Earlier this week the state House shot down SB2293 which in its original form would have established a rail safety committee and it would have redirected an existing rail fuel excise tax to safety improvements. By the time it had reached the House it had been amended to a requirement that the Public Service Commission…
John Dorso: Minority Status Lets Democrats Be Superficial And Irresponsible
I suppose we are just going to have to live with the notion that the Democrats in North Dakota don’t know how to govern. Being the minority party allows them to be superficial and irresponsible. Knowing that some of the things you propose have no chance of passing allow you to become reckless. In these…
Video: Senator George Sinner Accuses Republicans Of Partisanship Over Sales Tax Bill
State Senator George Sinner, a Demcorat from Fargo, introduced SB2223 to exempt clothing from the sales tax. Originally the bill also would have provided an appropriation from the state to replace local sales tax revenues lost as a result of the exemption. Today an amended version of the bill came to the floor for approval,…
Fargo Forum: Wealth Redistribution Is Better Than Tax Cuts
There are a bunch of bills for tax relief before the 2015 legislative session, including two bills to take income tax rates down to zero. But according to the Fargo Forum, it would be better if the Legislature passed an amendment to the state constitution allowing for the state to redistribute excess revenues by just cutting…
Lawmaker Says Relationship Between House, Senate Leaders Is "Worse I've Ever Seen"
I was speaking with a lawmaker friend yesterday who clued me in to what is apparently a bad relationship between House Majority Leader Al Carlson and Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner. I had both gentlemen on the radio with me earlier this week and they did a good job of promoting a unified message, but…
Heitkamp Votes Against Reid As Minority Leader
In what was apparently a heated closed-door caucus meeting Senator Harry Reid was re-elected to his leadership post for the incoming Demcorat minority in the Senate. But one person who didn’t support keeping Reid at the head of her caucus was Senator Heidi Heitkamp. “This was a change election,” Heitkamp told the New York Times.…
George Sinner Gets Last Minute Endorsement From Former President Clinton
It seems that for George Sinner, even things that would seem to boost his campaign only provide a contrast for how lackluster his candidacy has been. During the 2012 cycle, former President Bill Clinton was fairly involved in North Dakota’s races. He was the keynote speaker at the Democrats’ statewide convention that year, and he…
Nancy Pelosi Coming To George Sinner's Rescue, Drops Nearly $90k On Advertising
Democrat George Sinner’s campaign against Republican incumbent Kevin Cramer has been, in a word, lackluster. Sinner didn’t bother to get into the race until March, and his fundraising has dragged. As of the last fundraising reports filed with the FEC, Sinner has raised just over $850,000 to the incumbent’s more than $1.3 million. Of the…
Campaign Poll Shows Kevin Cramer At 50%, George Sinner At 35%
US House candidate Kevin Cramer’s campaign shared some polling numbers with me this evening which show the race breaking in the incumbent’s direction. The polling was done by Odney on behalf of the campaign, so take it with a grain of salt. Voters were surveyed between October 20 and October 24, with a demographic breakdown…
Jack Seaman: Fargo Forum Should Report Full Story About North Dakota U.S. House Race
Today the Fargo Forum published an in depth, front page, 3,500 word article about the U.S. House race in North Dakota by reporter Tu-Uyen Tran. This was one of several the paper has published in recent weeks by Mr. Tran, of which only one has even briefly mentioned me as a candidate in the race.…