News from Headquarters

Top officials from Workforce Safety and Insurance (the state’s workers compensation agency) got a chance to defend themselves at a Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee meeting yesterday. Many unfavorable reports have come out against them lately. Agency bosses asserted themselves in front of the committee made up of legislators from around the state. It wasn’t very pretty.

I just so happened to attend the LAFRC meeting yesterday. WSI Board Chairman Robert Indvik and Executive Director Charles “Sandy” Blunt gave presentations in front of committee members – and boy did they come out swinging.

"This report is a slap in the face," Indvik said in his opening remarks.

After Indvik, Blunt started his presentation by blaming low employee morale on what happened in the agency years ago (a new study said almost half of the agency’s employees fear retaliation).

"When I walked thru the door, I'm not going to say morale was thru the roof," Blunt said.

He then went on and on about how it has affected current employees. OK, so he’s been there since 2004 and is still barking up that tree.

There’s been a blizzard (much like the weather) of news articles about the agency lately. And they seem to keep coming.

First, there were articles about a report done by Octagon Risk Services Inc. The consulting firm concluded that the agency is plagued by communication problems and is not pursuing potential medical provider fraud. They also cited problems with their information technology department.

The next day, news articles about a performance report from the state auditor’s office surfaced. They blasted WSI for possibly misusing $18,300 and for abusing its fraud investigation unit. It allegedly was used to investigate an employee who circulated agency information in an email sent from a computer at a public library.

Does this at all sound familiar? The situation somewhat parallels what happened earlier this summer with the North Dakota Board of Higher Education. Who can forget that?

There are big similarities between the two boards too: Their members are political appointees. Also, where’s the oversight and accountability? LAFRC chairman Frank Wald (R-Dickinson) said yesterday he thinks that people are making a mountain out of a molehill with the reports from the state auditor’s office. Really Frank?

All of this leads to a conclusion of an arrogance of power in our Republican run state government. The people of North Dakota deserve better.

Also, the folks in charge need to realize that this serves as a detriment to injured workers. We need a common sense, bi-partisan approach to fix it.

An interesting note: Did you know Blunt will be getting an $8,690 raise soon, and starting in December will be getting paid $166,690 a year? That’s almost twice what the governor makes. There’s a ton of tough evidence from two different reports about WSI, and the boss still gets a raise. Sheesh.

-Rick Gion

Pomeroy returns from Afghanistan

Via the AP wire...

Pomeroy sees reasons for hope in Afghanistan
By DALE WETZEL
Associated Press Writer

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- Legislators in Afghanistan's new parliament seem determined to make the country's fledgling democracy work, Rep. Earl Pomeroy believes, saying its future prospects look brighter than the situation in Iraq.

However, Afghanistan still has some severe problems, including poverty, corruption fueled by a burgeoning opium trade, and the resurgence of the Taliban, Pomeroy said. The Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, formerly ran the country before it was ousted by a U.S.-led coalition five years ago.

"The difficulties now in Iraq threaten to disrupt the Afghanistan efforts as well," Pomeroy said. "We have to keep in mind these are very separate enterprises, with very distinct circumstances, and so one of the things I'll be telling my congressional colleagues is, 'Don't confuse the two.'"

Pomeroy was part of a group of four congressmen who visited Macedonia, in the Balkans, and Afghanistan as part of a U.S. House exchange program with officials from new democracies.

Read on...

Healthcare costs gone wild?

Healthcare costs have gone up nearly ten times faster than wage earnings in some parts of the country. Click here to check it out for yourself.

According to the article, North Dakotans pay as much in healthcare increases as wage increases. That’s not fair. In a state with some of the lowest wages in the country, all our raises go toward rising healthcare costs?!

With a huge budget surplus, expect North Dakota Democrats to tackle the issue of rising healthcare costs in the 2007 Legislative Session.

GF Herald editor takes state agency to task

Via the GF Herald Web site...

OUR OPINION: Audit of WSI shows abuses
Grand Forks Herald

Somebody hasn't been paying attention to the state's workers compensation agency. An audit released this week showed that officials at the Workforce Safety and Insurance agency have been misbehaving.

This goes beyond bad spending decisions, though there were plenty of those - about $18,000 worth, according to the audit.

Other financial misdeeds allegedly included ignoring government guidelines for contracts, foregoing legal reviews for contracts, sidestepping the agency's own procurement procedures and failing to seek competitive bids.

Nor were misdeeds limited to finances. They extended to personnel policies.

Read on...

Regional Meetings with State Chairman David Strauss

State Chairman David Strauss will conduct a series of regional meetings for district officers, legislators and 2006 legislative candidates. The agenda will include a post-election debriefing and district input into plans for Democratic-NPL Majority 2008. To RSVP, contact Kathi (701) 255-0460.

Devils Lake - Tuesday, November 28th - 7:00 PM - Hanson House 313, Highway 2 East

*Grand Forks - Wednesday, November 29th - 7:00 PM - Community Room, Greenberg Realty, 3651 Columbia Road South

*Fargo - Thursday, November 30th - 7:00 PM - Howard Johnson Inn, 301 3rd Avenue North

*Bismarck - Saturday, December 2nd - 2:00 PM - Kennedy Center, 1902 East Divide Avenue

Minot - Friday, December 15th - 7:00 PM - Electrical Workers Local 714, 1925 North Broadway

Williston - Saturday, December 16th - 2:00 PM - Location TBD

Dickinson - Sunday, December 17th - 2:00 PM - Location TBD

*Congressman Earl Pomeroy will attend

North Dakota's senators maintain high approval

Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan are ranked the second and third most popular U.S. senators in America according to the latest poll from SurveyUSA.

Conrad ranked second by receiving a 77 percent approval rating from North Dakotans. Dorgan ranked third by receiving 75 percent.

According to the results, they are the most popular Democratic senators in America.

The poll was released Wednesday, Nov. 22.

SurveyUSA tracks the approval ratings of each of the 100 U.S. senators monthly and releases the results online.

To see the poll, click here.

N.D. senators to lead our nation in a new direction

In an editorial printed in The Forum on Sunday, Sen. Byron Dorgan listed 10 ways to get America back on track. We agree with all of them. They range from ethics reform to strengthening family farms. All are good solutions.

Our senators have now been moved up to leadership in many committees. With their help, we will get this country moving in the right direction.

Sidenote: The first item in Dorgan’s solution list addresses bi-partisanship. Under the Republican led Congress, we saw little bi-partisanship. It was ‘their way or the highway.’ We have already seen the Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C., reach out to the opposite side. That’s the way good government should work.

Here’s the first part of Dorgan’s editorial:

Ten ways Congress can begin putting country back on track
The Forum
By Sen. Byron Dorgan

The new Congress that convenes in January will have many new people, new Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate, and a line up of new leaders.

People, majorities and leaders may be changing, but some things are not: the challenges we face as a country. On Election Day, voters sent a clear message – they want to change the way we respond to those challenges.

As a member of the Senate Democratic leadership and Chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, I am going to help chart our changing course.

Here are 10 ways I think the new Congress should begin putting our country back on track:

- Work together. Some may think political bickering is a great strategy. It’s not. It’s a recipe for rancor, inaction and stalemate. No political party has a monopoly on good ideas. Let’s draw on the best ideas from both parties. Find the common ground and build on it.

- Adopt Iraq policies that reflect reality. Recognize that the war in Iraq has become more of a sectarian civil war than a frontline in the War on Terror. America cannot, and is not, going to stay in Iraq forever. Make that clear. Tell the Iraqi people, “This is your country and you are going to need to secure it. That is your responsibility. We need to tailor our own policies to reflect that. We can’t leave immediately, but neither can we stay indefinitely. In short, we have to change course.

- Enact ethics reform legislation. The unprecedented number of ethical lapses in the current Congress makes tougher ethics rules a must. Ethics reform legislation has languished in the current Congress. The new Congress should approve it.

Read on…

Blog back in action

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Posting on this blog was a little slow over the holiday weekend due to vacation. It is now back in action.

N.D. recruiting North Dakotans in Minn.

This job fair in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday brings up an interesting question. Instead of just recruiting people to come back to the state, shouldn’t we also be finding ways to keep these folks here? The effort to get people to come back to North Dakota is laudable, but more needs to be done to prevent outmigration.

N.D. works to woo Minnesotans at job fair
By DON DAVIS, The Forum

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- It seemed more like a reunion than a job fair as hundreds of Minnesotans - mostly with North Dakota roots - toured booths of North Dakota employers seeking workers.

"Certainly, the interest is there to move back to North Dakota," Napoleon native Mark Freier said after talking to Christina Weiderrich of the Jamestown-Stutsman Development Corp.

Like many at the event on Saturday, Freier said he was not actively looking, but moving home is always in the back of his mind.

Weiderrich said the fair at the St. Paul Hotel was not typical. Instead of employers putting on a sales pitch, those attending Saturday launched into: "Do you know," adding a name of a friend or relative.

Read on...

Smoking finally snuffed out of N.D. Capitol

Via The Forum's Web site...

Political notebook
Janell Cole and Don Davis, The Forum

Senate Majority Leader (and Legislative Council chairman) Bob Stenehjem, R-Bismarck, confirms the legislative smoking room is no more.

The Capitol’s infamous blue-haze legislative lounge, just off the Senate chamber, has been the source of controversy since 1990, when Gov. George Sinner banned smoking in the Capitol by executive order. Because the Legislature is a separate branch of government and controls its wing of the Capitol, the ban did not apply, and legislators, lobbyists and others took advantage to continue puffing away in the room.

Last session, legislators passed a tough new law banning smoking from virtually all places of business and employment, but it’s been less than clear-cut whether legislative leaders were going to consider the room governed by the law.

But last week, Stenehjem, who says he quit smoking at “8:28, Oct. 13, 2005,” said there would not be smoking in the lounge because “that would be against the law wouldn’t it?”

Quick link...

House Republicans 'stay the course' with crummy leadership

From the DNC's press shop...

After losing control of the House and Senate, House Republicans have decided to 'stay the course' with their failed leadership. This morning, Republicans chose to keep their current leaders, John Boehner and Roy Blunt, for the next two years during the 110th Congress. Boehner has strong ties to Republican lobbyists and special interests in Washington, while Blunt was a protégé and top aide to indicted former GOP leader Tom DeLay. It is clear from the selection of their leadership that Republicans learned nothing from last week's elections.

“This morning, after losing control of Congress due to years of incompetence, cronyism and a long history of putting special interests ahead of America's working families, Republicans in Congress decided to 'stay the course,'” said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. “By standing by John Boehner and Roy Blunt as their leaders in Congress, it is clear that the Republican Party still refuses to offer the American people a new direction and new leadership.”

Click here for more from the DNC...

Bush still not working for bipartisanship

The new Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives is talking about bipartisanship to move this country forward. Good idea. It's something we haven't seen in awhile (since 9/11). President Bush and his group of minions have made Washington, D.C., terribly partisan, and they aren't stopping. It's arrogance of power at its pinnacle.

Take a look at this New York Times editorial:

Still Waiting for Bipartisanship
Published: November 17, 2006

The voters sent a clear message last week that they do not want the far right of the Republican Party calling the shots in Washington. But President Bush has ignored the message, resubmitting a group of archconservative, underqualified judicial nominees that Senate Democrats have already said are unacceptable. With the Democrats about to take control of the Senate, it is highly unlikely that these men will be confirmed. But the renominations suggest that when it comes to filling judgeships, Mr. Bush is still not looking for either excellence or common ground.

The four most controversial nominees that President Bush resubmitted are ideological in the extreme. William Myers III, a longtime lobbyist for mining and timber interests, would no doubt use his position on the San Francisco-based United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to gut environmental laws. William Haynes II, who helped develop the administration’s torture and “enemy combatant” policies as the top lawyer for the Pentagon, could be counted on to undermine both civil liberties and reasonable limits on executive power.

Read on...

Sens. Conrad and Dorgan champions for our farmers and ranchers

Yesterday, our own Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan took a stand for our farmers and ranchers on the floor of the U.S. Senate. They discussed weather related disasters for hours in protest of a lack of action on disaster relief for our farmers and ranchers. The speeches stalled other legislation from debate.

They are asking for over $4 billion in disaster relief, because of weather related disasters, which plagued Midwestern states and others over the last year.

Conrad and Dorgan have brought this legislation up many times before. Republican leadership in the Senate refused to move on it. Republican leadership in the House has said it would be dead upon arrival, and President Bush threatened to veto it.

Why are Republicans so against helping our farmers and ranchers? Thank goodness for Sens. Conrad and Dorgan for their continual leadership for our state in Washington, D.C.

This is what Sen. Conrad had to say about this matter in an article by the Associated Press:

"It's not fair," Conrad said. "It's not right. We have tried repeatedly to get this bill up so we can have a vote . . . what we are asking for here is not unreasonable."

Read on...

Good editorial about Republican smear and fear

Via the New York Observer's Web site...

G.O.P. Campaign Tactics Reveal True Character
By Joe Conason
New York Observer

What exactly is wrong with the Republicans?

Today, that question applies not to their rigidly right-wing ideology, nor to their routine betrayal of their rigidly right-wing ideology, nor even to their weird sexual hang-ups and hypocrisy, fascinating as all of those topics may be. Instead, on the day after Election Day, what is at issue is the bad nature of the Republican political class—meaning the party officials, the consultants, and the elected officials who oversee both—and the poisoning of America’s democratic process by their habitual misconduct.

Republicans tend to talk about honor, integrity, morality and character in almost mystical terms, often attributing those qualities to themselves and their leaders. But the daily behavior of those who maintain the party’s power shows how irrelevant those concepts have become in reality.

Read on...

DPC looking out for taxpayers

Our own Sen. Byron Dorgan has just been re-elected as the U.S. Senate’s Democratic Policy Committee Chairman. The committee has heavy influence over Democratic policy making in the Senate. It also holds hearings seeking to fix bad policy.

Under Dorgan's leadership, the committee has uncovered some of the most egregious examples of wasted taxpayer dollars, especially in Iraq.

Here are some examples:

1) Halliburton billed taxpayers $1.4 billion in questionable and undocumented charges under its contract to supply troops in Iraq, as documented by the Pentagon’s own auditors. More…

2) Parsons billed taxpayers over $200 million under a contract to build 142 health clinics, yet completed fewer than 20. According to Iraqi officials, the rest were “imaginary clinics.” More…

3) Custer Battles stole forklifts from Iraq’s national airline, repainted them, then leased the forklifts back to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) through a Cayman Islands shell company — charging an extra fee along the way. More…

Dorgan Will Lead Policy Committee in U.S. Senate for Majority Democrats

A press release from Sen. Dorgan's office:

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- The U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus voted Tuesday to ask U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) to continue to chair the Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) in the new 110th Congress. That means the North Dakota lawmaker will once again hold one of the top leadership positions in the U.S. Senate when the new Congress convenes next January.

The Democratic Caucus acted on the recommendation of incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). As DPC Chairman, Dorgan will lead policy research and development efforts for the Senate Democratic Caucus.

“I am pleased and honored to be selected to serve as a member of the dynamic Senate Democratic Leadership team for the 110th Congress,” Dorgan said Tuesday. “The American people said they wanted change, and our mission at the DPC will be to develop policies that make positive change a reality for the millions of working families in North Dakota and throughout America.”

“We need to find ways that allow both parties to work together and to develop ideas that can help us solve the challenges we face on a wide range of issues, including health care, education, energy and fiscal policies. I expect the DPC to be in the forefront of that effort,” he added.

In the current Congress, Dorgan also chaired a series of public DPC oversight hearings that uncovered significant waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq and Katrina reconstruction contracting.

The DPC hearings also heard from former government officials and retired military officers who told the committee about serious flaws in pre-war intelligence, and the planning and conduct of the war in Iraq. “I’m proud of the work we did to stand up for taxpayers and for American soldiers,” Dorgan said.

Dean deserves much credit

Election successes across the country could not have happened without the help of the Democratic National Committee’s 50 State Strategy. The plan placed DNC funded workers in all 50 states.

In North Dakota, we attained 3 positions which are DNC funded (including yours truly). That amounted to much needed help in this election (and the production of these daily news briefs).

In other states, the help was crucial to the survival of state Democratic parties. Take Mississippi for example. Before the DNC’s help, they only had one full time worker. Talk about a lonely place to work.

Again, many of these Democratic victories would not have happened without the support of the 50 State Strategy and DNC Chairman Howard Dean. The brainchild was his, and although he came under much fire for it, it paid off with a wave of Democratic success stories across the country.

Here are a few examples:

Democrats control the U.S. Senate.

Democrats control the U.S. House.

There are now 28 Democratic governors.

Democrats control state legislative bodies 54 to 41.

Democrats control state legislative seats 3,964 to 3,307.

In North Dakota, we made significant legislative gains (more than we have since the 1980’s).

It was Karl Rove’s plan to keep the Democratic Party permanently in the minority. We foiled Rove once, and we’ll foil him again. And a special thanks needs to go out to the DNC and Chairman Dean for helping to make that happen.

-Rick Gion

Veterans' Day

On this Veterans' Day, the Democratic-NPL Party salutes all of our veterans and soldiers serving at home and abroad.

Rick Gion's Political Rundown

Hoeven a dud II

I’m going to add upon Jim’s mention of Gov. John Hoeven’s stumping for Republican legislative candidates in Wednesday’s column. Hoeven actually went door to door for them in Minot. Click here to see the article. Guess what - all the Republicans in Minot lost. Ha!

Exit stage right

According to CNN, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman is stepping down by the end of the year. He made a stop in Bismarck a few months ago. I don’t think we’ll see him in North Dakota again.

Liffrig back on the scene

It’s been reported that former U.S. Senate candidate Mike Liffrig has been elected as Oliver County’s next state’s attorney. Are we now going to see some people get prosecuted for cohabitation? What’s funny is Liffrig is not licensed to practice law in North Dakota.

Big changes in Washington

The Senate is now ours. Sen. George Allen just conceded to Jim Webb. The House was attained on election night. The country will be going in a new direction. Good news for all of us.

One interesting point about all of this is the fact that our senators have now been bumped up to chairmen in some committees. Sen. Kent Conrad is now the chairman of the Budget Committee and Sen. Byron Dorgan is now the chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee.

Sen. Conrad will now be one of the people in charge of getting the budget on the right track after Republicans have caused record debt and annual record deficits.

Also, there’s a new report from the Associated Press saying a few of the top priorities for the new Democratic Congress will be restoring tax breaks for businesses and college tuition.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Renewing expired tax breaks for businesses and college tuition is the Democrats' top tax priority in the wake of their election victory this week.

Next up, increasing and simplifying tax breaks for college and fixing the alternative minimum tax that threatens millions of middle-income families with higher taxes.

Oil companies, watch your back. Some of your tax breaks are on the chopping block.

The measures are a sharp contrast to Republicans' warnings to voters before the election that Democrats were eager to raise taxes on wages, married couples and investments.

All I’m going to say is it’s good Democrats are back in leadership. They have the right priorities at the right time.

Jim Fuglie's Election Rundown 2

I can’t seem to get over the habit of getting up early and writing a note to my friends. Before the alarm went off this morning, I was replaying yesterday’s e- mails from my friends in my head and wondering if we can govern in Washington, now that we are effectively running the country again. The president is a non-player from now on. He has no voice at the table. He must take what we give him and either sign it or throw it away. And that, my friends, is good news.

The problem is, this country and its government, have become harsh. It is no longer friendly here. While most Americans go on blithely about their daily lives, our government and the media that follow it have gotten mean. The righties truly dislike the lefties. And vice versa. And they are mean to each other. Publicly. Democrats and Republicans, at least at the federal level, don’t win or lose graciously any more. They take it personally, and that’s scary.

Here in North Dakota, we’re a bit more mellow about government. The fact that incumbents almost never lose elections here is proof of that. If the person is in there doesn’t really screw up, we generally send them back on Election Day. Oh, there are exceptions. But generally, incumbents are safe.

Tuesday’s election was a bit unusual that way. There were a total of 51 incumbent Legislators on the ballot Tuesday, and 11 of them lost. 40 were re-elected. About 80 percent. Interestingly all 11 were Republicans. No incumbent Democrat lost (okay, to be fair, the GOP had a lot more incumbents running than we did, but still . . .).

So if you get elected to the Legislature here in North Dakota, the odds are at least 4 in 5 that you will be re-elected. So these people get to know each other, become friends, and there’s much less acrimony in the Legislature than most other places, I think.

There will be an unusually high number of new Legislators in the capitol this winter, however. Because of retirements and the 11 Legislators losing, there will be 23 new Legislators in the next session. Sixteen of them Democrats and 7 Republicans (Oooohhh, it was fun to write that).

I talked to a whole bunch of them yesterday by phone or e-mail. One ended his note with (Gulp!). Another ended (Yikes!) I chuckled at both of them. They’ll do fine.

While there were some close races, there will be no automatic recounts involving any of our candidates. The only one close enough for an automatic recount is the race in District 27 between Randy Boehning and Ron Iverson for the number two spot in the House. Our candidate Lee Myxter ( wait ‘til you meet this guy—quiet and smart as a whip, and ready to lay on a railroad track to stop the Republican train from treating teachers the way they have been doing) finished first, and only four votes separate the two Republicans.

Our closest race is in District 19, where Art Behm won by 9 votes over Duane Mutch, the longest serving Senator in state history, I think. To qualify for an automatic recount, the race must be closer than one half of one percent, and Art is just outside that margin by .86 of a vote.

Side note: Mutch was first elected in 1958. If he had won, his term would have run through 2010, and he would have served in seven different decades. Sheesh. Maybe, Duane, you should have called it quits.

See you soon.

Jim

Jim Fuglie's Election Rundown

Well. Not bad.

Here’s one measure. Not a single incumbent Democrat on the ballot in North Dakota yesterday lost an election. Senator Conrad, Congressman Pomeroy and Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson swept to big victories. Every one of our incumbent Legislators won.

In the State Senate, we had a net gain of six seats. We trailed the Republicans 32-15 going into yesterday’s election. Today, that margin is just 26- 21.

Our new Senators who defeated Republican incumbents are Bob Horne in Minot’s District 3; Art Behm in District 19, which is rural Grand Forks County; Jim Pomeroy in Fargo’s District 27; Jonell Bakke in Grand Forks’ District 43; and Tom Fiebiger in Fargo’s District 45. New Senators who won open seats are Richard Marcellais in District 9, Rolette County; Joan Heckaman in District 23, which is most of Benson, Eddy, Nelson and Griggs Counties; Arden Anderson in Wahpeton’s District 25; and Tracy Potter in Bismarck’s District 35. We’ll say goodbye to three of our Senators who chose not to run this year, April Fairfield, Mike Every and Dennis Bercier.

Over in the House of Representatives, we also picked up six new seats. They are Lisa Wolf in District 3; Louis Pinkerton in Minot’s District 5; Chris Griffin in District 19; Lee Myxter in District 27; Ben Vig in district 23; and Ed Gruchalla in District 45. The seventh new Democratic-NPL Legislator will be Jasper Schneider from Fargo’s District 21, who won the seat formerly held by Sally Sandvig.

Notice anything in common about those two lists? We had some pretty successful districts. We elected two new legislators from Districts 3, 19, 23, 27 and 45. Those new legislators will be leading the candidate training workshops two years from now! Their districts ran great campaigns.

So. We’ll welcome 16 new faces on the Democratic- NPL side of the aisle of the Legislature in January.

I wish I could report this morning that we had huge victories in the other statewide races. Despite the best campaigns I have ever seen all the way down the ticket, we could not overcome the power of incumbency at the statewide level. But I am so very, very proud of Bill Brudvik, Cheryl Bergian, Brent Edison and Kristin Hedger, who worked so hard and came so close.

Note to Cheryl, Brent, Kristin and Bill: In two years, there are races for a whole new bunch of statewide offices. We’ll be talking with you next week about those. Now that you have huge name identification and have acquitted yourselves well in this year’s races, you’re automatically favorites for those races next time!

Nationally, it was a huge night for Democrats. We captured the U.S. House in a landslide. It looks like we have a really god shot at the Senate. We won a majority of governorships in the country. And we clipped George Bush’s wings.

And do you know who else got his wings clipped? Here in North Dakota, Gov. Hoeven made TV and radio commercials for almost every Republican Legislative candidate. So much for his coattails. He’s a lame duck now.

Thanks, everyone, for all your hard work. We’ll keep these daily news briefs coming.

Jim Fuglie

Jim Fuglie's News from the Trail

Forty years ago this month, a small group of Bismarck Democrats, led by then-Governor William L. Guy, gathered around a table in Bismarck to talk of a dream. A dream to build a permanent home for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party. A party headquarters in the Capitol City.

Committees were formed. Plans were drafted. Land was purchased on the “outskirts” of the city at the corner of 19th Street and Divide Avenue. Architects began drawing. Bids were received.

For an almost insurmountable cost of $55,000, a new building dedicated first to the memory of John F. Kennedy, and later to his slain brother Robert would be built. Fundraising began, stalled, began again, stalled again. Finally, under Guy’s leadership and with the financial expertise of two prominent North Dakota Democratic-NPL businessmen, Gordon Gray and Bud Stinson, several boxcars containing 640 wooden Kennedy Rockers were delivered to Bismarck and Democratic-NPL Legislators sold them across the state for $100 each as souvenirs. They sold them all, and with the proceeds, they built the building that, after its dedication in 1971 by Senator Edward Kennedy nearly five years after planning began, has been home to the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party since.

I’ve been privileged to call this building my office for much of five years. It is a grand building. It is a fitting tribute to the Kennedy brothers. It has seen good times and bad times, the election and defeat of governors and congressmen and senators. Its walls breathe wisdom and energy and inspiration to those who inhabit it. I, and others before me, have been here at every hour on the clock at one time or another. In winter, it’s a neighborhood beacon in early morning and late night, its bright lights shining past the tall white porticos through its broad expanses of glass as dedicated volunteers discuss the strategies and stuff the envelopes and dial the phones that make a political party successful.

Outside my window is a stately oak tree, now 35 years old, still young in oak years but at least a foot tall for each of its years, just approaching majesty and the maturity that will give it its perfect wineglass shape as its shadow grows wider and wider across our lawn and parking lot each year.

I can see a group of volunteers in my mind’s eye now, planting a spindly stick into the bare dirt twenty feet from the building, wondering it if was too far away or too close, as we all do each time we plant a tree. I think it might have been Art Link who set it into the ground and put a couple shovels of dirt around it, but it could have been Al Wolf, or Herb Meschke, or Larry Erickson, or Liv Bjorlie, or Walter Christensen, or Rollie Redlin, or Mark Purdy or Jean Guy, all giants in our party, who made up the first board of directors of the Kennedy Memorial Foundation.

It wasn’t much of a tree when I first worked here 24 years ago, but as I wandered by to volunteer or visit party staff over the years, I saw it growing and spreading, and those finger-like lobed leaves emerging from buds in the spring, greening and growing in summer, then bursting forth a blaze of orange around the acorn clusters in fall, each year their precipitous drop to the ground from a little greater height than the year before.

And as that oak tree has grown, so has our party. A party not yet ten years old on that late fall day in 1966, barely a teenager in 1971 when Sen. Kennedy came to dedicate it. It has grown governors like Guy and Link and Sinner, Senators like Burdick and Dorgan and Conrad, Congressmen like Redlin and Pomeroy. It’s been home to larger than life legislative personalities like Buckshot Hoffner, Dick Backes and Francis Barth, and furthered the advancement of women leaders in our state like Agnes Geelan and Ruth Meiers and Heidi Heitkamp.

I look at that oak tree each morning as I walk into this building, and tell myself that I, We, the heirs to its perseverance and the perseverance of the great party it shadows in the hot summer sun, must not let it down. It’s fall now, and the branches of that tree are bare, it’s crop of acorns scattered across the ground, winter food for our squirrels, but the oak is no less majestic in the November morning and evening sun, as worthy of our admiration as those party leaders who put it there.

Today we vote, all of us, and if we have taken our message to North Dakotans, we will win. We will re- elect some strong leaders. We will elect some new leaders. We’ll invite them back for a picnic next spring under the shade of our oak tree, and hope that we can have as grand a vision for our state and our party as those leaders did some 40 years ago.

It’s been a great Trail. See you.

Jim

Jim Fuglie's News from the Trail

Since January, we’ve been the victim of the Fargo Forum’s editorial page editor’s distaste for our party. As the year progressed, it became apparent that we were just going to have to expect to get beaten up regularly in Forum editorials. And we did.

The Forum’s editorials have been so mean spirited and blatantly pro-Republican, however, that I think they’ve finally lost their credibility. I mean really mean-spirited. Generally editorial page editors can opine on subjects of the day without getting personal or mean. But Forum editorials have been downright mean. Almost grudge-like.

Today, the Forum’s editorial page editor crossed the line. In his endorsement for Tax Commissioner (you can guess who he endorsed), he took the cheapest of personal cheap shots at our candidate, Brent Edison. It’s an act that’s about as unprofessional as anything I have ever seen in a major daily newspaper.

And his vicious personal attack on Kristin Hedger just leaves me shaking my head.

It is one thing for a newspaper to endorse someone for office. It is another for an editor to engage in character assassination in the process. That goes beyond the bounds of good journalism. It is irresponsible.

Other papers have done endorsements this year. In almost every case, they have told us why they support the candidate they are endorsing, and then pointed out that the opponent also has some good qualities, but their pick is just better, or stronger, or wiser, or older, or safer. The Bismarck Tribune and the Minot Daily News and the Jamestown Sun and other papers have done a creditable job of choosing their favorites and telling us why. Not the Forum.

Today, two uncalled-for, vicious attacks on two Democratic-NPL candidates crossed a line that shouldn’t be crossed in the bounds of good 21st Century journalism. And the cheap shot against Brent Edison takes us back to the days of yellow journalism in the last century.

What’s most surprising is that the editorial about Brent Edison comes from the same editor who wrote an editorial about the WSI board’s actions three years ago. At that time, he called it an “unfolding embarrassment,” and “a clumsy firing.” I’m quoting from a Forum editorial dated October 23, 2003. “The manner in which it (Edison’s dismissal) was done is not justified,” he wrote. “The (WSI) board has a responsibility to the public and the private sectors to conduct business in the open and with more professionalism than was displayed last week. Instead of a process that was transparent about the board’s reasons for firing the director, the agency has been tainted by speculation ranging from an employee vendetta to a political hit job.”

He wrote of a “drama featuring a fired agency director, a gaggle of disgruntled employees and a restless pack of legislators trying to find out what’s going on. Thus far, there are few satisfying answers.”

Well, my, how things change when election time comes around. Now, this editor is an apologist for the Republican Party, and his actions are giving journalism a black eye.

In an American political climate that has grown divisive and cranky, it is sad to see a once- respected newspaper like the Forum contributing to that climate. Newspapers can play an important role in today’s society, but when they lose any sense of good judgment, they diminish not only their own paper but all others as well. I’m an old newspaperman myself, and I’m saddened by that.

So. We have an election in a few days. We’re winning right now, the Forum notwithstanding. The weather forecasters tell us it is going to be sunny and in the 60’s on Tuesday. Good voting weather. If you’ve got a few minutes this weekend, call a few friends and remind them not to forget to vote. I predict a huge victory on Tuesday. Get ready. The tide is turning.

See you on the Trail.

Jim

Congressman Pomeroy endorsed by The Forum

Via The Forum's Web site...

Forum editorial: Re-elect Pomeroy to House
The Forum

The campaign for North Dakota’s lone congressional seat has been distinguished by civility, honest policy disagreements and respectful debate. The contenders deserve high praise for taking the high road.

That being said, Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., has earned an eighth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. His Republican challenger, Page, N.D., farmer Matt Mechtel is an informed and credible candidate, but he has not made the case to replace a successful incumbent.

Pomeroy has positioned himself on key committees. He’s been on the House Ways and Means Committee for six years. Taking the advice of his political opponents a few years ago, he secured a seat on the Agriculture Committee. Both assignments are vital to looking after North Dakota’s interests.

Read on...

Jim Fuglie's News from the Trail

They’re comin’ after us. All across the state, Republicans are attacking our legislative and statewide candidates. It’s a sure sign that we’re winning. Especially when an incumbent Legislator or state officeholder attacks his or her opponent, you know that they’re in trouble.

It’s not unusual for a challenger to point out an incumbent’s votes or deeds, and tell the voters what they’d have done differently. But when a candidate with no record gets attacked, it’s usually personal. And those are the kind of attacks, I think, that turn the voters off.

I talked to half a dozen or so candidates yesterday who are preparing response ads today. We’ll try to combat these 11th-hour blasts with reasoned responses, and hope that the voters won’t be fooled. Among those under attack are Aaron Krauter, Jim Kerzman and Rod Froehlich in District 31, Carolyn Nelson in District 21, Connie Kooren in District 37, Joe Lawson, Bev Honkola and Russ Pearson in District 15 (it’s been going on up there for a while), and Ellen Linderman and Clarence Daniel in District 29. And Brent Edison, our candidate for Tax Commissioner.

We’ve worked with these candidates to prepare responses, and the responses should be running today. Stay tuned. These people over in Republicanland are desperate, and they’ll do most anything to hold on to their seats. I don’t think the voters will be deterred from making major changes in the structure of our government, both at the state and national level, next Tuesday.

What He Really Meant To Say

If you go to school and get a good education, you’ll turn out to be a Democrat. If you don’t, you’ll likely end up as a Republican.

Stayin’ Alive

If you’re going to call me in the next week or so, call before 9 a.m. I heard on the news yesterday that if you drink 100 glasses of red wine a day, you can live for a very long time. Count me in. I love life. I’m having way too much fun to check out early. So I’m starting at 9 each morning on my new daily regimen. Pinot Noir from 9-noon, Merlot from noon-5, Cabernet from 5 until bedtime. It’s North Dakota’s birthday today. We’re 117 years old. With my new regimen, I plan to get there too.

See you on the Trail.

Jim

Bergian endorsed by the Minot Daily News

Via the Minot Daily News Web site...

The Minot Daily News endorses Cheryl Bergian for PSC
Jim Eykyn, Publisher; Bryan L. Obenchain, Editor

Cheryl Bergian has been consistenly critical of Tony Clark on a variety of issues, including gaps in the state’s cell phone coverage and the fact that the Public Service Commission hasn’t done anything for the victims of the 2002 Canadian Pacific Railway derailment west of Minot.

Bergian, a Democrat who is trying to win Clark’s seat on the PSC, says members of the PSC should be lobbying federal agencies harder for better monitoring and maintenance of railroad tracks. Clark, the Republican incumbent, counters that the PSC has little or no authority over rail issues, saying the responsibility lies at the federal level and with the state’s congressional delegation. Bergian understands that point, but she still believes the PSC should be a louder voice for North Dakotans on federal issues, even if it has no actual authority.

Read on...

Jim Fuglie's News from the Trail

Endorsements

Cheryl Bergian was endorsed by the Minot Daily News for the Public Service Commission today. The Daily News also earlier endorsed Roger Johnson for Agriculture Commissioner. The state’s other major dailies, predictably, endorsed the Republican slate for statewide office. Except, of course, Senator Conrad and Congressman Pomeroy, who earned endorsement in all the dailies for their tremendous work on our behalf in our nation’s capitol. Congratulations to all of them.

Nervous Nellies

Cory Fong and Tony Clark are nervous. Nervous enough to make a big television buy this week. Someone gave Cory $25,000 and Tony $15,000 this week to buy more TV. We’re checking the campaign disclosure reports today to see where that money came from. We’ll let you know.

Leaving Margaret Sitte at Home

District 35 Democrats never let up. Candidates Tracy Potter, Mike Frohlich and Ryan Gustafson are running solid media and mail campaigns. They’ve knocked on all the doors in the district. Now, District Chair Chad Nodland is organizing a last weekend effort to put them over the top.

Saturday, they’re going to take their Get Out The Vote flyer to every home in the district, and they need help. If you can volunteer to take a Saturday morning stroll around Bismarck, please show up at the Kennedy Memorial Center, 1902 E. Divide, in Bismarck, Saturday morning at 10. You don’t need to be a District 35 resident. You don’t even need to be a Bismarck resident. You’ll get a fistful of flyers and a map of a neighborhood, and you’ll just drop one at each house. That’s it. Please help. There’s a couple of real right wingers running against our team in District 35 this year, and we want to do all we can to leave them at home.

Absent Andy

Wish I had done it myself. Up in Minot, House candidate Lisa Wolf has made an issue of the fact that Rep. Andy Maragos missed 13 full days in the Legislature last session so he could go home and work at his other job. A move not taken too kindly by hardworking folks in Minot, who want full time representation and are pretty critical of Maragos for taking his Legislative pay for 13 days he did not show up. But one of Andy’s supporters decided to rise to his defense. So she took out a large ad in the paper (obviously supported by Andy, since it contained lots of details about his voting record) with a big headline that read “Why did Andy Maragos Miss 13 days in the Legislature Last Year?” and then went on to defend him. Nice. Couldn’t have written it better myself. If you weren’t aware of Andy’s record before, you sure are now, thanks to his own ad. At the same time, this supporter wrote a long letter to the editor pointing out that Andy had actually showed up to vote at the Legislature a full 80 percent of the time. Never mind that almost every other legislator was there almost 100 percent of the time. She thought 80 percent was a good record. Hmmm. Would you keep an employee on your payroll that only showed up four out of five days a week? Not for long, you wouldn’t.

Majority Watch

Majority Watch polls in 41 contested House districts conducted October 24-26 show that Republicans have stalled for now the Democratic advances. These results coupled with results from 70 previous polls in contested House districts conducted October 8-10 and earlier add up to:

• Democratic leads outside the margin of error (D+6 or greater) in 24 races polled by Majority Watch for a likely minimum of 222 Democratically-held seats in the 110th Congress (when results from those 24 statistically significant leads in Majority Watch polls are added to the 198 Democratic seats that are unopposed, not seriously contested, or potentially contested but not polled by MW).

• Democrats are marginally ahead in 18 more contested House races, and 2 races are tied, meaning a small Democratic surge in the final week that delivers to the Democrats two-thirds of those close races currently favoring Democrats would bring the total of Democratic seats up to about 235. A bigger surge in which all those Democratic-leaning or tied races fall to the Democratic candidate would raise the number of Democratic seats in the next Congress to 242. Hence, the range of likely outcomes is 222 to 242 Democratic seats in the next Congress—218 seats represent a majority. That means a range of Democratic pick-ups between 19 and 39 seats.

Boy, is Election Night going to be fun. See you on the Trail.

Jim