Plain Talk With Rob Port

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'

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, y

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 H

"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 wan

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 answere

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 pa

"We haven't made any decisions yet about 2024," Gov. Doug Burgum said on this episode of Plain Talk. "We did have a great time in Iowa." His answer was in response to my question about whether Burgum is going to join the race for the White House next year. Back in March, I was the first to report that Burgum had been visiting Iowa, and apparently running polling there, but Burgum hasn't said yet whether he's running. There are two things to take away from his answer on today's podcast. The first, obviously, is that Burgum hasn't made a decision yet. Or, at least, not one he's going to share publicly. The other is that there is a possibility that he could launch a national campaign. Though, if he doesn't, would he run for a third term as governor? Despite expressing support for term limits in the past? "I think term limits work best when they work uniformly," he said. He pointed out that the term limits amendment which passed on the November ballot last year doesn't apply to state to other executive branch of

Attorney General Drew Wrigley is still fired up about a bill to implement mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes - that was later amended to "presumptive minimums" - which was defeated in the state House of Representatives. There was controversy over how the bill was handled in committee and Wrigley's involvement in advocating for it, but on this episode of Plain Talk, Wrigley made it clear he is not backing down. "I'm going to talk about this stuff publicly," he said, committing to a campaign during the interim before the next legislative session to promote this issue. Wrigley said he wasn't intending to take a "personal swipe" at Rep. Shannon Roers Jones when he said her experience as a lawyer was strictly on the civil side of the law, though he added that the comment "was factual." He also took aim at some of his other legislative critics, including Rep. Landon Bahl, who he described as inexperienced - "it shows," Wrigley quipped - and Rep. Bernie Satrom, who he said was "slanderous" in his charact

A debate over a bill to implement what supporters call "presumptive minimum" sentences for certain crimes like fleeing or assaulting an officer, or possessing a gun during a grime, has grown surprisingly contentious in the legislature. There has been some bizarre procedural moves around the bill, including the chairman of the judiciary committee undermining his own committee's vote on the bill, and a war of words between state Rep. Shannon Roers Jones, a Fargo Republican, and Attorney General Drew Wrigley. Wrigley has questioned Roers Jones' knowledge on criminal justice matters, while Roers Jones has accused Wrigley of inappropriately injecting a recent Bismarck case involving fleeing, and an officer-involved shooting, into a political debate. "I'm not interested in a feud with the attorney general," Rep. Roers Jones said on this episode of Plain Talk. My co-host Ben Hanson and I also questioned Roers Jones on her feelings about this legislative session. "I feel the least satisfied over all about this sessio

Did you know there's such a thing as a fake legislative day? Ok, maybe that's not the official term, but that colloquialism has grown up around a practice at the Legislature in Bismarck which sees lawmakers protracting their session despite the 80-day limit that's in Article IV of the state constitution. You see, if the lawmakers don't gavel in for a floor session, they can still meet in their various committees, and still get paid, without the day counting against their limit. Why are they doing this? And should they be allowed to? My co-host Ben Hanson and I discussed it on this episode of Plain Talk. Also on this episode, Brian Lundeen, a Jamestown resident who is one of the organizers behind the effort to build the Bison World attraction in that city, talks about what the project needs from state lawmakers to make it happen. 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

Russia's bloody invasion of Ukraine has displaced millions of Ukranians, most of whom need a place to go. Meanwhile, North Dakota has a long-enduring workforce shortage that is felt most acutely in the state's oil fields. Now, those two problems are coming together to form what is, if not a solution, is at least a way to mitigate some suffering while simultaneously creating some new opportunities. Former Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford, who stepped down from Gov. Doug Burgum's administration late last year, is now the project manager of what North Dakota's oil industry has dubbed Bakken GROW. The acronym stands for Global Recruitment of Oilfield Workers, and it's precisely what it sounds like. A concerted effort to match Ukranians, who need an escape from their homelands, with jobs in North Dakota's oil industry. "It's not only a workforce recruitment effort, it's a humanitarian effort too," Sanford said on this episode of Plain Talk. "The United States is not good at legal immigration," he added, but hopes this progr

"When I'm in committee, when I'm speaking, nobody ever asks me any questions." That's what Kristie Miller had to say on this episode of Plain Talk. She's the mother of a trans person and has become active in North Dakota politics opposing a legislative agenda in Bismarck she characterizes as an attack on the trans community. The most frustrating aspect of that activism? How hard it is to even get some lawmakers to talk to her. "My experience is...when they found out I'm the mother of a trans child, they won't speak to me." That experience isn't universal. Some lawmakers do speak with her. She credited House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, a Republican from Dickinson, with engaging, though she said that other lawmakers have been something less than pleasant to deal with. She described what she said was a rude interaction with Sen. Keith Boehm, a Republican from District 33 who primaried a Republican incumbent, Jessica Bell, over her vote to sustain Gov. Doug Burgum's veto of a transgender sports bill during the 2

Drawing capital to North Dakota has been a problem for our state since, well, statehood. Our economy is heavily dependent on commodity-driven industries - energy and agriculture. Generations of political leaders have tried to find a way to diversify, but not much has changed. Which would argue, I think, for some outside-the-box thinking. And that's what Commerce Commissioner Josh Teigen was doing when he invited Kevin O'Leary, the Shark Tank star also known as  Mr. Wonderful, to manage a $45 million investment fund for the state of North Dakota. On this episode of Plain Talk, Teigen talked about how that relationship came to be, and responded to criticism of the bidding process around it, as well as recent comments O'Leary made comparing Moorhead, Minnesota, to Cuba. "I think the comments are less about Fargo and Moorhead and more about North Dakota and Minnesota," Teigen said, also describing it as "more of a Bismarck versus St. Paul conversation." "We know the people in Moorhead aren't necessarily driving h

What's the right legacy for North Dakota's Legacy Fund? It's a perennial question, all the more so when lawmakers are in session in Bismarck, and the answer is seemingly different for everyone. And that's the problem. The Legacy Fund was created two decades ago to store a big chunk of oil tax revenues for the future. Now the fund has billions in principal, and produces hundreds of millions in revenues of its own every cycle from its investments, and we're still debating what to do with it. Former Gov. Ed Schafer, who was a part of the campaign that created the fund, joined this episode of Plain Talk to talk about it. He says our current lawmakers are too spend-happy with the fund, and are foolishly, in his estimation, tying up its revenues, sometimes decades into the future.   Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the debate over school lunch. Should the state be picking up the tab? It would end the headaches schools have with trying to collect past-due lunch payments. It would also make it so

The American system for insurance and health care is broken. There's no two ways about it. We pay too much, and get too few choices. How much can North Dakota's lawmakers do about it? Not a whole lot, but there are things they can do to keep it from getting worse. House Bill 1416 would stop insurers from using price pressure convince North Dakotans to opt-in to health insurance plans that freeze out independent health care proviers. Dr. Duncan Ackerman, an orthopedic surgeon and a spokesman for North Dakotans for Open Access Health Care, joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss the issue. Also on this episode, guest co-host Jamie Selzer and I discuss the push in the Legislature to put another term limits option before voters, one that alters the term limits amendment they just approved last year. We also talk about former U.S. House candidate Mark Haugen's decision to leave the Democratic-NPL and join the NDGOP. Haugen's House campaign ended after party big-wigs pressured him to bow out in favor of former

Minot, N.D. — I have been an outspoken critic of legislation before lawmakers in Bismarck that seeks to implement new content regulations on libraries and private stores open to the general public. So when Sen. Janne Myrdal agreed to come on this episode of Plain Talk, she knew what she was getting into. Kudos to her for coming on anyway to face questioning from myself and guest co-host Chad Oban (who makes a triumphant return to the podcast and predicts that surge in listens will crash our servers. That remains to be seen. As you might imagine, we three didn't find much to agree on, at least when it comes to the book bills. Myrdal, who says she supports librarians, nevertheless alleged that there is a concerted effort to make explicit content, and even pornography, available to children. She also denied that Senate Bill 2360, which has passed the Senate with her vote among those in favor, which she spoke in support of on the Senate floor, would ban books at private bookstores. This despite language that make

Minot, N.D. — "It's happening," Sen. Scott Meyer, a Republican from Grand Forks, said on this episode of Plain Talk. "We're not stopping it." He's referring to sports gambling, which is one of the topics he says his constituents talk to him about the most. "It's becoming more and more common. It's everywhere," he says. Meyer is backing House Concurrent Resolution 3002, which, if passed, would put the question of sports gambling to voters on the statewide ballot. If they approve it, the lawmakers would be authorized to enact enabling legislation dictating regulation, consumer protection, and taxation. At least for professional sports. The constitutional amendment would leave out other types of sports betting on collegiate or even high school competitions, though Meyer insists that sort of thing is already happening too. "There are already betting lines on those games" available from sports betting services based off-shore that can be accessed online. Meyer says that's a big part of why this resolution should p

Minot, N.D. — If Senate Bill 2360, which has already passed North Dakota's Senate by a 38 - 9 vote, were to become law, would Christians and Muslims and other citizens of faith have to buy their holy books in a porn shop? This bill, introduced by Sen. Keith Boehm, a Republican from Mandan, would require that any material having pictures or even "written descriptions of nude or partially denuded human figures posed or presented in a manner to exploit sex, lust, or perversion" be removed from public spaces accessible by children. That means public libraries. School libraries. It means Walmart, Target, and Barnes & Noble, too. Works of art with sexual content - which includes the Christian bible, which has many stories about sex and rape and incest - could only be made available in cordoned-off areas accessible only by adults. Like adult bookstores, I guess, and wouldn't that be weird? If a state law, pushed in no small part by scripture-quoting Christians, required the bible be sold alongside actual porn? T

Minot, N.D. — There aren't a lot of Republicans in the United States Senate willing to praise President Joe Biden for his trip to Kyiv, in Ukraine, which is a war zone. That's what Senator Kevin Cramer told me on this episode of Plain Talk. But Cramer himself? He thinks the president did good. He called the trip "gutsy" and "appropriate." Staying on the national security topic, we discussed the Chinese spy balloon situation, which is where Cramer did have some criticism for the Biden administration. He said a lack of communication from the public drove an overreaction to the balloons, making many Americans, and people in the international community, feel as though our military and intelligence agencies were less prepared to handle the balloons than they really were. Also on this episode: Why is the Biden administration's EPA so hostile to carbon capture and pipeline projects when the infrastructure bill Congress passed before the midterms, one President Biden himself championed, did a great deal to fund and f

Minot, N.D. — A war of words between state Auditor Josh Gallion, a Republican, and members of his own party in the state legislature has made a lot of headlines of late. Gallion has accused lawmakers of being "corrupt" for allegedly targeting a member of his office for specific termination and for legislation he says undermines his ability to do his job. Lawmakers say it was actually Gallion who requested that the employee be fired, and that they're responding from complaints from local government entities, including a western North Dakota ambulance service which has now filed an ethics complaint against the auditor's office, who say that Gallion isn't doing his job right. On this episode of Plain Talk Gordy Smith, a 36-year veteran of the state auditor's office under Gallion's predecessors, weighs in on the controversy. Was it appropriate for Gallion to write an op-ed for the state's media outlets blasting lawmakers as corrupt? "Absolutely not," Smith said. "When I read the op-ed, the first two words that ca