Caucus Byte: Doug Burgum: The Opposite of Progress

We probably wouldn’t agree on politics, but I have fallen a bit in love with Gov Doug Burgum 

I used to joke he wasn’t even the Dakota governor most likely to become President. You see, because there are two Dakotas and Kristi Noem was a much discussed potential presidential candidate and no one could name the governor of North Dakota. But Burgum went big into Iowa and he went old school, talking economy instead of the usual “My opponent sucks so you don’t need another reason to vote for me” 

I like Burgum’s ads. He’s leaning into that Western thing looking like Matthew McCoughnay, and I am all in “All Right All Right All Right”. I mean it’s lighting and makeup, Burgum in real life is more likely to resemble Eugene Levy than McCoughnay, but that’s ok, I like Levy too 

You just gotta keep livin' man. L-I-V-I-N 

On paper, Burgum isn’t an obvious candidate. He is a first term governor who won his party’s nomination even when the Party would have probably preferred someone else. 

But what is the most interesting thing happening in the country. 

I will tell you- Spoiler Alert A western businessman who had no political experience and he became governor. That’s sexy. So sexy that I not only want to know about him but I want the backstory about his grandfather in the 1920s and his great grandfather from the 1880s. 

Heck, with Sheridan and Costner on the outs, I have to have this. I need to know what’s going to happen- is John Dutt..er Doug Burgum going to the White House or is he going to be killed by his adopted son. 

Also big Wes Bentley eyebrow energy but that is probably just coincidental

Anyway, this page isn’t to praise Doug Burgum but to focus on the weird side of the 2024 campaign, and I believe we have that here As candidates try to get on the debate stage, they need donors. 40000 donors to be exact. And those donors can donate as little as one dollar. And if, for example, say, Doug Burgum wants to give you a $20 gift card for your one dollar donation, isn’t that just kind of like what Groupon or Moviepass does. My friends, it’s called acquisition costs. 

(If you still want your “Biden Relief Gift Card”, the supply is gone, though you can still donate to Burgum) 

From NPR

The rules create "some unusual incentives" for quickly building a wide donor base, Nick Bauroth, who chairs the political science department at North Dakota State University, told NPR. "This offer could cost Burgum up to a million dollars, but well worth it if he gets on the main stage" at the debate, Bauroth added. Also worth remembering: Burgum is a billionaire. My immediate reaction to this scheme is a concern that it violates the federal prohibition on straw donors," Michael S. Kang, a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, told NPR. "It's illegal to reimburse another person for their campaign contribution. Giving a donor a $20 gift card for donating seems a bit like that." Crouse says that in her view, the practice might not be illegal, "but from my perspective, it's a bit unethical." Burgum isn't technically "buying" votes, she noted: "He is simply buying the right to compete."