Mr. President, things are getting a little weird. North Dakotans are watching one of their Senators beg for your attention and you seem to be brushing it off. His name is Kevin Cramer in case you forgot. Again. You’ve had a lot going on. I think our state would be grateful if you just threw him a bone so he could move on. A virtual pat on the head seems necessary. Maybe then he’d get back to working for his state instead of desperately seeking your acknowledgment.

What more do you need, Mr. President? Kevin Cramer stood before thousands of people in his state and declared he would be with you 100%. He has lived up to that commitment! For better or worse. Sadly, when he committed his purpose and our vote to you that day, you pushed off his attempted hug on stage. Maybe you saw something about him North Dakota voters didn’t in this hyper-partisan environment?

Cramer has been chasing your love ever since. What has turned you away? We need some answers to understand because we’re entitled to having two Senators just like every other state. Was it the needy calls to the White House during the 2018 campaign where he complained to Marc Short that you weren’t doing enough to get him elected in ND? Cramer has probably assumed you’d have his back after he compared going against your political wishes to cheating on your wife. Of course, you know about the loyalty given to your three wives. Maybe you’re still upset he asked you to endorse Dan Johnston for ND Treasure and then you both were defeated by Thomas Beadle and Doug Burgum.

It is unclear where this neediness stems. Was it the refused hug on stage? Maybe it started when you invited Heidi Heitkamp to the White House for a bill signing ceremony. Accomplishments used to matter regardless of political party. Or perhaps it was the time you had our other Senator John Hoeven and Governor Doug Burgum to the White House to discuss the state’s covid-19 response. Unfortunately, when the cameras were rolling, you forgot Cramer’s name in your comments and you simply referred to him as “our other very friendly Senator.” Man, that one might have stung. By the way, I’m not sure if you’ve followed along, but our state has done a terrible job with the virus since that meeting.

One thing is clear, Kevin Cramer is trying to impress you, Mr. President. Once you were unfortunately diagnosed with covid-19, Cramer tweeted out his thoughts and prayers for you. He hasn’t even directly done that for the growing number of North Dakotans that have been infected with the virus. Not a public word of grace following our state’s deadliest month. These are the people he’s supposed to actually work for in the Senate. Clearly, he’s placed you above North Dakotans. What more do you want from him?

Our Senator has even attempted to replicate your aggressive approach to politics on Twitter. He knows that is your preferred platform of communication. He dropped the R-word on Nancy Pelosi. It is unclear if he thought he’d get away with that incredibly negative stereotype after you successfully navigated mocking a person with a disability on stage. He apologized after rightful outrage and said it was a typo.

During this week’s VP debate, he actively attacked Chris Wallace and told Fox News to fire him. He knew you blamed Wallace for your bad debate performance the week before. Cramer even went after Kamala Harris for not understanding your business practices and how you accumulated over $420 million in debt while only paying $750 in federal income taxes. Cramer’s approach to your perceived success was interesting considering there is a lot of debate in North Dakota of when the last time he received a paycheck from private business and not one from taxpayers or a political party. I guess we’re just thankful Harris wasn’t wearing a white pantsuit to really unhinge his tweeting thumbs that night.

Why am I bringing all this up now? To further prove his unyielding support, Cramer took this Friday afternoon off to listen to your entire interview with talk show host Rush Limbaugh. You know that because he retweeted you saying how great you were in real-time. This was during the same time you were telling Congress to move forward on another covid-19 relief package days after you declared talks dead. I guess the art of the deal can be a bit confusing these days.

The bottom line is North Dakotans expect their employees to work. We need the steadfast effort we were accustomed to from previous North Dakota Senators as our state continues to be one of the worst in the nation for covid-19 spread. Mr. President, you should wonder what exactly Senate Republicans do during the workweek. Are they listening to radio, hammering out hot-takes on Twitter, getting in line for the next Fox Business interview, or working to solve the issues for the American people. You know if it was the latter, it would be helping your reelection chances right now. Yet, they’ve done very little to help your election bid aside from ramming through judges to lifetime appointments.

I’ll be blunt, nobody wants to see the depths of Cramer’s thirst for your acceptance. But, it is clear only you can make this embarrassing behavior stop for the rest of us. I assure you, not everyone in North Dakota is this needy for attention. Mr. President, our state would be grateful for your intervention here. Throw Kevin Cramer a bone so he can focus on North Dakota and stop yearning for your embrace. Please spare some of your 280 characters on Twitter for our Senator in the days ahead.

Tyler Axness
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