The office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is a non-partisan office. Because of this, Kirsten Baesler has always sought the North Dakota Republican Party’s Letter of Support — the alternative to a party endorsement — as a means of garnering votes from the state’s dominant political apparatus. But after losing her bid for that support at the recent NDGOP State Convention, Baesler is conveniently making the effort to minimize that loss.
To be fair, Baesler doesn’t have much choice. Not only did she lose, but she lost by a huge margin — 967 to 426 — to an unknown opponent named Jim Bartlett. While Bartlett is certainly a gentleman, he’s not exactly the embodiment of charismatic leadership. He’s a former engineering professor for NDSU, headed the North Dakota Homeschool Association, and strongly believes in the moral foundation taught by the Ten Commandments.
So, how exactly did Baesler lose to an unknown opponent? It’s pretty simple— she has a rocky past. And that’s putting it mildly. We clearly outlined examples here on The Minuteman the last time she ran for reelection. Whether losing her cool in a committee meeting or bloodying the nose of her ex-boyfriend, her past is troubling. Her record as superintendent isn’t exactly impressive either. As a result, many amongst the party faithful have craved an alternative candidate for a long time now.
In a statement that Baesler released following her loss, she referred to the convention process as “flawed”. She even went as far as claiming that it “disenfranchises” voters. The NDGOP’s National Committeeman-elect, Steve Nagel, recently blasted Baesler’s comments as “completely inexcusable”. He’s not wrong.
Baesler’s statement is ridiculous — for a number of reasons — when you really think about it. Among them let’s not forget that she sought and received the Republican Letter of Support at previous conventions in 2012 and 2016. (Note: The 2020 convention was canceled due to Covid-19.) In other words, Baesler seemingly had no problem with the process when she was winning.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge — and Baesler has essentially admitted as much — that she used the party. Nothing more. Nothing less. She didn’t attend conventions and seek the Letter of Support because she believed in the party and what it stands for or because she feels a kinship with the people attending as delegates. No, to her, the party and its people were useful idiots. It’s really that simple. The problem now is that they’re just not so useful to her anymore.
Beware, North Dakotans. This is the person presiding over the education of your children. We deserve better.
Sources:
- Baesler’s Rocky Past, Alcohol Use, & Poor Record as DPI Superintendent – The Minuteman Blog
- The Dark Side of Our Superintendent of Public Instruction – The Minuteman Blog
- Read It: Full Investigation Report Of Kirsten Baesler Domestic Violence Arrest – Say Anything (sayanythingblog.com)
- Baesler: North Dakota GOP doesn’t reflect voters’ views on education – Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, East Grand Forks news, weather & sports
- Baesler loses bid for Republican support for Superintendent of Public Instruction | WDAY Radio (wdayradionow.com)
- Home | Bartlett for Superintendent of Public Instruction (bartlettspi.org)
- A Response to Kirsten Baesler’s comments on the GOP convention – The Dakotan (mydakotan.com)
