Earlier this year Governor Doug Burgum, who rode into office on the back of a campaign which castigated a supposed “good old boys club” in Bismarck, accepted a trip to the Super Bowl that was worth roughly $40,000. The trip was paid for by Xcel Energy, which has the largest electrical utility customer base in…
Don’t Attack the State Auditor for Doing His Job
Rep. Roscoe Streyle, a Republican member of the North Dakota Legislature from Minot, has ripped Auditor Josh Gallion in a letter to the editor. Gallion’s sin? Launching a review of travel expenses in Governor Doug Burgum’s office. “I don’t use this term lightly, but this is clearly a witch hunt,” Streyle claims. That’s not the…
Auditor Josh Gallion Deserves Praise for Initiating Review of Governor’s Office After Super Bowl Controversy
Doing the right thing, even though it’s not a politically advantageous thing, is a rare quality in politics. So let’s give North Dakota Auditor Josh Gallion, a Republican elected in 2016, some credit for initiating a review of Governor Doug Burgum’s use of taxpayer resources after controversy over his travel to the Super Bowl. Burgum…
Here Are the Emails Between Governor Burgum’s Office and Xcel Energy Setting up His Uber Expensive Super Bowl Trip
The story about Governor Doug Burgum’s Super Bowl trip just won’t go away, mostly because Burgum’s office has handled the whole thing pretty terribly. Not only should Burgum never have accepted the hospitality of Xcel Energy in the first place, but it now appears he didn’t fully disclose the entire cost of the trip. The…
Governor Burgum Announces That He’s Reimbursing Xcel Energy for His Super Bowl Tickets
I’ve been very critical this week, both here on the blog and on the radio show, of Governor Doug Burgum’s decision to take free Super Bowl tickets from Xcel Energy. Burgum got to sit in Xcel’s luxury suite during the big game. Per this statement just emailed to me by Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki, the…
Governor Burgum’s Super Bowl Trip Didn’t Violate Ethics Policies Mostly Because the Governor’s Office Doesn’t Have Any
When Governor Doug Burgum went to the Super Bowl over the weekend his tickets were paid for by Xcel Energy. A utility company heavily regulated by the state. As I wrote earlier this week, Burgum should have paid for his own ticket. That would have been the right thing to do. But did his decision…
Governor Doug Burgum poses with his wife Kathryn Helgass Burgum on the field during Super Bowl LII. Via Twitter
Governor Burgum Should Have Paid for His Own Super Bowl Tickets
Governor Doug Burgum attended the Super Bowl this weekend, and Xcel Energy picked up the tab. Burgum’s staff tried to cover the trip with a veneer of official duty, telling the Fargo Forum that the Governor would be discussing reliability issues with the company while watching the game. Give me a break. If Governor Burgum wants…
It Got Fixed: Tens Of Thousands On Hold Because HealthCare.Gov Can't Fix Enrollment Errors
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com “It got fixed,” President Barack Obama told Bill O’Reilly of HealthCare.gov in their pre-Super Bowl interview. “Now it’s working the way it’s supposed to.” Some might find that hard to believe for any number of reasons, not the least of which is this report from the Washington Post today…
Michelle Obama's Oscars Appearance Was Genius
Much to the consternation of conservatives, First Lady Michelle Obama appeared on the Oscars last night. This prompted much eye-rolling on the right: Conservatives cringed across social media late Sunday night as the Academy Awards proved immune to avoiding perceived liberal messaging, with First Lady Michelle Obama announcing Argo as the year’s Best Picture winner.…
The State Of The Union Spectacle Is Unbecoming
My friends and family describe me as a political junky. In that I follow politics obsessively, they’re right. My idea of living it up on Friday night is reading audit reports and filing open records requests. But I’ve never felt comfortable with the theater of politics, and theater is what the State of the Union…