Hours after voting for the motion to proceed on the health care debate, Senator John Hoeven flipped on his constituents and previous public comments and voted for the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). The very unpopular BCRA has been roundly rejected by every major medical and advocacy group in North Dakota and around the country. […]
The Senate attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare isn’t over. Disregard the Republican failings on “health care” over the first six months of the Trump administration. Disregard the sudden defeat of the unpopular Senate 2.0 version on Monday which included Senator Ted Cruz’s amendment. Disregard the apparent defeat of the unpopular Senate 3.0 version that […]
Following my Friday post where I stated why I think Governor Doug Burgum needs to tell us his position on Medicaid changes in the Republican “health care” bill, I received messages from individuals around the state. Apparently, constituents have been turned away from the Governor’s office when they’ve wanted to talk about Medicaid, its impacts […]
Yesterday the Senate Republicans released their second version of health care reform. I wrote one thing that was left unchanged from previous versions was the cost shift of Medicaid from the federal government to the states. Because of that persistent focus to change Medicaid funding, we should know where North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum stands. […]
Congressman Kevin Cramer’s fundraising in 2017 has slowed according to his second quarter report. Cramer’s FEC filing indicated he raised $226,274.51 in quarter two leaving him with $784,021.58 cash on hand. This is down from the first quarter when he raised $322,390.30. Many people have considered Congressman Kevin Cramer as the top contender against Senator […]
The next version of “healthcare reform” has been released by Senate Republicans. Again, there are major concerns in this bill. Some of those concerns are newly created by amendments such as Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s change. Those impacts will be better understood once we get a CBO score. Other concerns have long persisted such as […]
U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp raised over $1.3 million in the second quarter of 2017 according to a spokesperson. The second quarter fundraising exceeds the amount any other North Dakota Senator has raised in the same quarter of an off year. This leaves Heitkamp with $3 million cash on hand and no declared opponent should she decide […]
After six months of controlling Congress and the Presidency, some Republican members are starting to admit they don’t know what to do with their control of government and that’s why their agenda has stalled. The Washington Post reports that Senator Patrick Toomey ( R-Pennsylvania) bluntly said he and his colleagues did not expect to be […]
On the same day news broke that 20,000 gallons of oil spilled from a derailed train in Illinois, we learned Republican Legislative leadership in North Dakota is looking to scrap the relatively new state-run rail inspection program. The state-run program debate started in North Dakota during the 2014 campaign for the Public Service Commission. You […]
Congressman Kevin Cramer continued his pattern of disrespecting women yesterday when he called a woman on a national TV show a “snob.” His remarks were aired on KVLY in Fargo. Cramer’s childish behavior which is unbecoming of a sitting United States Representative was directed at Mika Brzezinski, co-host of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC. As you likely […]