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Jun 21, 2023 • 1h 6min

418: Long-time Republican strategist weighs in on changes to the NDGOP

Minot, N.D. — "The history of this in other states hasn't been good," Pat Finken said on this episode of Plain Talk. Finken is a long-time Republican strategist who has consulted and managed campaigns for candidates like Sen. John Hoeven, and Sen. Kevin Cramer and worked before for and against ballot measures. He joined this episode to discuss the recent takeover of the North Dakota Republican Party by populists, or culture warriors, or the MAGA movement, depending on your preferred nomenclature. He argues that similar takeovers of Republican politics in places like Arizona, and Minnesota, have resulted in the states moving farther left. The same could happen in North Dakota, depending on how the new party leaders conduct themselves. If they start to censure sitting Republican incumbents, if they recruit extreme candidates for the ballot, we could start to see Republicans lose ground in elections. Also on this episode, co-host Ben Hanson and I discuss the recent controversy at North Dakota Right To Life, and a voting analysis of the North Dakota legislature from a Minnesota-based group that is premised on the idea that a Republican ever, under any circumstance, voting with a Democrat is a bad thing. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show on services like Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or click here.  
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Jun 19, 2023 • 1h 6min

417: Congressman Kelly Armstrong regrets nothing

The new chair of the North Dakota Republican Party, Sandi Sanford, doesn't like Republican Congressman Kelly Armstrong very much. She has called for a primary challenger for the incumbent over his vote to codify same-sex marriage in federal law. Does Armstrong now regret that vote? "I do not," he said when asked on this episode of Plain Talk. As for the potential for his own party to become an obstacle to his own re-election, he didn't sound seem concerned. "I'm on the ballot every year," he said. "We'll either get help from the party or we won't," he continued. Armstrong also expressed his support for Gov. Doug Burgum's presidential campaign, saying he's 100 percent behind him, and has donated to his campaign. Burgum's term ends next year, and if he's running for president, he may not seek a third term as governor. Would Armstrong be interested in that office? "Yes, I would certainly look at it," he said. Armstrong also addressed his vote against censuring Rep. Adam Schiff, which earned him the ire of some far-right activists on social media, and commented on the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump. "You have to be thoughtful about this stuff," Armstrong said. "You can't be raging toward whatever gets you the most clicks." Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Search for the show on services like Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or click here to learn how to subscribe on the platform of your choice.    
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Jun 14, 2023 • 1h 9min

416: Can Democrats take advantage of NDGOP infighting?

The North Dakota Republican Party is fractured. Whatever happens at their upcoming reorganization meeting, where leadership from traditional Republicans is under a challenge from populist culture war activists, there's no question that the party has shifted away from what it's been during the last three decades that it has stood astride state politics. Can the Democratic-NPL, which holds no statewide offices, which has withered to superminority status in the state Legislature, take advantage? Adam Goldwyn, the newly-elected chairman of the party, joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss it. Also on this episode, co-host Ben Hanson and I discuss the latest from the presidential campaign trail. Gov. Doug Burgum's entry to the race has gone pretty well, so far, but he's still at the bottom of the barrel according to the most recent national polls. What does he need to do to distinguish himself? If you want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish, search for the show and subscribe on services like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon, or click here to learn how to subscribe on the platform of your choice.
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Jun 9, 2023 • 59min

415: Doug Burgum is running for president, but what's happening to his political party?

There are two big stories in North Dakota politics. One you know about. Doug Burgum is running for president of the United States. He's just the second North Dakota resident to do so in the country's history. The other is flying under the radar of all but the wonkiest of state political observers, and it's what's happening to NDGOP. While Burgum seeks the White House, his state political party may well be taken over by people who don't like him very much. Current party chair Perrie Schafer, a Republican in the traditional mold, is facing a challenge from Sandi Sanford, who is not only an ardent culture warrior, but an outspoken critic of Burgum. And, to add an extra layer of intrigue, she's also the wife of his former Lt. Governor Brent Sanford, who left office late last year. Robert Harms, a long-time leader in the NDGOP, having served as treasurer and party chairman in the past, joins this episode of Plain Talk to discuss this turn of events with co-host Chad Oban and I. Also on this episode, state Sen. Sean Cleary, a Republican from District 35 and a former staffer for Burgum weighs in on his former boss's national campaign. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Search for the show on services like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher, or click here to find out how to subscribe on the platform of your choice.
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Jun 7, 2023 • 53min

414: What must Doug Burgum do to become a presidential contender?

In 2016, I covered the North Dakota Republican Party's state convention alongside reporter Dave Weigel, then of the Washington Post, who currently works for Semafor. Weigel and I watched a gubernatorial candidate and political newbie named Doug Burgum take third in the vote of convention delegates behind his fellow Republicans Rick Becker and Wayne Stenehjem. Burgum, of course, went on to shock North Dakota politics by upsetting Stenehjem in the June primary vote. On this episode of Plain Talk, Weigel recalled that convention, saying it proved to him that you don't bet against Doug Burgum, even when he's the underdog. Weigel and I discuss what Burgum has to do to move from being a little-known governor to a true contender in the GOP's increasingly crowded 2024 presidential field. "It's all about Iowa," Weigel said, noting that he also, at the very least, needs to qualify for the GOP's first presidential debate to be held in Milwaukee in August. Also on this episode, my co-host Ben Hanson, who attended Burgum's announcement in Fargo today, discuss the event. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Search for the show on services like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher, or click here to learn how to subscribe on the service of your choice.
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May 25, 2023 • 29min

413: The history of clickbait

You've all heard the term "clickbait" before, uttered derisively, and not always deservedly, toward online content designed to prioritize earning a click or view or listen, over everything else, including the truth. But how did things get this way? What's the history of clickbait? Ben Smith, one of the founders of a new news venture called Semafor, joined this episode of Plain Talk to talk about it. He's a pioneer of early blogging, a veteran of Politico and the New York Times, and he was the editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News, a position from which he made the decision to publish the now-infamous Steele Dossier. Smith is also the author of a book called 'Traffic: Genius, rivalry, and delusion in the billion-dollar race to go viral.'  It's a history book, of sources, spanning roughly the last two decades of internet journalism, from the Drudge Report to the Huffington Post, from Breitbart to Gawker, and how it was all shaped by a relentless drive for traffic. Attention. Clicks. If you want to buy Ben's book, you can do so here. If you want to subscribe to Semafor (I do), click here. If you want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish, search for the show and subscribe on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher, or click here to find out how to subscribe on the podcast service of your choice.
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May 24, 2023 • 1h 9min

412: Bismarck citizen says she was humiliated by North Dakota's legislative process

When Andrea Rebson, a Bismarck citizen, came to the most recent session of the North Dakota Legislature, she had a deeply personal story to tell. She was sexually assaulted as a teenager and suffered years of harrowing mental health challenges afterward. Her issue, which she pursued at the Legislature, was with the statute of limitations for criminal and civil cases. She wanted the law to give victims like her more time to come forward. And she made some progress on that issue, but on this episode of Plain Talk, she talks about her experiences in the legislative process, which weren't positive. She says one lawmaker demeaned her, and misrepresented her arguments, and she's got the video and committee transcripts to prove it. She's even gone so far as to file an ethics complaint against a specific lawmaker. She argues that, while the democratic process is going to create disagreements, naturally, the citizens shouldn't have to fear humiliation for engaging in the process. Also on this episode, my co-host Ben Hanson and I discuss the on-going fight over control of the North Dakota Republican Party, which will come to a head next month, in June, when the party elects new leadership. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Search for the show, and subscribe, on services like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher, or click here to learn how to subscribe on the podcast service of your choice.
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May 19, 2023 • 48min

411: Sen. Cramer talks debt ceiling, carbon capture, and Bugrum for president

"I just think it's cool," Sen. Kevin Cramer said on this episode of Plain Talk when asked about the possibility that Gov. Doug Burgum might run for the White House. Would he support Burgum? Cramer demurred when asked. He said he's been courted by some of the GOP's 2024 players. "I haven't jumped on anyone's bandwagon yet," he said. "Doug gives me another reason to keep my powder dry." "It would be hard not to back the hometown guy," Cramer added, though later in the interview he made it clear that his Senate colleague, Tim Scott from South Carolina, has inspired him. "The guy who could heal the nation is Tim Scott," Cramer said. We also discussed the debate over carbon capture, which has created some strange bedfellows. Pro-fossil fuel advocates, who see carbon capture as a savior, are making common cause with environmentalists who want to decarbonize our economy, and they're facing off against climate change skeptics who don't see the need to capture carbon who are aligned with green energy advocates who want to see energy sources like coal driven from the marketplace. It's "one bias versus another bias" Cramer told me. He says that while he's backed tax credits for carbon capture, he's worried about federal and state governments creating conflicting incentives. We subsidize green energy, and we subsidize carbon capture so that it can compete with green energy. Cramer says he'd rather see source-neutral policies. "Set whatever your standards he," he said, and then let the various energy producers compete. Cramer also touched on some of Donald Trump's ongoing scandals, what possible outcomes we could see from debt ceiling negotiations, and what role permitting reform may play in that deal. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher, or click here to learn how to subscribe on the podcast service of your choice.
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May 17, 2023 • 1h 1min

410: Legislative leader says Fargo's stand against pronouns and bathrooms bill is "arrogance"

Rupak Gandhi, the superintendent of Fargo's public school system, has said recently that his schools will ignore a new law governing pronoun policies and bathroom use by trans students. So far, North Dakota's other school districts aren't following his lead, and his stand isn't sitting well with the two leaders of North Dakota's legislature. "What concerned me the most about his presentation...is there was an underlying sort of arrogance," Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, a Minot Republican, said on this episode of Plain Talk. He compared Gandhi to "educational leaders who think they can arm themselves with this compassion and this data and ignore the wishes of the parents." For his part, House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, a Republican from Dickinson, referred to Gandhi's claims that the North Dakota law may violate federal statutes. He said he'd be interested in a conversation with Gandhi about that. "I'm not really sure what the major concerns are," he said. Also, on this episode, Lefor and Hogue answered questions about the criticism this Legislature received (including from your humble correspondent) over a seeming obsession with transgender legislation and book bans, with Hogue specifically pushing back by arguing that the news media was a lot more focused on so-called culture war legislation than the Legislature was. "Every session, there is a hot-button issue," he said, citing past legislative sessions when gun laws would take up much legislative time. "We can walk and chew gum at the same time," he added. Lefor said that when he was touring the state, campaigning to be elected majority leader, he didn't hear a lot about bills dealing with transgender issues. It "wasn't even in our top 10," he said. Lefor says he met with some of the freshman lawmakers who were pushing the bulk of the legislation to tell them, "we have too many bills." He also said that "working groups" aimed at finding ways to combine bills covering the same topics "will be a focus" for him going forward. Speaking of which, in addition to covering topics such as the massive tax cuts bill lawmakers passed, both Hogue and Lefor said they would be seeking re-election to their leadership posts in the next legislative session, and that they would back every member of their respective caucus for re-election, despite a trend toward challenging incumbents with censures and primaries in some areas of the state. Senator Karen Krebsbach, who has been in office since 1988, and is one of the most influential lawmakers in Bismarck, was recently censured by her local NDGOP district, with her district chairman denouncing her as a Democrat. "We need to have more conversations than censures," Lefor said. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Search for the show on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher, or click here to learn how to subscribe on the podcast service of your choice.  
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May 10, 2023 • 1h 2min

409: You're not leading if you're following the mob

Rep. Claire Cory led the charge for a school choice bill that ultimately passed both houses of the legislature. In its final form, it would have appropriated $10 million toward providing up to a $3,000 per-child subsidy for parents choosing private schools, as long as they were below 500 percent of the federal poverty level. But Gov. Doug Burgum, despite having expressed support in the past for school choice legislation, vetoed the bill. On this episode of Plain Talk, Cory said she was "kind of disappointed in the governor's decision," though she added that she's "excited to work with the governor's office...to create a better bill" for future legislative sessions. Also on this episode, co-host Ben Hanson and I talk about the nature of leadership in this populist age where many connotate public service as doing whatever the loudest voices say. From national politics, where Republican politicians and right-wing media outlets like Fox News are terrified of Donald Trump's movement, to local governments, where part-time elected leaders get bullied by angry crowds, can you really say you're leading if you're just following the mob? If you want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish, search for the show on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher, or click here to find out how to subscribe on the podcast service of your choice.

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