It wasn't on purpose, but bipartisanship and moderation ended up being the themes of this episode of Plain Talk.

Whether we're talking about a Republican Speaker of the House, under siege from the MAGA wing of his own party, reaching out to Democrats to get things done, or democracy engaging on the issue of abortion now that the Roe v. Wade precedent has been overturned, it's clear that process matters. And when we engage in the process, and we have the debates, and we don't let ourselves be derailed by all the various flavors of theatrical obstructionism, the outcomes we get are further from what the extremes might want, and closer to what most of us can live with.

Co-host Chad Oban and I talk about renewed controversy about delegate votes at the NDGOP state convention and whether U.S. House candidate Rick Becker's promises to help contribute to the chaos in Congress if elected is going to help him with North Dakota voters.

We asked the guest for this show, Sen. Kevin Cramer, about that last point. "I think it's consistent with how Rick Becker has behaved in the Legislature," he said, arguing that Becker's campaign trail posturing is authentic. "It might be a good tactic to being the largest vote getter in a five-way race, he added.

But also, "the House doesn't really need more bulls in a China closet," Cramer added.

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