FARGO – House Minority Leader John Boehner was in town last night to lend his support to GOP House candidate Rick Berg.
Berg spokesman Tom Nelson said about 300 people attended the campaign fundraiser Tuesday night in Fargo, during which Boehner reiterated Berg’s campaign message that “this election is about changing the way we do things in Washington.”
Boehner, who represents Ohio’s 8th District, has been a member of Congress since 1990. He has been the top House Republican since 2006.
The visit marks a significant show of support by party leaders, akin to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s visit to Fargo in January to back Gov. John Hoeven’s campaign.
But, in contrast to previous North Dakota visits by several other Republican notables this year: There was no public announcement by Berg’s campaign that the top House Republican would be coming to the state.
Nelson said today, “it was just an event that we sent out to our donor list,” but with the multitude of invitations, the news “was out there.” He added also that they wouldn’t have sent out a media statement for a private fundraising event, such as Boehner’s visit.
But just a few weeks ago, South Dakota Sen. John Thune was in Bismarck to support Berg at a private fundraiser, and the campaign announced that (and arranged for a media availability with the guest). The campaign also announced the July visit of House Deputy Whip Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, for which a press conference was held, too.
Democratic-NPL incumbent Earl Pomeroy’s campaign today accused Berg of “sneaking a Washington ally into North Dakota this week for a secretive fundraising event.”
“The Berg campaign chose to keep the voters of North Dakota in the dark about the visit from one of the nation’s top elected officials,” a statement from the Pomeroy campaign read.
Pomeroy’s campaign also highlighted what they called “Boehner’s troubling positions” in Congress:
Boehner opposed 2008 Farm Bill and 2007 Agriculture Disaster Relief. In 2008, Boehner voted against a Farm Bill that has been called one of the best in history for North Dakota. He was a leading architect of the disastrous “Freedom to Farm” legislation that was disastrous to our state. In 2007, Boehner voted against giving $3.7 billion in agriculture disaster relief. The bill passed 218 – 212. [CQ House Action Reports, No. 110-3, 3/20/07; HR 1591, Vote # 186, 3/23/07]
Boehner has cut all GOP earmarks — even water projects like Fargo flood control. From Roll Call newspaper: “Boehner (R-Ohio) is asking Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) to disregard all Republican requests for projects in the Water Resources Development Act reauthorization he is drafting — even if the original sponsors have not yet withdrawn their projects.” This policy means that, if Berg were elected or Boehner were Speaker of the House, Congress would be unable to authorize permanent flood control for Fargo-Moorhead.
Boehner Cast the Deciding Vote that Led to Passage of CAFTA. In 2005, Boehner voted for final passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). CAFTA duplicated the most important elements of the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and it will only worsen conditions for workers in the United States and throughout the hemisphere. Since NAFTA was implemented, the U.S. has lost over 1 million jobs as a direct result of the treaty. CAFTA weakens labor rights protection by undercutting labor standards and enforcement mechanisms. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), CAFTA would cost American taxpayers $50 million per year in loan forfeitures by sugar farmers and cost the U.S. $4.4 billion over ten years, primarily in lost tariffs. The agreement passed, 217-215. [Economic Policy Institute, "NAFTA's Cautionary Tale." Issue Brief #214, 7/20/05; Associated Press, 7/21/05; HR 3045, Vote #443, 7/28/2005; Passed 217-215; R 202-27; D 15-187; I 0-1]
Boehner supports cutting Social Security benefits. In a recent interview, Boehner said he’d favor increasing the Social Security retirement age to 70 for people who have at least 20 years until retirement, tying cost-of-living increases to the consumer price index rather than wage inflation, and limiting payments to those who need them.
Boehner Opposed New GI Bill in May 2008. In 2008, Boehner voted against an amendment that would create an expanded educational benefit for veterans, imposing a surtax on the very wealthy to offset the costs of the new veterans’ program and suspend implementation of seven Bush administration Medicaid regulations. The amendment passed 256-166. [Congressional Quarterly, Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 5/16/08; HR 2642, Vote #330, 5/15/08]
“It should be troubling to North Dakotans that Rick Berg is hosting one the chief architects of Freedom to Farm and of the nation’s most forceful opponents of flood control and Social Security,” Pomeroy spokesman Brenden Timpe said in the campaign statement. “It’s even more troubling that he’s doing it in secret.”
Nelson responded to the Pomeroy campaign’s criticism by reiterating the North Dakota Democrat’s own voting record had matched House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 97 percent of the time, as of May 2010.
“Rick Berg will do what is right for North Dakota, which includes changing the Pelosi-Pomeroy agenda in Washington, and that is why Rep. Boehner came to help our campaign,” Nelson said. “There is a Washington way and a North Dakota way. Earl has come to embody the Washington way with his false and hypocritical attacks; Rick Berg will do things the North Dakota way, be a check on the failed policies of Nancy Pelosi and President Obama rather than an ally, and get our country back on track.”
Kristen M. Daum