Jim Boehm nodded his head at two green tractors parked behind him on his farm northwest of Bismarck, saying he and other North Dakota farmers can't afford to buy machinery like that anymore. Embarrassing wheat prices, for one.
Pat Buchanan, Republican presidential candidate who was campaigning at the Boehm farm Thursday, agreed with Boehm, striking a blow at a Clinton administration that he said doesn't concern itself with farmers.
"If this continues, it will be the death of the family farm," Buchanan said.
The presidential hopeful's swing through North Dakota also included stops Thursday at the grand opening of the Buchanan 2000 campaign office in Bismarck, followed by a town hall meeting at Bismarck's Doublewood Inn. Today, he will appear at a Republican Round-up in Medora beginning at 10 a.m. MDT.
The Round-up also is bringing Republican presidential candidate Lamar Alexander to western North Dakota. Alexander will be in Medora today for an education and agriculture roundtable discussion at 5 p.m. MDT in the Medora Community Center. Saturday, Alexander will address the Republicans gathered in Medora.
Buchanan, speaking Thursday at the Boehm farm, laid blame on a foreign trade policy that has failed to adequately open trade to other countries and the North American Free Trade Act, which he says sides with Canada, yet is costing North Dakota farmers their livelihoods.
"I would ask why?" said Buchanan in reference to the trade agreements. "The Clinton-Gore administration is sacrificing the (American) farm to a global agenda. ... We need to put Americans first. We ought to be asking what is best for America."
Buchanan believes that he is.
Buchanan, columnist and book author, has been a senior adviser to three presidents and has twice been a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. In his last effort in 1996, Buchanan won the New Hampshire primary, yet finished behind Sen. Bob Dole.
He believes that the third time is the charm, however, in securing the Republican endorsement. He said it took Ronald Reagan three tries to win the presidency and Dole three times to earn his party's nomination.
In regards to the competition, the Republican presidential hopeful had this to say:
On Texas Gov. George Bush: Buchanan said he would be running against name recognition and a figure with an enormous amount of financial support. However, these are things Buchanan has had to contend with before.
Plus, Buchanan said, Bush may have lived in Washington with his president father, but his experience stops there.
On Elizabeth Dole: He commended her as a civil servant for the Red Cross, but he didn't put her in the same league as himself concerning political issues.
Buchanan told the crowd gathered at the Boehm farm that rural America and the rural economy are among his concerns. Boehm said that's what people in this part of the country want to hear.
"It's a start," Boehm said. "We need someone different in the White House, certainly someone better than we got. Now, they're not interested in the rural economy."
Back to the two tractors behind him, Boehm said he doesn't want money from the government to buy those sorts of things. Instead, he wants a government that will fight for a fair marketplace.
"Generally, there is only a limit of what (the president) can do," he said. "What we need to do with the candidates is hear their views and go from there. I believe Pat is honest and that is important."
