Cramer comes out swinging for President Trump’s disastrous trade war, totally abandoning North Dakota farmers and ranchers

Farmers feel betrayed by Cramer’s political tap dance

(BISMARCK, ND) – Last week in a campaign email, Kevin Cramer came out swinging for President Trump’s disastrous tariffs – completely abandoning North Dakota farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and workers who are already suffering the consequences from the impending trade war.

Here’s what he said:

“To date, we haven’t had a President with the fortitude to stand up to these unfair practices and now we do. He needs our support. Senator Heitkamp has been critical of Trump’s position while Rep. Kevin Cramer has supported it.”

 So where does Cramer actually stand? He’s been doing cartwheels on this issue since day one – when he initially deleted a tweet opposing the tariffs. That same day, Cramer compared voting against the president to cheating on a wife.

But now, it looks like Cramer has finally come out full-bore for the president’s trade war – at least to his campaign supporters.

Pay for Play: Cramer sides with special interests, campaign contributors over internet freedom for North Dakotans

Cramer took more than $70,000 from telecom industry last cycle

(BISMARCK, ND) – Today, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) repeal of net neutrality rules are scheduled to take effect – so where does Kevin Cramer stand? Not with North Dakotans. Here are three important things to know about Cramer and his votes to undermine net neutrality and consumer protections for North Dakotans online:

  1. Kevin Cramer voted against strong net neutrality rules. Despite the importance of a free and open internet for North Dakota consumers, small businesses and rural communities, Kevin Cramer voted to block the FCC’s net neutrality rules and voted against funding for the FCC’s net neutrality order.

  2. Kevin Cramer voted to gut consumer protections for North Dakotans online.Last year, Cramer voted to block FCC rules that protect North Dakotans’ internet browsing history. Because of Cramer and his cronies in Congress, big internet service providers can sell consumers’ online browsing history without their permission.
    Cramer pledged to release his own browsing history, but we’re still waiting for him to keep that promise.

  3. Kevin Cramer has been bought by the telecom industry. Kevin Cramer’s votes on internet freedom might not make sense to North Dakotans, but the puzzle fits together when you look at his campaign contributions. According to FEC data, Cramer took more than $70,000 from the telecom industry last cycle – making him one of the top recipients in the House of Representatives.

North Dakota Democratic-NPL Calls for Bipartisan Commission to Explore Budget Priorities

Governor Burgum’s Budget Outline fails to address pressing issues facing North Dakota

Massive cuts to vital state services, education set the state up for financial ruin

(BISMARCK, ND) – Today, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL is calling for a bipartisan commission to review to state’s budget priorities in response to Governor Doug Burgum’s radical vision aimed at slashing public services presented in his Strategic Budget Outline for the 2019-2021 cycle. To make up for draining North Dakota’s reserve funds of $800 million last cycle, the Governor latest scheme includes a potential 8 to 13 percent reduction in the budgets of state agencies and drastic changes to higher education funding.

“There’s nothing innovative or strategic about an 8 to 13 percent across the board budget cut,” saidHouse Democratic-NPL Leader Corey Mock (D-18). “As much as the Governor touts ‘reinventing government’ in North Dakota, this budget proposal leaves working families underserved and puts the state on shaky financial grounds. Governor Burgum should not only reconsider his call for indiscriminatorybudget cuts, but convene a bipartisan, public-private task force to identify our priorities and build an innovative budget that meets our state’s growing needs.”

In addition to cuts of state services, Burgum proposed a $50 million reduction in higher education funding, axing nearly one-third of the North Dakota University System’s budget over four years.

While the Governor stated these cuts will not affect K-12 education, he failed to address critical shortfalls in the current funding model for schools. For the previous two bienniums, funding per student has remained stagnant leading to a five to six percent gap that Burgum’s current budget outline does not address.

“We need to ask ourselves and our elected officials about the kind of state we want to live in,” said Senate Democratic-NPL Leader Joan Heckaman (D-23). “Our hope is that through a bipartisan commission, both parties can identify key priorities that meet the needs of North Dakota, find opportunities for cooperation, and present a budget that strengthens our fiscal footing while continuing to provide high-quality service for our citizens and a proper education for the next generation.”

There He Goes Again: Just like in 2014, Cramer sets the stage to hold Farm Bill hostage over partisan provision

North Dakotans notice Cramer’s consistent betrayal of farmers and ranchers 

#TBT: Williston Herald excoriated Cramer for lack of leadership, politicizing Farm Bill in 2013

(BISMARCK, ND) – He’s at it again. Just like in 2014 when Cramer was roundly admonished by North Dakota media for his efforts that threatened to upend the Farm Bill over a politically divisive provision, Cramer set the stage this week to hold again hold the 2018 Farm Bill hostage over a partisan issue.

After rushing to take credit for the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture’s passage of the 2018 Farm Bill – which, having never been a member of the committee, he did not vote to pass – Cramer released a statement praising not the priorities for North Dakota farmers and producers, but a robust defense of the bill’s most controversial provision.

It’s been a rough few weeks for Cramer on Ag. Trying to convince farmers he’s fighting for their interests when he’s abandoned them to curry favor within his own party and the White House is no easy task. As the New York Times reported, North Dakota farmers and producers are well aware that he’s supporting the president’s devastating tariffs ahead their livelihoods.

“There he goes again – Kevin Cramer has never been there for North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers and, just like in 2014, he’s laying the groundwork to topple a strong Farm Bill over a political provision,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Farmers and ranchers need strong crop insurance programs, robust trade opportunities and solutions that address a tough commodities market – but time and again, Cramer has left them in the dust for more powerful buddies in his party and the White House. North Dakota farmers and producers won’t be fooled by his efforts to take credit for a bill passing in the House Ag committee – where he refuses to serve – and on Election Day, they won’t forget that he left them behind.”

Politicizing the Farm Bill is nothing new for Congressman Cramer – the Williston Herald editorial board took him to task for his lack of leadership during the last Farm Bill debate:

We feel Cramer needs to take a lesson from Hoeven and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in how to wield influence.

… 

He needs to make the farm bill his No. 1 priority, whether it is pushing to reconsider the House version or passing the Senate version. 

… 

North Dakota voters have a history of electing candidates, not parties, and re-election is no guarantee for Cramer just because the vote is on his record.

They need to see real leadership, real influence and real fight in passing the farm bill.

Not just an under-whelming, uninspired “Yes” vote.

Meanwhile, Senator Heitkamp has always put North Dakota’s agriculture producers first – and ever since she was elected to the Senate, she’s served on the Agriculture Committee and helped push through a bipartisan Farm Bill. And when farmers and ranchers faced a devastating drought last summer, Heidi sat down and listened to their concerns. But she also got results – the Department of Agriculture heeded her call to increase staffing at FSA agencies, they expanded CRP lands and she successfully secured tax relief for farmers who suffered losses from the drought.

ICYMI: North Dakota farmers continue speaking out against trade war, Cramer ignores concerns

 (BISMARCK, ND) – Kevin Cramer just can’t bring himself to stand up for North Dakota farmers and ranchers. Why? Because for Cramer, party loyalty and his political career always come first. And it looks like North Dakota farmers are starting to notice.

This week, the New York Times reported on the deep concerns of North Dakota agricultural producers with the president’s tariffs. And yesterday, Reuters wrote about North Dakota farmers and producers’ growing frustrations with the president’s out-of-touch and reckless trade policies – with one North Dakota farmer saying, “that is not the way to do things.”

Perhaps it’s time for Kevin Cramer to start standing up for North Dakotans instead of just himself? Highlights from the article below:

Reuters: Trump’s looming trade war gives Democrats an opening in farm country

  • “We cannot survive a trade war,” Heitkamp said in a recent interview before an event with women business owners in Jamestown, a city of about 16,000 people in east-central North Dakota. “This kind of disruption to a fragile farm economy is very disturbing.”
  • Heitkamp, locked in a tight re-election fight with Republican challenger Kevin Cramer, has led Democratic attacks on Trump for ignoring the economic threat to the region’s export-dependent farmers. The trade dispute has set off political alarms across the conservative farm belt, putting Republican candidates on the defensive and complicating the party’s fight to retain control of Congress.
  • Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imported aluminum and steel along with other goods drew threats of retaliation from Beijing on a list of U.S. agricultural products, topped by soybeans. The crop is farm country’s most valuable export to China, worth $12 billion last year.
  • Doyle Lentz, 56, who grows wheat, barley, canola and soybeans on his 7,000-acre North Dakota farm, said he was “angry” about Trump’s combative trade stance towards China, one of the U.S. ag sector’s most important customers.
  • “I just don’t understand the approach of holding a gun to someone’s head to make a deal, that is not the way to do things,” said Lentz, a former chairman of the National Barley Growers Association and self-described independent voter.

Burgum’s Budget Guidelines Fail to Address North Dakota’s Priorities

 

(BISMARCK, ND) — Yesterday, Governor Doug Burgum presented his guidelines for the 2019-2021 budget process that fail to address the needs of working families and pressing priorities of North Dakota.

“These guidelines are woefully inadequate to solve the problems facing North Dakota’s fiscal health,” said Senate Democratic-NPL Leader Joan Heckaman (D-23).”The state is looking at an $800 million shortfall that Governor Burgum seems to believe can be addressed by empty and vague platitudes about the power of innovation. North Dakotans need real leadership that supports working families and secures a better future for our children.”
“Governor Burgum’s budget plan calls for unrealistic and wrongheaded across the board cuts to our most important state functions and the salaries of public sector employees,” said House Dem-NPL Leader Corey Mock (D-18). “Reductions in state agencies and higher education will put North Dakota on the road to a serious fiscal catastrophe that states like Kansas and Oklahoma have not recovered from.”

Unsurprisingly, the Governor did not address rising property taxes his administration oversaw last year through the elimination of the property tax credit.

Cramer-backed tax bill will help balloon debt to nearly 117% of U.S. GDP

Meanwhile Faux-Deficit Hawk Kevin Cramer gets a big laugh out of adding nearly $2 trillion to the national debt

(BISMARCK, ND) – It’s no secret the country’s debt crisis is growing – and fast. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that U.S. debt-to-Growth Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is projected to reach nearly 117% by 2023. Former Republican Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned that the “unfunded” nature of the nearly $2 trillion partisan tax bill was cause for concern. Offering a little Econ 101, Greenspan advised Republicans to try “spending cuts first before you try to do tax cuts.”

Just last week, Republican U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee sounded alarms that the bill might be ‘one of the worst votes he’s made.’

Officials at the Federal Reserve and the Congressional Budget Office are skeptical that the GOP tax bill will stimulate substantial economic expansion, with GDP growth projected to shrink from 3.3 percent this year to 1.7 percent in 2020.

Highlights from the article below:

Bloomberg: U.S. Debt Load Seen Worse Than Italy’s by 2023, IMF Predicts

  • Mamma Mia! In five years, the U.S. government is forecast to have a bleaker debt profile than Italy, the perennial poor man of the Group of Seven industrial nations.
  • The U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is projected widen to 116.9 percent by 2023 while Italy’s is seen narrowing to 116.6 percent, according to the latest data from the International Monetary Fund. The U.S. will also place ahead of both Mozambique and Burundi in terms of the weight of its fiscal burden.
  • The numbers put renewed focus on the U.S. deteriorating budget after the enactment in December of $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, and the passage more recently of $300 billion in new spending.
  • “The trouble, unfortunately, is it’s unfunded,” [Greenspan] said, adding that Republicans should have done “spending cuts first before you try to do tax cuts.”
  • “This president, obviously, is not a president that’s interested in fiscal issues,” Senator Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, said in Washington earlier on Wednesday.

As Farmland Thaws After a Snowy Winter, Cramer Is Feeling the Heat for His Choice of Supporting a Trump Trade War over North Dakota Farmers

As more than 100 trade associations call for Congress to take action to protect Americans from tariffs, Kevin Cramer is nowhere to be found

Instead, Pass-the-Buck Cramer demeans farmers’ concerns by calling it “hysteria”

(BISMARCK, ND) – A New York Times report from Casselton found a brewing trade war could complicate Kevin Cramer’s attempts to woo the state’s soybean growers. The administration’s decision to prioritize the Rust Belt’s steel and aluminum industries could cost North Dakota farmers dearly – to the tune of a 25 percent tariff imposed by China. And Cramer’s refusal to push back on these protectionist policies could, in turn, cost him with North Dakota’s voters.

Instead of standing up for North Dakota, Kevin Cramer has abandoned his constituents (and his tweets in support of them). Cramer is once again toeing the party line, wagering with North Dakota farmers’ livelihoods that tariffs are a part of the administration’s ‘master plan.’ And farmers are taking notice.

Highlights from the article below:

New York Times: Across Midwest, Farmers Warn of G.O.P. Losses Over Trump’s Trade Policy

  • Here in the largest soybean-producing county in the country, a snowy winter has left North Dakota farmers like Robert Runck with time on their hands before spring planting — time they have spent stewing over how much they stand to lose if President Trump starts a trade war with China.
  • “If he doesn’t understand what he’s doing to the nation by doing what he’s doing, he’s going to be a one-term president, plain and simple,” said Mr. Runck, a fourth-generation farmer who voted for Mr. Trump. Pausing outside the post office in this town of 2,300, Mr. Runck said the repercussions could be more immediate for Representative Kevin Cramer, a Republican whose bid against Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, has been complicated by the proposed tariffs. “If it doesn’t get resolved by election time, I would imagine it would cost Kevin Cramer some votes,” he said.
  • From the still-thawing soybean fields of North Dakota and Kansas to the corn and pork farms of Iowa, voters across the political spectrum say the president’s attacks on American economic rivals could do grave damage to an already unstable commodities market.
  • Instead, there are already whispers, in Washington and in agriculture states, that the president is risking a replay of President Jimmy Carter’s grain embargo on the Soviets, which contributed to the massive losses Democrats suffered in 1980.
  • Indeed, after a year in which Mr. Trump only mused about pulling out of Nafta and was stymied by Congress in his attempt to slash the Agriculture Department’s budget, there is now a sense in the farm belt that Mr. Trump’s yearning to punish China could inflict real economic and political damage on his own political base.
  • “This is the first time it’s in your face, especially to us in the Midwest,” said Ed Schafer, a Republican former governor of North Dakota who was agriculture secretary under George W. Bush.
  • There may be no other race in America that is at once as significant as the Senate contest here and as shaped by whether China’s tariffs take effect this year. Most of North Dakota’s votes are in the eastern end of the state, in the Red River Valley — a region that also happens to be home to the three largest soybean-producing counties in the nation.

With Cramer MIA, North Dakotans express grave concern over President Trump’s potential trade war

Does Kevin Cramer still think North Dakota farmers are hysterical?

(BISMARCK, ND) – North Dakotans are concerned about President Trump’s tariff and trade policies – but instead of standing up for them, Kevin Cramer condescendingly referred to them as hysterical. During the last few weeks, Cramer has been busy peddling conspiracy theories that their concerns have been cooked up by Democrats instead of working toward real solutions for our agricultural producers. Maybe that’s because Cramer believes opposing President Trump is akin to marital infidelity – but here are North Dakotans speaking out against the president’s tariffs:

“We never want to see a trade war, especially with a valued customer like China.” –Jared Hagert, Acting Director of the United Soybean Board from Emerado, ND

“Agriculture is now a global market, affecting our plans on what and how much we plant in acres each season. Agriculture will be the casualty in a trade war. Farmers are naturally optimistic; the weather will be better tomorrow when it rains and the sun is shining. Farmers think that because we are the world’s largest agricultural exporter that countries will have to come to us. History says otherwise! The tariffs on steel and aluminum will greatly affect Dakota farmers, especially corn and soybean farmers.” –Terry Ulrich, a fourth-generation farmer from Ashley, ND

“As an elevator, I can’t sell (soy)beans anywhere because of uncertainty. Nobody wants to buy them from us because they don’t know what the true price of the market should be.” –Doug Lingen, grain merchandiser for Dakota Plains in Kindred, ND

“It’s already affecting the marketplace. […] Weekly, we’re getting changes in prices going up, up, up. […] For us, it’s one of the raw material costs. […] It’s the eventual consumer of our product — a school, a shopping mall, whatever — that is going to have to pay more, or cancel the project if the cost goes up too much.” –Lee Holschuh, president and CEO of Mid-America Steel in Fargo, ND

“That’s a huge impact for us. That’s real, and our farmers and our members are obviously very, very concerned. […] We need to be cautious about losing markets we can’t get back into for a while. […] Sometimes, the ag sector is the first to be impacted and the slowest to respond after the fact.” –Pete Hanebutt, director of public policy with the North Dakota Farm Bureau

“If the U.S. starts raising tariffs on a significant number of goods, then we can expect costs in the U.S. are going to tend to increase and we’ll get not only less imports, but we’ll also tend to get less exports. […] In North Dakota, in particular, we can expect there to be a generally negative impact for tariffs. […] We play a dangerous game if we begin to increase tariffs. […] There’s a very good chance other countries will begin to increase tariffs.” –James Caton, assistant professor of economics in the Department of Agribusiness at North Dakota State University

TAX DAY SPECIAL: 5 things Kevin Cramer doesn’t want you to know about the tax bill

From broken promises, added debt and kickbacks for the Koch Brothers, Cramer tells tall tales on taxes

(BISMARCK, ND) – On Tax Day, you’ll hear a lot from Kevin Cramer and Mitch McConnell’s D.C. smear machine about the partisan, Washington Republican tax bill. But they’re not telling you the whole story.

Here are 5 things you won’t hear from Cramer or McConnell – his party boss – on Tax Day

1. The tax bill will add nearly $2 trillion to the deficit – much more than previously anticipated. 

By voting for the partisan, Washington Republican tax bill, Kevin Cramer added nearly $2 trillion to the national deficit – far more than previously anticipated. But despite these facts, Cramer has laughed off the deficit and even lied to voters, saying the bill would pay for itself.

2. You still can’t file your taxes on a postcard, despite promises from Cramer.

In addition to lying about the cost of the bill, Kevin Cramer told North Dakotans that they’d be able to file their taxes using a postcard. Despite Cramer’s claim, the tax bill still leaves many complications for families and small businesses and fails to deliver on Cramer’s postcard promise.

3. Health care costs are skyrocketing because of the tax bill. 

By gutting parts of the Affordable Care Act through the partisan tax bill, Cramer voted to raise health care costs for families in North Dakota and across the country. Thanks to changes Cramer supported, the independent Congressional Budget Office estimates premiums could jump nearly 35 percent.

4. Walmart isn’t a tax bill success story. 

Kevin Cramer loves to tout Wal-Mart as a tax bill success story. But behind their PR blitz, Walmart is closing more than 150 stores across the United States and more than 60 Sam’s Club stores, including one in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

5. Cramer voted to give massive tax breaks to the Koch Brothers – who are supporting his campaign – and to corporate executives.

Kevin Cramer doesn’t want you to know that his deep-pocketed political supporters benefited from the tax legislation – he even went so far as to lie and say the tax bill wasn’t supported by the Koch Brothers. But just recently, the out-of-state billionaire Koch Brothers ran a smear campaign against Heidi – using a body double to fool North Dakotans. But Cramer doesn’t want folks to know that the Koch Brothers ran away with billions from the tax bill, as corporate executives and the top one percent got more than 80 percent of the economic gains.

VIDEO: 3 big whoppers from Kevin Cramer on Tax Day

(BISMARCK, ND) –  Kevin Cramer really, really, really can’t get his facts right on the Washington Republican tax plan. Whether it was falsely claiming the tax bill would pay for itself, lying to North Dakotans about filing on a postcard or promising that nobody would see a tax hike, Kevin Cramer clearly didn’t know much about the tax bill he voted on.

Here’s a mashup of three big whoppers Kevin Cramer told North Dakotans about the partisan tax bill:

 

 

CLAIM: Kevin Cramer said North Dakotans would be able to file their taxes on a postcard. 

FACT: They won’t – the Republican tax bill fails to deliver on Cramer’s postcard promise.

CLAIM: Cramer claimed everybody in North Dakota would see a tax cut and nobody would see a tax hike.

FACT: Some North Dakotans are seeing higher taxes and some are seeing no change in their taxes whatsoever.   

CLAIM: Kevin Cramer said the tax bill will pay for itself and generate 500 billion in new revenue.

FACT: It won’t – Cramer misled North Dakotans on the cost of the tax bill, and a recent Congressional Budget Office report shows that the tax bill will cost more than previously anticipated. Cramer voted to pass on nearly $2 trillion in debt to our kids and grandkids.

ICYMI: Coalition of manufacturers, farmers and businesses urge Congress, White House to back off trade war

More than 100 trade associations warn Congress that tariffs will be passed onto American consumers
Does Kevin Cramer think these businesses, farmers, manufacturers and consumers are hysterical?

(BISMARCK, ND) – Last week, more than 100 trade associations – representing manufacturers, workers, farmers and businesses – warned Congress of the potentially calamitous impact a trade war could have as a result of the president’s tariff policy. The large coalition underscored that while we must level the global playing-field for American businesses, tariffs are often passed onto Americans – effectively as a new tax on consumers.

But instead of speaking out for North Dakota farmers, businesses and manufacturers, Kevin Cramer has been busy being a rubber stamp for the White House – and panicking to pass the buck. He even went so far as to call concern from the tariffs as “hysteria.”

Key points from the letter below:

  • We are concerned that the proposed tariff list, and escalating tariff threats made by the Administration, however, will not effectively advance our shared goal of changing these harmful Chinese practices.
  • As Committee Members are aware, tariffs are hidden, regressive taxes that will be paid by U.S. businesses and consumers in the form of higher product prices.
  • While the Administration has signaled that the proposed tariffs are intended to inflict maximum pain on China and minimal pain on the U.S. consumer, unfortunately that is not the case.
  • Even more troubling the proposed list includes machinery, parts, chemicals and components that U.S. manufacturers and their workers need to make American products. This will impact downstream industries who rely on these materials and will ultimately result in higher prices for consumers for essential everyday products. Higher costs for manufacturing will result in less production here in the U.S. If imposed, these tariffs will result in higher prices for American consumers and fewer jobs for American workers.
  • China’s threat of retaliation further exacerbates uncertainty as farmers and manufacturers rely on the ability to export their crops and products to China for their livelihood, yet they are targeted for potential retaliation.
  • The escalation of trade tensions with China could result in harm to all our member companies, member farms, their workers, and their consumers. The impact of a trade war and tariffs would be felt by businesses, workers, farmers and consumers throughout the U.S. and across industry sectors. This would hurt the economy as a whole, as well as jobs and consumers in every state. Everyone loses in a trade war.