Plain Talk: Sen. Kevin Cramer on gas prices, gun control, and the Jan. 6 commission

MINOT, N.D. — Sen. Kevin Cramer and I will never agree about former President Donald Trump.

I think the man was a disgrace to his office. Cramer would be fine if we elected him president again. But one thing we agree on, as we discussed the on-going hearings of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, is that Vice President Mike Pence was the hero of that story. He held his oath to the constitution higher than his loyalty to Trump, and that was a heroic act.

Though I still can’t fathom why Cramer, who sees Pence as the hero, can’t recognize that Trump is the villain. But you’ll have to listen to this episode of Plain Talk to hear him explain that.

As to gas prices, the roots of our problems lay in the unwillingness of the American left to recognize that we still need oil. Our world runs on it. It’s unavoidable. The efforts to put the oil industry out of business have only hamstrung its ability to deliver us a product that is vital to our economy and our quality of life. Gas prices are higher than they need to be because they’re fighting a Sisyphean struggle against anti-oil politics.

Cramer also discussed the gun control issue, which is much on the minds of Americans after shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York. Cramer’s not a fan of red flag laws — he responded to some recent criticism of his argument that Republicans are more interested in winning “red wave” elections than in passing red flag laws — but he is open to steps that can be taken to address the potential for violent shooters.

One idea he supports is allowing juvenile records to be used as disqualifiers in background checks for gun purchases.

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