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 […]
I hope you’re sitting down for what I’m about to tell you. The heightened partisanship behind health care reform didn’t stop when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pulled the very unpopular Republican Senate bill earlier this week. I’m sure you’re surprised to learn that. As we speak, a group of Republicans are continuing to craft […]
The Republican health care plans brought forward by both the House and now the Senate are actual attempts to dismantle the Medicaid program. Both plans cut Medicaid spending by hundreds of billions of dollars over the first ten years. It will amount to trillions of dollars in the decade following. The federal change will push […]
Real people, real issues, real close to home. In October, 2010, I was campaigning for my third term in the North Dakota senate in the town of Rugby, the biggest city in my district with a population of 2,900 people. I was going door to door–introducing myself, leaving my brochure, asking to earn their vote. […]