Newberger

NEW ULM — As the Senate Judiciary Committee held a special hearing on sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh Thursday, the candidate running against one member of the committee blasted her and the Democrats for their handling of the confirmation process.

Jim Newberger, the Republican nominee challenging Sen. Amy Klobuchar, said the hearings are “a clear indication in the change in government over the past decade. We are seeing more polarization, especially with regard to the judiciary appointments. For the Democrats, these hearings, in my opinion, have become more about their political presence than about doing their job on the committee.”

Newberger said he was “disgusted” as he watched the senate confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh. “Sen. Klobuchar and rest of the members on the committee have basically turned it into a junior high lunchroom.”

The timing of the allegations brought against Kavanaugh by Christine Blasey-Ford is what bothers Newberger, he said.

“(Sen. Charles) Schumer and Klobuchar had access weeks ago to this information, and they waited until the last minute to spring it. This is a Supreme Court nomination, not a football game.”

Newberger said Democrats are trying to “burn up the clock” to stall the nomination until after the election. He said that is different, however, from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocking President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy on the court caused by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. While Newberger said he had “mixed feelings” about McConnell’s action, it doesn’t compare with the parade of protestors who interrupted the first day of the Kavanaugh hearings. Newberger said the protesters had to have been planted by Democratic leadership to disrupt the proceedings.

Newberger faulted Klobuchar for her stated opposition to Kavanaugh before even hearing him. He also faulted her for her willingness to oppose Kavanaugh’s appointment because of the sexual assault charges when she refused to say anything against Democrats Sen. Al Franken when he faced sexual impropriety allegations, and Keith Ellison in his candidacy for Minnesota Attorney General after his ex-girlfriend accused him of domestic abuse.

He also wonders why the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Minnesota opposed the woman that President Donald Trump nominated to run the CIA.

On other issues:

On health care, Newberger said that after 30 years working as a paramedic in the Twin Cities, he knows how people who needed treatment resisted going to the hospital because they were afraid of the cost or lacked insurance. He believes the solution for health insurance costs is to end Obamacare permanently and bring back the free market system to provide more competition and drive down costs. But there needs to be a security net for the most vulnerable. He wants to keep Minnesota Care as a safety net for those who can’t afford insurance or have high health risks.

On high pharmaceutical costs, Newberger said Klobuchar claims she has written letters to pharmaceutical producers “urging” them to address the unreasonably high cost of medicines.

“I would do more than urge them. I would sit down with them and say, ‘Either you address this or I will.'”

Newberger said Klobuchar is a “huge supporter of Medicare for All.” Extending Medicare to all would cost “$32 trillion to get off the ground,” Newberger said. “Our national debt is $25 trillion. How will we pay for that?”

On the issue of the federal deficit, Newberger said the national debt was $8.5 trillion when Klobuchar was elected. Under the Obama Administration, it rose nearly three times, Newberger said.

Newberger would address the national debt by reforming all government spending, especially the entitlement programs that make up the bulk of the deficit. “We need to take care of the weakest and most vulnerable,” he said, but every aspect of government spending needs to be examined and be justified.

He says waste, fraud and abuse need to be stopped. “With Medicare, we need to stop sending benefits to dead people,” he said. Government programs need to be leaner and more efficient.

Then, after cutting spending, government needs to address the economy and foster growth, as it has with the federal tax bill, to help the economy grow.

Newberger said he would support a Balanced Budget amendment for the federal government.

On trade and tariffs, Newberger said the tariffs on steel that President Trump imposed are have “jump started” the Minnesota Iron Range economy. He thinks Trump is on the right track, and people need to be patient. He thinks China’s retaliatory tariffs on food won’t be sustained, because China still needs American food imports to feed its population.

Newberger said U.S. trade agreements had been one-sided, and he agrees with Trump’s work to create better deals for Americans.

“If anyone knows how to cut a deal, he does,” Newberger said.