Former ND Gov. Ed Schafer Chosen as New Agriculture Secretary
by ndpolitics ~ October 31st, 2007. Filed under: Uncategorized.
Former North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer was named as the new Secretary of Agriculture in President Bush’s cabinet. This is the first time that a North Dakota politician has been appointed to a presidential cabinet since Thomas S. Kleppe’s tenure as the Secretary of the Interior during President Ford’s administration. While his Schafer’s tenure will only last another year, this is exciting news for the state, and I wish Schafer the best. President Bush had this to say about his choice:
“Ed Schafer is the right choice to fill this post,” he said. “He was a leader on agricultural issues during his eight years as the governor of North Dakota. He worked to open new markets for North Dakota farmers and ranchers by expanding trade with China.
Now, Schafer turned down several opportunities to run for U.S. Senate in 2000 and even 2004, leaving many to believe that he didn’t want to leave the state. Its now clear that he just didn’t want to be a Senator, and I suppose I can understand why. It would have been great to have Schafer representing us in the Senate, but since that didn’t happen, its still good to know that he has been chosen for this position in the cabinet. A Senate run for Schafer still isn’t out of the question in 2010, but since he passed up the opportunity twice already, even after being pressured by Bush himself, I doubt that he will run.
Schafer was one of the great Governors of our state. Even though he chose not to represent us in Washington, he has still stayed active in the issues that really matter like the corporate and income tax cuts proposed by Americans for Prosperity. Thanks to Schafer’s support of this needed tax relief, and the hard work of those at AFP, the measure has a very good chance of success.
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November 1st, 2007 at 1:40 am
Ndpolitics Matt!
I heard this when I was trying to make the last minute changed on this site this morning! I liked Schafer as well. A business man who changed the politics as usual in North Dakota.
It is a good day!
Hey, how is the Grizzly Groundswell Governor seat of North Dakota Feeling Matt? Did you see we added Gwen as your Mayor of Mandan? Now with Rob in Minot, we need some more great North Dakotan’s to step up and get the word out about God’s country! (I am bias, this is my homeland! I am a displaced North Dakotan in Minnesota and trying like hell to bring the best of North Dakota to my local backyard right here in Princeton.
Hey, you said that you have done some research in the NPL Vs. IVA days in North Dakota history? Send me your phone number or use mine on the home page and we need to talk. I need to delve into those two newspaper archives and find some great stuff! I especially want any cartoon that portray’s E. W. Everson! I also am trying to compile all the Townley speeches that tear E. W. Everson down by name!
Did you post that article about Townley holding the life of a politician in his hands with his black arts or something story? That was very telling about this struggle between honestly, good and evil that we are facing.
Something inside me, maybe E. W. Everson’s bloodline is awakening in me. That is where this Grizzly Groundswell comes out of. I did not know how my great grandfather did it. How did he put aside his own vanity and gather the best and the brightest North Dakota had to offer to expose the NPL for who they really where and derail them just as they were gaining a national power? I would love to talk to more people about this.
Funny thing is now I find myself in the heart of the socialist beast here in Minnesota. I think there is a reason and something bigger then us all involved in this. Otherwise, how do we explain this Grizzly Groundswell and the momentum we are gaining? It is going to be an interesting battle, one that I use to turn away from and avoid. Well, now, I am older, wiser and with all my Grizzly Groundswell friends here, I am hoping, like my great grandfather, not to have to go into battle with these socialists alone!
I do not know if anyone knows that I am chair of our local BPOU screening committee. We have a great representative that is battle wounded and everyone smells blood in the water here. So, it should be an interesting endorsement convention and I get to sit in the middle of all this and try to keep order and decorum. It is funny, but I am not scared, it seems somewhat familiar. I have always found myself the orchestrater and mediator. If anyone has had experience with such a comittee, I would appretiate some good council.
I am also chair of the Republican Youth committee. I have talked briefly with our state run programs and I am not that enthusiastic as I thought I would be. They seem good intentioned, just too fragmented. I am thinking of a Grizzly Groundswell Republican approach to this. “Republican’s YAH! (Young at Heart)” would be a better approach for our platform I think.
Then build it so it is attached to the local Basic Political Organization Unit or BPOU. Have it be a membership of Birth to Grave! We are Republicans not failed Christian Youth Ministries that take the heart beat out of a faith community. We must provide an intergrated and not segmented approach to Republican membership. The left is the one that divides and conquers! We have to build up our sense of belonging to a “church” body that is alive no matter what your age, or profession.
Well, that was a meaningful tangent. What do you all think?
~Teddy Bear
November 1st, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Hey there. I like the new website - its a more modern look and I think it will attract even more viewers.
I really haven’t done a whole lot of research into the IVA/NPL beyond what is available on at the ND Heritage Center website. It really is a fascinating history - I don’t think that any other state has undergone such a unique political event.
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:19 am
Thanks Matt!
I am really enjoying being able to have a better more up to date site with some bells and whistles. A donor who wished to be anonomous gave us $250 and made this possible. Isn’t that amazing. A man who “loves his country” enabled us to utilize this site and others for 3 years of hosting and almost an unlimited potential for growth! Truly a blessing.
IVA/NPL story that is out there is the “socialist’s” or NPL sanitized version. I have been putting feelers out there for assistant writers in delving into this story. If you are interested, let me know. It is fascinating. In studying this and my knowing my Great Grandfather and the little paperwork I have of his along with knowing my Grandfather and my father. It is amazing how most of this stuff is so familiar and maybe even in my dna. I have studied and learned from the past and now, the future is less frightening. We can do it! It just takes hard work and as many great and talented people as you can surround yourself with. Here on the Grizzly Groundswell, I am feeling very confident! I know we can do this in my lifetime and teach future generations to hold the line against socialism.
If anyone is interested in assisting me with this Great American Story, let me know! It is rich and one that is not unlike today. Honestly, the NPL story is amazing. the IVA story is inspiring! This is the one not told. This is the one of hope.
My Great Grandfather was “the man who would not quit”, The Grizzly Bear”, and one thing our enemy should understand is that you never tell a Norwegian that he does not have a say in the very organization he represents. It does not end nicely. There is a famous petition that no one has ever heard that E. W. Everson was first to sign and became the “original insurgent”. I would love to get my hands on that. I would like to write a book so that I could find some of this ephemera and tell this story again and again. It would be fun to buy the original homestead of E. W. Everson’s in North Dakota and turn it into a place not unlike my grandparents farm where everyone could come, be welcomed and never leave hungry for knowledge or home cooking.
I come from a stock that likes to dream big. Otherwise, when God blesses you with opportunity and the means, you will actually know what to do with it! Kind of like the little prayer for money to confirm my efforts and move us here. God is pretty wonderful. Kind of a smart ass at times, but I am sure he has to do something to keep my forefathers chuckling.
Glad to have you here Matt!
~Teddy Bear