: telling them he’ll protect Social Security and Medicare, when his actions and his recent comments show us otherwise. Just last week, he added to his talk of “means testing” and cuts to Medicare by floating increased Medicare premiums for some North Dakota seniors. It’s no wonder the Alliance for Retired Americans has given him a lifetime score of nine percent. But anyone who’s heard Cramer’s repeated calls for cutting Social Security and Medicare shouldn’t be surprised. It’s all part of Cramer’s anti-senior agenda.

Even after his false ad claiming he’d protect these programs, Cramer has continued to call for cuts:

  1. During a radio interview last week, Cramer once again suggested implementing “means testing” so that some would “pay a little more of a premium for their Medicare.”
  2. During the same interview, Cramer once again refused to fully protect Medicare that folks 50 to 55 have earned, saying they would either face “small” cuts with “policy changes today,” or face Medicare that is “cut dramatically.”

“Once again, Congressman Cramer is proving he can’t be honest with North Dakotans – trying to fool our seniors by calling the cuts he wants to make to Medicare ‘small changes’ and trying to scare them into believing that otherwise they’d face ‘dramatic cuts’ tomorrow. And despite his phony ads, he’s still pushing for ‘means testing’ and even said some seniors should face hiked Medicare premiums… how much more out of touch can you get?” said Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL.“North Dakota’s seniors deserve a leader like Heidi who’s fought and will keep fighting to protect their hard-earned benefits – not the Medicare cuts or premium increases in Cramer’s anti-senior agenda.”

WATCH: Cramer’s repeated calls to cut Social Security and Medicare.
Read the facts: Cramer has claimed cuts to Social Security and Medicare were unpopular, but necessary, and specifically mentioned means testing and raising the retirement age. 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 North Dakotans. Cramer voted for a budget that would have begun the privatization of Medicare, and Cramer has remained silent about an extremist budget proposal that would enact cuts to these and other vital programs.
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ICYMI: “Yes, Kevin Cramer Does Want to Destroy Social Security”

Don’t miss this op-ed from the president of Social Security Works PAC, an organization that focuses on senior issues, which lays out a number of ways Congressman Cramer has voted against the interests of North Dakota’s seniors – including calling for “means testing” and “raising the retirement age,” aka: cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Social Security Works: Yes, Kevin Cramer Does Want to Destroy Social Security
By Jon Bauman

Key Points:

  • Nearly every vote [Cramer] has taken indicates his hostility towards Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
  • Cramer’s score from the Alliance for Retired Americans in both 2016 & ’17 was a great big ZERO, and he has a lifetime score of nine percent, a strongly anti-senior voting record. In contrast, Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), who Cramer is currently running against for U.S. Senate, has a ninety percent lifetime score.
  • Rep. Cramer… suggest[ed] that we “do a little more means testing, maybe increase the age by a month or two for a while.” Both of these suggestions are simply euphemisms for cutting benefits.
  • Raising the retirement age is an across the board benefit cut, one that hurts low-income and minority families the most. Means testing benefits does not produce any significant savings unless middle class benefits are cut. This is because implementing the means test would add significant administrative costs to Social Security.
  • North Dakota’s 125,786 Social Security beneficiaries (not to mention every North Dakota worker who pays into Social Security and will be a future beneficiary) deserve better.
  • They deserve to know what “means testing” and “raising the retirement age” really mean. They deserve to know that this April, Rep. Cramer voted for a Balanced Budget Amendment which, if it had passed, would forbid Social Security from using its $2.9 trillion surplus to pay promised benefits. They deserve to know that back in 2012, Cramer stated that we should “introduce more private sector options” into Social Security and Medicare, code for destroying them by handing them over to Wall Street and insurance corporations.
  • Not only that, they deserve to know that Cramer’s opponent, Senator Heidi Heitkamp, is a staunch supporter of Social Security who voted against the tax giveaway. They deserve to know that they have a real choice.

Read the full article here.

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CROOKED CRAMER’S CHRONICLES – CRAMER’S ME-FIRST PARTISAN STRATEGY – DON’T LET CRAMER’S FARM BILL SPIN FOOL YOU – POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM CAN’T COVER UP REAL RECORDS

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’S ME-FIRST, PARTISAN STRATEGY. If there’s one thing Cramer has mastered, it’s the art of the flip flop – especially when it comes to the trade war that’s dealing blows to North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and businesses. Cramer has put politics above the people he is supposed to represent, acting as a rubber stamp for the trade war to gain political favor. FIRST, Cramer took a wishy-washy position on the trade war, even though he was aware the damage it would cause to North Dakotans. NEXT, Cramer very briefly took a stand against the trade war, signing a letter with other House colleagues asking the president to reconsider broad tariffs. THEN, HE FLIPPED, claiming the president was right to enact tariffs and, since then, has refused to forcefully speak out against the trade war, claiming he doesn’t know whether they’ll have any real impact and stating that such CONCERNS ARE “HYSTERIA.”

See more on Cramer’s Anatomy of a Flip Flop here.

ND DEM-NPL LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL AD ON CRAMER’S TRADE WAR. Congressman Cramer abdicated his responsibility to protect North Dakota’s farmers and businesses from the growing trade war. That’s unacceptable and it’s why the North Dakota Democratic-NPL launched its latest digital ad: to call on Cramer to work across the aisle and stop the harmful trade war, rather than continuing to kowtow to the president to win political favor. WATCH the ad here.

DON’T LET CRAMER’S FARM BILL SPIN FOOL YOU. Cramer’s Washington party bosses may be trying to hand him a political lifeline by appointing him to the Farm Bill Conference Committee, but this appointment won’t erase the well-documented years Cramer has spent playing politics with North Dakota’s farmers and the Farm Bill. Here are the facts:

  • Cramer has never served on the House Committee on Agriculture.
  • In 2013, Cramer tried to sink the Farm Bill, earning him the label of ideologue, someone who “rejects compromises and insists on policies that are ideologically pure” by the Grand Forks Herald.
  • Cramer’s partisan antics prompted the Williston Herald to call on him to “take a lesson” from Senators Heitkamp and Hoeven on working across the aisle to get results.
  • 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.
  • Cramer didn’t even know when the Farm Bill passed out of committee earlier this year.

OUR TAKE: “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.”

HEADLINE: POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM CAN’T COVER UP POLITICAL RECORDS. NDxPlains’ Tyler Axness sums up Cramer’s appointment to the Farm Bill Conference Committee perfectly when he asks, “If [Cramer] couldn’t be effective then, what makes us think he could be effective on a packed conference committee?”

ICYMI: HEITKAMP HOLDS “FUNDRAISING ADVANTAGE” OVER CRAMER. Heidi has more than double the cash on hand of Congressman Cramer, $5.2 million to $2.4 million – shattering fundraising records for any North Dakota U.S. Senate candidate. Heidi raised nearly $2 million in the second quarter.

CRAMER DECLINES MORE DEBATES THAN HE ACCEPTS. So far, Heidi and Congressman Cramer have agreed to three debates before the election, but what he doesn’t want North Dakotans to know is that he’s declined to participate in at least four more, whereas Heidi has agreed to ten. This leaves us wondering: what’s Cramer hiding? Tyler Axness of NDxPlains Blog observed, “Perhaps it is proving difficult to discover those accomplishments which leads him to shy away from true debates. Quite simply, it makes a person wonder if he is afraid of debating Heitkamp and speaking about his record?”

REMEMBER WHEN CRAMER SAID THE TRADE WAR WAS “POSITIVE” FOR ND? This makes us wonder: has Cramer seen the news or talked to anyone in North Dakota lately?

(BONUS) QUOTE OF THE WEEK.
Steele County, ND farmer: “Cramer boasts about (how) he votes with the president all the time. I don’t think that’s good for North Dakota.”

TWEET OF THE WEEK.

Hope to see you all at the state fair and parade this weekend!