Port: Is it to much to ask that these politicians have the courage of their convictions?

MINOT, N.D. — Rick Becker, a former Republican and a former state lawmaker, is upset about a tech startup getting a $600,000 loan from the state of North Dakota, as well as a $1.25 million investment from the state’s Wonder Fund.

The piqued politician railed against the deal,

telling the Bismarck Tribune

it’s a “giveaway” and “corporate welfare” and a “wonderful example” of “the Republican Party” going “completely against what it claims to be about.”

We can have a debate about whether or not this investment is a wise one or if economic development policies that hand out government loans and invest taxpayer dollars are prudent.

I think so. I acknowledge that the threat of cronyism is real and that politicians and bureaucrats often make unwise investment decisions, but I also know that North Dakota has, since statehood, been crippled by a lack of economic diversity and a paucity of capital. That’s not going to change if we don’t take the initiative to prime the pump.

But let’s put a pin in that debate, for the moment, and talk about the tidal wave of hypocrisy emanating from Rick Becker.

That he has the gall to speak about what Republicans do and do not stand for is remarkable, given his recent actions.

Becker sought the endorsement of North Dakota’s Republicans for a U.S. Senate campaign last year and

was rejected in a vote of delegates

to the NDGOP’s state convention. Stung by the rebuke, a petulant Becker then

went back on a promise to abide by the vote of the convention delegates

and ran in the general election against incumbent Sen. John Hoeven, the man that Republicans did choose.

On the statewide ballot Becker, who imagines himself the voice of authentic Republicanism, was thoroughly rejected by North Dakota’s Republican-leaning electorate.

He finished a distant third,

having been routed by Hoeven, and coming in well behind even Katrina Christiansen, the warm body a decrepit Democratic-NPL put on the ballot.

What, in that sorry resume, do we suppose gives Rick Becker the credibility to speak about what Republicanism stands for? Republicans rejected him at their convention and on the general election ballot, yet this mountebank gets to position himself as the arbiter of Republicanism?

And then there are Becker’s own adventures with government assistance.

In 2020 Becker

took out $63,500 in PPP loans

from the federal government to pay his own salary and make payroll at his surgical center (he’s a plastic surgeon by trade). Becker also took out

$191,073 in PPP loans

for his restaurant and bar businesses, in addition to a $314,356 Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant from the Small Business Administration.

When I attempted to ask this paragon of limited government principles about the more than half-million dollars in government loans he took from the taxpayers,

he refused to answer.

If he’s ever addressed this matter publicly, I’m not aware of it.

To be clear, there was nothing wrong with Becker seeking this assistance. The PPP loans were intended to help keep businesses afloat while commerce was all but shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, and most reasonable people would acknowledge that our society has an interest in helping small businesses.

No, the problem isn’t the government programs Becker availed himself of, but his outspoken opposition to other people and other businesses getting similar types of assistance.