Shows
uNDeterredEpisode 10: Rep. Jayme DavisRep. Jayme Davis joins us this week to give us a legislative update and elaborate on work she's doing this session! In times of uncertainty with potential cuts, she's determined to make sure we're sure we're keeping leaders accountable while ensuring strong relationships with our Tribal Nations!2025-04-0841 minuNDeterredEpisode 9: Ashley PeyerAshley Peyer joins the podcast and talks about her progression in politics, advocacy on ballot measures, and successful work in her township! Hear how her persistence has laid the foundation to bringing much needed change in her community!2025-03-1916 minuNDeterredEpisode 8: Sen. Josh BoscheeND GOP doesn't want the government in their lives but continues to vote, yes, on legislation that controls the lives of others. Sen. Josh Boschee outlines the importance of how we need to be prepared to protect and support each other pending potential major cuts at the national level. Hear his updates as our Dem NPL's newest Senator!2025-03-1054 minuNDeterredEpisode 7: Katrina ChristiansenWhile it's difficult to watch the effects of a GOP supermajority across our state, Katrina Christiansen shares her 2024 U.S. Senate campaign experience and breaks down the hypocrisy we continue to see out of Bismarck. From the attack on public schools and dismissal of federal employees across the country, you don't want to miss this one! 2025-03-041h 04uNDeterredEpisode 6: Sen. Ryan BraunbergerTune in for a session update from Sen. Braunberger as he provides inside details on recent controversial bills and what he's been working on in the Senate. What should Democrats keep pushing forward with to be prepared for the next elections? Hear his thoughts. 2025-02-231h 03uNDeterredEpisode 5: Trygve HammerIn this engaging episode , we hear from Trygve Hammer, a former U.S. House candidate, and his perspective on a current ND hot-button issue, the GOP push for religious influence in legislation. Hammer also dives into the current attacks on federal employees and briefly shares his campaign experience. Hammer continues to be a strong political influence through his writing on all these complex issues and more!Find his stellar work on Substack! https://trygvehammer.substack.com/2025-02-1755 minuNDeterredEpisode 4: Rep. Austin Foss & Dem-NPL Chair Adam GoldwynStatewide reorganization meetings are kicking off! In today's episode Co-Host Jamie Selzler shares his experience at the recent DNC meeting in Washington, D.C. Hear about the exciting process and election results for our newest elected leaders within the DNC. Pat Hart introduces Rep. Austin Foss and unravels some of his bills. We end our segment with current Chair Adam Goldwyn on his visions and goals for the ND Dem-NPL as he seeks re-election!2025-02-131h 00uNDeterredEpisode 3: Rep. Zac IstaPat Hart sits down with Rep. Zac Ista for another exciting legislative recap! Let's talk about the GOP hypocrisy of "limited government", the attack on IVF, the religious push on public schools, and why the Dem-NPL is truly the party of rights for North Dakotans.2025-02-131h 02uNDeterredEpisode 2: Session Recap w/ Rep. DobervichWe welcome Rep. Gretchen Dobervich back onto the show to dive into some of the most talked about legislative bills introduced in the early 2025 session.2025-02-1357 minuNDeterredEpisode 1: Rep. Gretchen DobervichSession 101 with Rep. Gretchen Dobervich as she brings insight on how the legislative process works and her experience as a Legislator. Listen as Pat Hart and Rep. Dobervich also jump into bills our Dem-NPLers have introduced and are currently working on!2025-02-1359 min
These Are Your NeighborsTAYN Ep. 48 - Kris MountEpisode 48 of “These Are Your Neighbors” features Kris Mount. Kris is known for impacting people through his work at the Abused Adult Resource Center. Through multiple leadership roles in our Bismarck, Kris continues to serve others, making him a changemaker in the community. Kris Mount works for the Abused Adult Resource Center as the Coordinator of The Family Safety Center which oversees supervised visitation and exchanges for parents and their children. He also Coordinates and facilitates the SAVE Program (Solutions to Alleviate Violent Encounters) which is a 24-week program for men who have been convicted of domestic viole...2025-01-1432 min
These Are Your NeighborsTAYN Ep. 44 - Commisioner John RischJohn Risch was the highest-ranking union official ever to be elected from the state of North Dakota. He served the nation’s railroad workers at the national level full time in Washington DC from August 2009 through September 2019. Risch was elected national legislative director of the SMART Transportation Division (formerly the United Transportation Union) in 2014. He led the union in developing, communicating and executing the legislative, regulatory, safety and political positions. As national director he testified before Congress and at regulatory forums. He was also a presenter at numerous transportation, labor and Wall Street analyst forums. Risch is a nati...2024-11-1930 min
Plain Talk547: Expect better from the politiciansThe legislative races in the Grand Forks area have gotten ugly. Incumbent state Sen. Scott Meyer, a Republican from District 18, sent his opponent threatening social media messages. Incumbent state Rep. Emily O'Brien from District 42 has been accused of not living in her district. Now Sarah Grossbauer, a Democratic-NPL candidate in District 42 -- one of O'Brien's opponents -- is dodging questions about drug use after a Republican (and former friend) leaked a photo of her allegedly using cocaine in the bathroom of a downtown Grand Forks bar. Me and Chad Oban talked about it all on this episode...2024-11-011h 19
Plain Talk546: Bank of North Dakota president responds to conspiracy theoriesWe live in an age of misinformation. The internet is chock full of false narratives and egregious bunkum that can seem plausible to some if for no other reason than the sheer volume of it orr, perhaps, because it confirms certain biases and attitudes the audience already has. Recently a website called the Gateway Pundit, which was forced to print a retraction as a part of a settlement in a defamation lawsuit brought by Georgia election workers published what it purports to be a news story about the Bank of North Dakota. Citing anonymous sources...2024-10-301h 07
Plain Talk544: Sen. Scott Meyer should resignChad Oban and I have a lot of disagreements while hosting the Plain Talk podcast, which is what you'd expect. He's left-of-center; I'm right-of-center. Today, however, we were singing from the same choirbook. Sen. Scott Meyer, a Republican running for re-election in Grand Forks-area District 18, who admitted to me that he got drunk and sent threatening messages to his opponent, Democratic-NPL candidate Kyle Thorson, should resign. We each made our case for why on today's episode of Plain Talk. Also joining us was former NDGOP chairman Perrie Schafer to discuss the work his...2024-10-231h 20
Plain Talk531: Gubernatorial debate, Kelly Armstrong vs. Merrill PiepkornNorth Dakota's gubernatorial race features to affable, well-liked candidates, who clearly like one another as well. Republican Kelly Armstrong was first elected to the North Dakota Senate in 2012, and served there until the 2018 election cycle, when he campaigned successfully for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. That's where he's currently finishing out a term, while also campaigning for governor. Democratic-NPL candidate Merrill Piepkorn has also served in the state Senate. He's been there since he was elected in 2016, and had a one-session overlap with Armstrong's service. On this Plain Talk...2024-09-061h 02
Plain Talk519: 'Nobody pushed President Biden out of anything'When President Joe Biden announced an end to his re-election campaign, Adam Goldwyn, chairman of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL, participated in a call with his counterparts from around the country that resulted in a unanimous endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to replace the incumbent at the top of the party's national ticket. "There was overwhelming support for her in that group," Goldwyn told me and my co-host Chad Oban on this episode of Plain Talk. Responding to complaints from Republicans that Biden was pushed out undemocratically after Democratic voters around the country cast their...2024-07-231h 01
Plain Talk512: Trygve Hammer and Keep It Local NDThe signature turn-in deadline for the committee backing a ballot measure to abolish North Dakota's tax on property value (but not, it's important to note, other types of property taxes) arrives on Saturday, June 29. The committee is expected to turn in the requisite number of signatures, which, if they pass muster, will kick off a repeat of a debate over property taxes voters here have had before. In 2012 a similar proposal to eliminate the tax on property value was put before voters, and it failed spectacularly. A coalition group calling itself Keep It Local ND rallied to...2024-06-2659 min
Plain Talk511: 'You can't take these things seriously'North Dakota's primary elecitons this year were brutal. Attack ads and dirty tricks are endemic to politics, but I think most people would admit that, by the standards of our state, the Republican campaigns in this cycle were rough. In legislative races, we saw ads suggesting that some incumbent lawmakers promote pornography to children, or that they would be unsafe to allow your children around. In the U.S. House primary, some unknown entity supporting Rick Becker's campaign was sending out text messages trying to fool voters into thinking Julie Fedorchak, who ultimately won that race, had...2024-06-141h 07
Plain Talk509: Our predictions for North Dakota's 2024 primary electionWill a ballot measure putting age limits on North Dakota's congressional delegation, and printing candidate ages on the ballot, be approved by voters? Will MAGA-aligned populists gain ground against traditional Republican legislators in the North Dakota Republican party's primaries? Who will win the NDGOP's primaries for governor and U.S. House? Can Democratic-NPL candidates across the state build enough momentum to be competitive in the general election? My co-host Chad Oban and I make our predictions on this episode of Plain Talk. On our next show, on Wednesday, we'll either be...2024-06-0754 min
Plain Talk491: North Dakota's primary election just got a lot more interestingBy the time you listen to this podcast, we will know if Cara Mund is going to turn the three-way Republican House primary into a four-way race. Whatever choice the former Miss America makes, North Dakota politics has gotten a lot more interesting since the North Dakota Republican Party's state convention in Fargo. And the Democratic-NPL's convention, as well. On this episode of Plain Talk, co-host Chad Oban recap the convention, and analyze what it will all mean for the June primary vote, and the November general election. A political unknown named Alex Balazs won...2024-04-081h 01Plain Talk490: 'I don't even know what AOC stands for'When state Sen. Merrill Piepkorn, gubernatorial candidate for the Democratic-NPL, joined this episode of Plain Talk with me and my co-host Chad Oban, the first question I wanted to ask him was how he plans to unite North Dakota voters at a time when even Republicans here seem deeply divided against themselves. Piepkorn accused me of not "pussy footing around." Joking aside, he thinks the right approach is "making the effort" to get to know people and understand their issues. The candidate says one of the challenges Democrats running in North Dakota have is that...2024-04-031h 20Plain Talk473: 'He's taking more crap for this than we are'MINOT — Sen. Kevin Cramer is vexed by some of his fellow Republicans who want to kill a tax bill, and an immigration deal, lest they be seen accomplishing anything that might be perceived by voters as an accomplishment for incumbent Republican Joe Biden. "That frustrates me," told me and my co-host Chad Oban on this episode of Plain Talk. On the immigration bill, specifically, Cramer said Biden is under more fire from his left flank than Republicans are from the left. "He's taking more crap for this than we are," he said. We also asked Cr...2024-02-0257 minPlain Talk465: 'I'm on a never-ending quest to prove you don't have to be crazy to be conservative'If you own property in North Dakota right now, and you live at that property as your primary residence, you are probably eligible for a $500 property tax credit from the State of North Dakota. You can fill out an online form on the Tax Commissioner's website right now and claim that credit. Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss that process. He says some 35,000 North Dakotans have claimed it already, and he expects the number to be well above 50,000 by next week. He said he expects about 90% of eligible citizens to claim...2024-01-051h 00Plain Talk416: 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...2023-06-141h 08Plain Talk400: Protecting patient choice, and a North Dakota Democrat switches sidesThe 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...2023-03-151h 14Plain Talk377: Republicans can blame Trump for election night lossesIs there any question that disgraced former President Donald Trump had a big hand in the failure of Republicans to fulfill expectations in last night's midterms? In Pennsylvania Doug Mastriano, a Trump-endorsed MAGA candidate who fully embraced 2020 election conspiracy theories, lost big in the gubernatorial race. In that state's Senate race, Dr. Mehemet Oz lost to John Fetterman, the Democratic candidate who had a stroke and is, by an objective measure, not fit to serve in office. In George, Trump-backed Senate candidate Herschel Walker is currently behind the Democratic candidate, and headed for a runoff...2022-11-091h 01
Plain Talk374: North Dakota Senate candidates debateNorth Dakota has three candidates running for the United States Senate. Incumbent Senator John Hoeven, who was first elected to that office in 2010, is facing a challenge from Democratic-NPL candidate Katrina Christiansen and independent candidate Rick Becker. On this episode of Plain Talk, all three candidates met for the first time to debate issues ranging from spending and abortion to carbon capture and support for Ukraine. My Wednesday co-host, former Democratic-NPL executive director Chad Oban, moderated the debate along with me. The candidates differed sharply on the issues. Christiansen...2022-10-261h 02
Plain Talk373: PSC candidates Sheri Haugen-Hoffart and Trygve Hammer debateMinot, N.D. — Members of North Dakota's Public Service Commission serve staggered six-year terms, meaning that one of the three members of the commission is on the ballot every two years. This year, however, there are two PSC seats up for grabs. Commissioner Julie Fedorchak is running for re-election at the end of her six-year term, while Sheri Haugen-Hoffart, a Republican who was appointed by Gov. Doug Burgum to finish an unexpired term, is running per state law to have that appointment confirmed by the voters. Challenging Haugen-Hoffart is Democratic-NPL candidate Trygve Hammer. Bo...2022-10-1949 min
Plain Talk367: Sec. of State candidates debate election integrity, voting, and transparencyElection integrity is a hot-button issue. Rancor continues around the outcome of the 2020 election, with many claiming that, at least nationally, former President Donald Trump was cheated out of another term in the White House by fraud. North Dakota election officials have been flooded with open records requests from people seeking information to prove conspiracy theories about the election. As it happens, North Dakota's top election official is on the ballot this cycle. Long-serving incumbent Republican Al Jaeger isn't running for another seat. State Rep. Michael Howe, a Republican, and Mayville State University administration Jeffrey Powell, a...2022-09-2857 min
Plain Talk365: Democratic-NPL ag commissioner candidate says vote for the RepublicanWork around politics long enough, and you'll hear everything. Including a Democratic candidate for statewide office saying you ought to vote for the Republican. Fintan Dooley, who was endorsed by the North Dakota Democratic-NPL this spring to take on three-term Republican incumbent Doug Goehring for Agriculture Commissioner, says you ought to vote for the incumbent. "I'm not smoking any pot," Dooley said on this episode of Plain Talk, which featured a debate between the two candidates. "He's actually accomplished what he says he's accomplished," adding that he's even gotten permission from Goehring to hunt on...2022-09-211h 01
Plain Talk363: Attorney General candidates clash over crime, marijuana, and moreIf there's one thing we learned from the first debate between North Dakota's candidates for attorney general, it's that they disagree on a lot. Drew Wrigley, a Republican, is the incumbent attorney general, having been appointed to finish his predecessor Wayne Stenehjem's term by Governor Doug Burgum. Wrigley is now running to be elected to a term of his own, and he's being challenged by Democratic-NPL candidate Tim Lamb. One area where the candidates disagree sharply is on crime. Wrigley's office released the most recent iteration of the state's crime report. It illustrated a 10 percent...2022-09-141h 22
Plain Talk362: Cramer talks Russia, student loan forgiveness, Mund, and BeckerProminent North Dakota Democrats made a real "mess of things" when they took the extraordinary step of jettisoning their U.S. House candidate, Mark Haugen, in favor of independent candidate Cara Mund. "They were very presumptuous about Cara," Cramer added, arguing that they don't know much about her outside of her views on abortion. He also argued that the move may inhibit future efforts to recruit candidates to the Democratic-NPL ticket. "Now all they have to offer is disloyalty," Cramer said. Mund's entrance into North Dakota's U.S. House race against incumbent Republican...2022-09-0951 min
Plain Talk361: Cara Mund, Rep. Kelly Armstrong square off in first U.S. House debateFor the first time, incumbent Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong and independent challenge Cara Mund faced off in a debate. On this episode of Plain Talk, with questions coming from former Democratic-NPL executive director Chad Oban and myself, the two candidates found areas where they agree, and areas where they disagree. Both Armstrong and Mund oppose President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness. They also seem to be generally on the same page on energy, outside of Mund's criticism of the Trump-era decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord. In other areas, the two candidates...2022-09-071h 01
Plain Talk360: Candidate conversation with Public Service Commissioner Julie FedorchakWhat does the Public Service Commission do in North Dakota? The PSC makes the most headlines over utility rates. They regulate how much utilities can charge us for our power. But the PSC does so much more. They site wind farms. They run a rail safety program. They make sure that the pumps and the scales that measure how much we pay for everything from gasoline to steaks at the butcher shop are fair. Julie Fedorchak, a Republican, has served on the PSC since she was appointed by former Gov. Jack Dalrymple in 2012. She had...2022-08-311h 03
Plain Talk355: Marijuana and independent candidatesNorth Dakota's general election got a lot more interesting over the last couple of weeks. First, Cara Mund, a former Miss America, jumped into the U.S. House race as an independent to take on Republican incumbent Kelly Armstrong and Democratic-NPL challenger Mark Haugen. Then state Rep. Rick Becker went back on his statements in support of the decision of Republican delegates at the NDGOP state convention, which chose incumbent Senator John Hoeven over him, and re-entered the U.S. Senate race. Then the Secretary of State approved the signatures for a ballot measure legalizing...2022-08-171h 07
Plain Talk351: Democratic-NPL Patrick Hart talks about pro-life candidate controversy, 2022 cycleMinot, N.D. — Last week the North Dakota Democratic-NPL saw some internecine conflict over their U.S. House candidate, Mark Haugen, who is pro-life and supports the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Patrick Hart, the chairman of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL, joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss the challenges of managing the disparate points of view in his party. We also spoke about what his party is do to find its way in a state where Republicans are seeing historic levels of dominance, and where he sees some opportunities for Democratic-NPL candidates in the 2022 election an...2022-07-271h 02
Plain Talk345: A pro-life Democrat on North Dakota's statewide ballot speaks outBelieve it or not, there is such a thing as a pro-life Democrat. There are pro-choice Republicans too, of course, but on this episode of Plain Talk, it was Mark Haugen, the Democratic-NPL candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, who is staunchly pro-life, who we were speaking to. Haugen's party leaders have described the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade as "evil," but Haugen isn't too worried about that. "Pat's a good friend of mine," he said, referring to party chairman Patrick Hart, and adding that they'd discussed the matter.2022-06-291h 04
Plain Talk332: Dem Sec. of State candidate says "election integrity" is Republican code for "voter suppression"Jeffrey Powell is an administrator at Mayville State University and the Democratic-NPL candidate for Secretary of State. He was endorsed by the party's executive committee (he made a late decision to run so didn't attend the party's state convention in Minot) and in November will be facing off against one of two potential Republican candidates. State Rep. Michael Howe is squaring off with Bismarck mechanic Marvin Lepp in the NDGOP primary. Powell has been watching that race, and on this episode of Plain Talk, said it frustrates him when the Republican candidates talk about "election...2022-05-2057 min
WritersCastSarah Vogel: The Farmer’s Lawyer: The North Dakota Nine and the Fight to Save the Family FarmThe Farmer’s Lawyer: The North Dakota Nine and the Fight to Save the Family Farm – Sarah Vogel – Bloomsbury – 9781635575262 – 432 pages – hardcover – $28 – ebook edition available at lower prices – November 2, 2021
Many Americans think of North Dakota and the other prairie states as being conservative culturally and equally unprogressive politically. But that view of these predominantly farming states neglects their long histories of progressive populism that goes back over 100 years. That’s true of North Dakota where the Nonpartisan League was active and strong from the 1920s onward (and into the present, where it still exists as the Democratic NPL — much like the Democrat...2022-04-1434 minWritersCastSarah Vogel: The Farmer’s Lawyer: The North Dakota Nine and the Fight to Save the Family FarmThe Farmer’s Lawyer: The North Dakota Nine and the Fight to Save the Family Farm – Sarah Vogel – Bloomsbury – 9781635575262 – 432 pages – hardcover – $28 – ebook edition available at lower prices – November 2, 2021
Many Americans think of North Dakota and the other prairie states as being conservative culturally and equally unprogressive politically. But that view of these predominantly farming states neglects their long histories of progressive populism that goes back over 100 years. That’s true of North Dakota where the Nonpartisan League was active and strong from the 1920s onward (and into the present, where it still exists as the Democratic NPL — much like the Democrat...2022-04-1434 min
Plain Talk318: 'We can't win as the old Democratic party of the past'Minot, N.D. — "I would not vote for Nancy Pelosi" to be Speaker of the House. So says Mark Haugen, who received the North Dakota Democratic-NPL's endorsement at their state convention in Minot last month, and is currently running unopposed in the primary. He's far from a cookie-cutter progressive candidate for the Dems. He's pro-life, for one, at a time when it's hard to find any Democrats anywhere who aren't categorically in favor of abortion. He's also like to see more moderate and pragmatic Democratic leadership. "We can't win as...2022-04-061h 03
Plain Talk315: Not your typical Democratic candidate in North Dakota"There are some problems within the Democratic party in North Dakota that we need to fix." That's according to Trygve Hammer, a Marine veteran from Velva who just accepted the Democratic-NPL's endorsement to campaign for a seat on the Public Service Commission. He spoke about his candidacy on this episode of Plain Talk - he'll be running against Republican Sheri Haugen-Hoffart who was just appointed by Gov. Doug Burgum - and he doesn't sound like your typical Democratic candidate. He's pro-oil, pro-coal, and he's not afraid to be critical of his own party, which he...2022-03-301h 01
Plain Talk313: Wrapping up the 2022 Democratic-NPL state conventionIt's over folks. The North Dakota Democrats have selected candidates for two Public Service Commission seats, Attorney General, U.S. House and U.S. Senate. They left campaigns for Tax Commissioner and Secretary of State unfilled. On this episode of Plain Talk, I talk with my regular co-host Chad Oban, a former executive director of the party, about the good, the bad, and the ugly.2022-03-2623 min
Plain Talk309: Can an independent candidate in North Dakota win?In 2020, Shelley Lenz ran for governor, and received the endorsement of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL to do so. But in 2022, Lenz is running for the state Senate, only she's doing so as an independent. Why the switch? Neither party is doing right by the people, Lenz argued on this episode of Plain Talk. Lenz is hoping to be elected to the legislature in Dickinson-area District 37, where Republican Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner is retiring. She says the issues around the Legacy Fund's investments, some of which have gone to not-so-great places like Russia...2022-03-1839 min
Plain Talk308: What to do about harassment in the Legislature?During their 2021 regular session, North Dakota's lawmakers did something they hadn't ever done before in state history. They expelled one of their own. Luke Simons, then an elected member of the House from Dickinson, was expelled after my reporting exposed documents detailing years of harassment of people who work in and around the Legislature, including two of his fellow lawmakers, Rep. Emily O'Brien from Grand Forks and Rep. Brandy Pyle of Casselton. Now, during their interim between sessions, lawmakers are looking at how their harassment policies might be strengthened. O'Brien joined this episode...2022-03-161h 06
Plain Talk305: Fargo Forum editor talks about reporting the political newsHow do you report the news, and in particular political news, fairly and faithfully in an environment where so many people can find sources on social media and talk radio and cable news who are willing to tell them only what they want to hear? Matthew von Pinnon, the editor of the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, talks about that on this issue of Plain Talk. He says the bias many imagine, where newspaper editors and publishers sit around a table in a smoky room to decide what the news will be, simply doesn't happen. Von Pinnon...2022-03-0935 min
Plain Talk302: Democratic Senate candidate rips incumbent Hoeven for being out of touch with votersIs U.S. Senator John Hoeven too wealthy to be in touch with North Dakota voters? Katrina Christiansen, a candidate for the Democratic-NPL's endorsement in North Dakota's Senate race, made that argument on this episode of Plain Talk. Joining Wednesday co-host Chad Oban and I, Christiansen said Hoeven is too busy living up to Republican talking points from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to focus on North Dakota's values. On this episode Oban and I also talk about the theatrics at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address. Is it a good...2022-03-021h 07
Plain Talk277: What's behind, and what's ahead, in North Dakota politicsIt's been a wild year in North Dakota politics, from a lawmaker getting expelled from the Legislature for the first time in state history to a small group of NDGOP leaders walking out of their own party's meeting just last week. On this episode of Plain Talk I was joined by Chad Oban and Jamie Selzler, both former executive directors of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL, to talk about the year that was in North Dakota. We also talk about what next year, an election year, has in store.2021-12-2259 min
Plain Talk269: Replacing the only Democrat in western North DakotaSen. Erin Oban is the only member of the Democratic-NPL to be elected in western North Dakota. To the extent that you can consider her Bismarck-area district to be "western North Dakota," anyway. Oban announced recently that she will not be running for another term in that office. Hot on the heels of that announcement, Republican Sean Clearly made one of his own, saying he'd like to take over the Senate seat in District 35. Cleary talks about that decision on this episode of Plain Talk. We cover North Dakota's workforce needs, our economy's...2021-12-0330 min
Plain TalkJay Thomas Show: 11/29/21Rob and Jay talk about the North Dakota Democratic-NPL and their relationship to a man who attacked Sen. John Hoeven's office with an ax. They also discuss political extremism in America.2021-11-2922 min
Plain Talk253: Does North Dakota need term limits?A faction of the North Dakota Republican Party which calls itself the Bastiat Caucus is pushing a constitutional ballot measure to implement term limits for the Governor and for the state Legislature. This comes amid deep tensions between the Batiats and the rest of the NDGOP. Does the state need term limits? Is this a wise political move from the Bastiats? Chad Oban, the former executive director of the Democratic-NPL, joins the episode of Plain Talk to discuss.2021-07-071h 02
Plain Talk250: Will Gov. Doug Burgum be recalled?A group of hardcore supporters of Donald Trump have gotten approval to begin circulating a petition to recall North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and his running mate Lt. Governor Brent Sanford. Will they be successful? Chad Oban, former executive director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL, joins this episode of Plain Talk Live to discuss it. Also, a federal judge has dismissed the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's lawsuit against the Dakota Access Pipeline, marking the end of an era of North Dakota politics, and at the national level Democrats suffered a defeat in their efforts to implement national election reforms...2021-06-2345 min
Plain Talk243: LGBT conversion theraphy, gerrymandering, and filibustersThe Administrative Rules Committee approved a ban on LGBT conversion therapy asked for by the North Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners, which oversees licensing for social workers. Some Republican lawmakers resisted the change. Was it the right move? I'll talk about it with former Democratic-NPL executive director Chad Oban on this episode of Plain Talk. This episode of Plain Talk will also feature, prominently, two of the most fun political words. Gerrymandering. Filibuster. Now that the census is completed, the task of redistricting lays before North D...2021-06-091h 00
Plain Talk230: Democrats can't win, and Republicans can't get alongThe world of North Dakota politics, in the current moment, is one in which Republicans can't get along, and Democrats can't win. A faction of the North Dakota Republican Party, deeply aligned with former President Donald Trump, has launched a largely unsuccessful campaign to take over the state party. Yet though they've fallen short, their actions at local district meetings, including censuring sitting Republican lawmakers, have roiled the NDGOP. Meanwhile, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL has chosen more leadership for a party that hasn't won much of anything for going on three decades. Can the NDGOP's political dominance survive this...2021-05-1251 min
Plain Talk221: What's the future of the Democratic-NPL?The North Dakota Democratic-NPL has been out of power in North Dakota for about two generations. They haven't held the governorship since the early 1990s. They haven't held a statewide executive branch office since 2009, or a majority in either chamber in the Legislature since 1994. Until 2010, the state's entire congressional delegation were members of the Democratic-NPL, as of 2018 those seats are now all held by Republicans. The party holds just 7 seats in the state Senate, and only 14 in the House. How can they turn it around? Zach Raknerud was the unsuccessful Democratic-NPL...2021-04-2946 min
Plain Talk212: A discussion with Chad ObanChad Oban is a long-time activist in North Dakota politics. He served as the executive director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL and his wife, Erin Oban, is a state Senator from Bismarck. On this episode of Plain Talk Live, Rob and Chad will talk about the rise of the Bastiat Caucus in North Dakota, the fight over mask mandates, campaign finance transparency, and legislative pay. Plus, whatever else might come to mind!2021-04-141h 07
Shelter and Solidarity: A Deep Dive with Artists and ActivistsPopulism! Peril or Promise in US Politics, November 19, 2020S&S takes a deep dive into the history, myths, practices, and legacies of popular politics and “small-d” democracy in the United States with scholar and public historian Michael Lansing.
The populist tradition is a significant, controversial, and often misunderstood strain of U.S. history. Lansing’s book, Insurgent Democracy: The Nonpartisan League in North American Politics (University of Chicago Press, 2015), explores an important example of this tradition. The Nonpartisan League (NPL), a candidate-endorsing political
organization that emerged in the 1910s in the rural Midwest, rural West, and Prairie Provinces, embodied an innovative commitment to people power in for...2021-02-041h 44
Plain Talk194: 'Scrap the current platform'Shelley Lenz and Cesar Alvarez are two Democratic-NPL candidates who have lost previously on the ballot but think they have ideas that can help Democratic candidates start to win in North Dakota. "Scrap the current platform," Lenz said on this episode of Plain Talk. "It's not resonating." Lenz and Alvarez want to be chair and vice-chair of the Democratic-NPL, and they want to organize the party around a platform of a half-dozen or so policy proposals. The party needs to "simplify our platform" to a more "legislative platform we can campaign on." They...2021-02-0233 min
The NoName PodcastEpisode 12: A Discussion with Dr. Shelley LenzThe group discusses the 2016 governor's race, and the Dem-NPL's inability to matter (and what needs to change.)2020-12-231h 28
Plain Talk186: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Shelley Lenz"Trump has brought the rural voice back into play," Shelley Lenz told me on this episode of Plain Talk. Lenz is the Democratic-NPL candidate for governor, challenging Republican incumbent Doug Burgum, and while she clearly doesn't like Trump overall, she is critical of her own party for not paying enough attention to the priorities of rural Americans. "Urban Democrats are misinformed," she told me. Much of our conversation, as you might expect, focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and Burgum's response to it. Lenz says Burgum has "failed" by, among other things, not paying...2020-10-2053 min
Plain Talk169: Zach RaknerudZach Raknerud is the endorsed candidate of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL for the U.S. House of Representatives. He also acknowledges that he's the underdog, by a country mile, in his race against Republican incumbent Kelly Armstrong. Still, he credits his recent criticism of what he perceived as Armstrong's silence in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis with getting the incumbent to engage. Raknerud also talks about how our nation can recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, how we can improve race relations and law enforcement, and his plan to diminish the...2020-06-0540 min
Plain Talk152: Burgum challenger says she would have issued "shelter in place" orderDr. Shelley Lenz is a veterinarian based in western North Dakota. She's also running unopposed for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL's gubernatorial nomination. "I would have issued it, yes," she said when asked on this episode of Plain Talk about whether she would have issued a "shelter-in-place" order. North Dakota is one of a few states which haven't seen such an order. Incumbent Governor Doug Burgum, a Republican, has resisted calls to issue one. Lenz says she would have, and that overall if she had been in Burgum's place, should have more direct and authoratative orders...2020-04-0937 min