Republican Leaders Set the Record Straight on Obamacare and Pre-Existing Conditions
Bismarck, ND– Republican leaders today gathered at the Bismarck Farm Bureau location to dispute Democrats’ false claims and to reaffirm their position regarding the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and pre-existing conditions. Despite repeated fear-mongering attacks from Democrats, Republican leaders made it clear they have always supported the inclusion of coverage for pre-existing conditions in healthcare reform and that the current state of healthcare does not benefit North Dakotans.
Congressman Kevin Cramer, Lieutenant Governor Brent Sanford, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread and State Senator Kelly Armstrong all spoke in support of keeping pre-existing conditions available but reiterated that Obamacare is failing North Dakotans.
Before Obamacare, 8 to 10 percent of North Dakotans were uninsured. Today, that number remains relatively unchanged at 8 percent demonstrating how Obamacare has failed in the state. While more individuals may be covered under Medicaid, the rising costs of healthcare, which have doubled in four years, have only made it more difficult for those who do not qualify for Medicaid to afford insurance, including farmers, ranchers and small business owners.
The participants of today’s press conference issued the following joint statement:
“Democrats continue to push a big lie and we can’t stand for it. The only group talking about eliminating coverage for pre-existing conditions are the Democrats. There is no denying, the current state of healthcare needs fixing, and every Republican proposal that has been advanced has included guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions. We need a system that covers all North Dakotans, and that doesn’t shift the burden of rising premiums to our farmers, ranchers and small business owners.”
Speaking in support of Republicans were two North Dakota farmers and one small business owner. Tom Christensen of Verona and Weston Dvorak of Manning are both farmers and Marv Miller owns Twin City Roofing in Mandan. They all shared their stories or how rising premiums due to Obamacare has made it difficult for them to afford insurance for their families or employees.
Republicans pointed out the fact that the Comprehensive Health Association of North Dakota (CHAND) has always – and will continue to cover high risk North Dakotan’s. Additionally, under Graham Cassidy the state will not only receive more money to fund the high-risk population, but providers will have more flexibility in how they deliver healthcare.
Leaders also reiterated that Obamacare is unconstitutional, and that North Dakota will continue to participate in the federal lawsuit challenging that fact.
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She’s running!
Hey everyone–
Heidi Heitkamp has spent every day of the campaign running from her own record, hoping North Dakotans won’t pay close attention to the way she’s voted in Washington. National Reviewjust released an in-depth look at why.
Heitkamp is a liberal Democrat who is out of touch with her constituents, and her voting record proves it. Heitkamp has voted against:
- tax cuts
- border fencing
- defunding sanctuary cities
- a 20-week abortion ban
- repealing and replacing Obamacare
- several of President Trump’s judicial nominees
President Trump said it best: “You need a senator who doesn’t just talk like they’re from North Dakota, but votes like they’re from North Dakota.”
Check out the full piece HERE.
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hard to understand
Hey everyone—
Kevin Cramer’s Senate campaign launched a new ad calling out Heidi Heitkamp for voting to fund sanctuary cities.
In the ad, Cramer says, “It’s hard to understand why Heidi Heitkamp, who is a former attorney general, voted to fund sanctuary cities that ignore the rule of law and put our citizens and law enforcement officers at risk.”
Heitkamp’s failure to crack down on sanctuary cities and protect North Dakotans- votingthreetimesto support sanctuary cities- is one of her many failures on illegal immigration. Heitkamp also votedagainst border security and criticizedPresident Trump’s plan to build a wall, saying “I just wish we could get beyond that.”
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NDGOP Chairman Statement on House Candidate Debate
BISMARCK— North Dakota Republican Party Chairman Rick Berg issued the following statement on tonight’s debate:
“Tonight’s debate presented North Dakota voters with a clear choice in this race. I would like to congratulate Kelly Armstrong on his excellent debate performance, and I look forward to helping him get elected this November.”
Heidi Heitkamp’s Health Care Lie
Hey everyone–
Heidi Heitkamp is out with a new ad falsely attacking Kevin Cramer on pre-existing conditions. Like Heitkamp, Cramer has consistently supportedprotecting coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. During efforts to repeal Obamacare, he voted for the MacArthur amendment, which explicitly states under no circumstances can people be denied coverage because of a pre-existing conditions.
But unlike Heitkamp, Cramer knows we need to reform our nation’s broken health care system. Under Obamacare, which Heitkamp has repeatedly supported, North Dakotans have seen:
- Costs skyrocket, with premiums increasing by 44%
- Medicare funding gutted
- Entire countieswith zero health care providers
REMINDER: Heidi Heitkamp’s political posturing on health care is nothing new. Despite feigning dissatisfaction with the disastrous law before the 2012 election, Heitkamp has been a diehard supporter of Obamacare, voting for it every chance she’s had while in Washington. This health care debate is just another example of why North Dakotans can’t trust Heidi with six more years in the Senate.
“Heidi Heitkamp’s repeated lies about Cramer’s stance on pre-existing conditions won’t work,” said North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins. “Heitkamp’s support for Obamacare has saddled North Dakotans with higher costs, worse care, and fewer options; and voters will remember that in November.”
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no image available
Hey everyone–
Heidi Heitkamp finally caved to weeks of pressure and agreed to meet with President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh today.
Just don’t expect to see any photos of the two– Heitkamp refused to allow reporters take pictures of their meeting or ask her for a comment:
Hiding Heidi trying to avoid this issue is nothing new– she “practically jogged” away from reporters trying to ask about it.
BACKGROUND:
Heidi Heitkamp has been feeling the heat from all sides of this debate:
— Conservative groups are rallyingoutside her campaign office
— Her socialist base is writingletters to urge her to vote no
— The people of North Dakota overwhelmingly supportthe Kavanaugh nomination
— Chuck Schumer toldher: “Stay as neutral as you can, as long as you can.”
Judging by Heitkamp’s refusal to let North Dakotans know where she stands, it’s clear whose voice Heidi is listening to. Chuck Schumer has already poured millions of dollars in ads into North Dakota, and Heitkamp needs his help to save her failing campaign.
“Even though Heidi Heitkamp won’t allow the press to take photos of today’s meeting, her actions paint a clear picture of a vulnerable Democrat who only cares about her reelection campaign,” said North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins. “Heitkamp needs to drop the juggling act and stand up for the people of North Dakota by voting to confirm Brett Kavanaugh.”
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Where’s the beef?
Hey everyone—
Kevin Cramer’s Senate campaign launched a new ad calling out Heitkamp’s liberal allies for their incredibly misleading claims on Cramer’s record.
BACKGROUND: Heidi Heitkamp’s Democrat party boss and high-five partnerChuck Schumer descended on North Dakota to try to help save her failing campaign. Schumer’s Super PAC is airing a false attack adon Cramer’s vote to repeal country of origin labeling (COOL) requirements. What the ad leaves out— Heidi Heitkamp also voted“to repeal country of origin labeling requirements for beef and pork.”
“Desperate to save their fellow liberal Heidi Heitkamp, National Democrats like Chuck Schumer have now resorted to attacking Kevin Cramer for voting for the laws Heitkamp also voted for,” said North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins. “North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers are ready to stand with Kevin Cramer this November, and one misleading ad won’t change that.”
Click Here to Watch Cramer’s New Ad
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Heitkamp let small businesses down
Hey everyone—
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) just endorsed Kevin Cramer’s Senate campaign. During the announcement, Cramer promised that “in the Senate, I’ll continue the fight to make sure our economy stays on track.”
Given Heitkamp’s abysmal record on jobs and the economy, support from small businesses for Cramer is no surprise. As a Senator, Heitkamp:
- voted against lower taxes for individuals and small businesses
- opposed repealing harmful, Obama-era regulations
- supports healthcare laws that increase costs and make it harder for small businesses to grow
- endorsed Hillary Clinton, who thought President Trump’s economic policies that led to 4.1% GDP growth would “throw us into a recession.”
“Senator Heitkamp has failed North Dakota’s small business community,” said North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins. “With her liberal, out-of-touch record of supporting higher taxes and harmful regulations, North Dakotans know they can’t trust Heitkamp with six more years in the United States Senate.”
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Inconvenient Truths by Heidi Heitkamp
Hey everyone–
Heidi Heitkamp spent this weekend walking back her frequent, over-the-topic rhetoric on trade.
— First, Heitkamp’s Senate office was forced to delete a tweet that claimed “A study shows that corn, soybean and wheat farmers across the U.S. have already lost $13 billion because of the administration’s trade war.” Unfortunately for Heitkamp, no such study exists, and those numbers are wrong.
— Meanwhile, Heitkamp herself toldthe Editorial Board of The Jamestown Sun the Administration’s $12 billion trade assistance package was “necessary and appropriate for farmers,” a complete change from when she criticizedthe plan and introducedcompeting legislation of her own.
REMINDER: Heidi Heitkamp is playing politics with North Dakota’s farmers to try to save her failing campaign. As Rob Port previously reported, “What is political advantageous for her [Heitkamp] is for farmers to bleed. She needs them to feel pain, or at least think they’re going to feel pain, so she can capitalize on it politically.”
In case you missed it…
The Truth Is Inconvenient for Senator Heitkamp’s Political Strategy
Rob Port | Say Anything Blog
8.13.18
Last month I noted that Senator Heidi Heitkamp has put herself in a political position where she needs her constituents to feel pain. The self-styled “independent” voted with the rest of the national Democratic party against the Trump tax cuts. She has positioned herself in opposition to Trump’s efforts on trade. Heitkamps needs North Dakotans to bleeding thanks to these policies – or to at least feel like they’re bleeding – in order to demonstrate the efficacy of her decisions.
Which brings us to a Washington Postfact checkpublished today which prompted Senator Heitkamp’s team to delete a tweet about crop prices.
“A study shows that corn, soybean and wheat farmers across the U.S. have already lost $13 billion because of the administration’s trade war,” a now-deleted tweet from the Senator read. “We need trade policies that make sense for North Dakota, protect farmers and ranchers, and open up markets.”
The Postnotes that the “study” referenced in the tweet, which was deleted after the paper made inquiries about it, wasn’t a study at all. It was actually a claim made in an op/ed by the National Farmer’s Union, a Democrat-aligned agriculture group, which in turn had cribbed it from a Wall Street Journalarticle:
When the Fact Checker asked to see the study, Heitkamp’s office pointed us to an op-ed from the National Farmers Unionthat was referenced in a New York Timesarticle. But the National Farmers Union said the calculation was not its work. Instead, it said, it obtained the factoid from a quote in an article in the Wall Street Journal.
It turns out the $13 billion in losses is based on a calculation using projected crop production numbers and prices from the futures market. Only, the markets are volatile. As the Postnotes, the prices go up and down. “The volatility is particularly clear when you fast-forward to Aug. 8. On that day, Hurt pegged a $9 billion decline in corn, soybean and wheat crops. In other words, the situation had improved almost 40 percent in just two weeks,” they report.
“Heitkamp’s office deletedher tweet after our inquiries,” the Postreports, and they give the Senator some credit for that, though not as much credit as they would have if she’d had the integrity to post a corrective tweet. “It’s good that she deleted her tweet, but she would have more credibility if she had deleted it with an acknowledgement of her error,” the Postwrites.
Heitkamp’s tweet says there has “already” been $13 billion in losses thanks to Trump’s trade policies, but that’s not really true. Any losses which may or may not occur will happen when farmers pick a price point at which to sell their crops. What’s more, many farmers lock in prices ahead of time, meaning the volatility in prices now has no impact on them at all.
But Heitkamp can’t afford to acknowledge the error. The truth, in this situation, is not convenient for her re-election strategy.
By the way, the Postarticle makes another interesting point. They point out that crop prices are coming down off some booming highs. We saw a rise in crop prices through a peak in 2016. Those high prices combined with generally favorable growing conditions has resulted in a sharp rise in production. Which, in turn, has driven prices back down in accordance with the laws of supply and demand.
It’s politically convenient right now for politicians like Heitkamp to make it seem like crop prices hinge on just one variable – in this instance trade policies they oppose – but the truth is much more complicated.
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um, what?
Hey everyone—
Heidi Heitkamp told Breitbart News last night she supports border security and, “yes, funding for a wall.”
This new position is a direct contradiction to Heitkamp’s own rhetoric and record:
- Her first year in office, Heitkamp voted against a border fence.
- In 2016, she fervently supported Hillary Clinton, who made opposing Trump’s border wall a centerpiece of her campaign.
- Just last year, Heitkamp criticized President Trump’s plan to build this wall, saying “I just wish we could get beyond that.”
With a disastrously weak record on immigration, including consistent support for funding sanctuary cities, North Dakotans aren’t buying Heitkamp’s campaign reincarnation as a border security hawk.
“Heidi Heitkamp has spent her time in Washington opposing a border wall and efforts to combat illegal immigration,” said North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins. “North Dakotans support combating illegal immigration and they know Heidi Heitkamp does not.”
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