I sincerely hope that the voters of North Dakota (ND) are becoming savvy to the deceptive work of some political PACs operating in our state. The shiny, expensive flyers attacking Rick Becker are an example of the disgusting and misleading tactics to deceive low information voters. Unfortunately, they have been effective in the past. I’m hoping to shed some light on why they should be taken with a large grain of salt. Frankly, they should be ignored.
In the 2021 session when I was in the ND House of Representatives, I voted against the higher education budget. When I spoke against it on the House floor, I highlighted 3 reasons for my vote. 1) Higher ed institutions were using taxpayer dollars to fund Planned Parenthood sex education at their institution, even though many legislators spoke out against it and other options were available. 2) That ND university football players wore Black Lives Matter stickers on their helmets, using taxpayer dollars to make a political statement. And 3) That students were kneeling for the National Anthem at an institution funded by taxpayer dollars. I also mentioned that since 2005, inflation had increased by 37% while one institution’s budget had increased by 96%.
I recognized the legislature’s constitutional requirement to fund our institutions of higher education. My hope was that enough of my colleagues would agree with my concerns, and that the budget would be sent back to the Appropriations Committee to address these concerns. That did not happen, and the budget was passed in spite of my no vote.
I am confident that, if the PAC behind the current Rick Becker attack ads wanted to attack me, they would say that I voted against funding Minot State University and infer that I wanted to close MSU and that Minot voters deserved better. They would do so with no regard to the fact that it was a lie. I can say this with great confidence, because that is exactly what they said about Rep. Jeff Hoverson last election cycle, citing his no vote on the same bill I noted above from the 2021 session. I stand 100% by my no vote on that budget, for the reasons already mentioned. In no way did it mean that I was voting against MSU’s funding or desired to see it closed down. But they would say that it did.
Vote as you will, but I sincerely hope that the voters of North Dakota will see through these slimy tactics, and put these fancy mailers in the round file where they belong.
Bob Paulson
Minot, ND
State Senator Bob Paulson (R – District 3) was elected to serve in the North Dakota House of Representatives in 2018. He was then elected to the State Senate in 2022. Senator Paulson is a retired Navy Pilot and a rancher. He and his wife Sheryll are the parents of 10 children.
Editorial Note: The PAC referred to by Senator Paulson and ran by Pat Finken is known as Brighter Future Alliance.
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