U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp seems to have reached a point of desperation in her campaign for re-election versus Republican Congressman Kevin Cramer. In fact, I’d dare say she’s reached a point of desperation that should be embarrassing.
I wrote just days ago about Heitkamp continuing to run an ad against Cramer that has been proven to be false. In addition to this, she is now running radio ads featuring former North Dakota Democratic senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan that would have us believe they were some sort of fiscal conservatives during their time in Washington, DC— and that Heitkamp is too. It’s actually quite laughable.
But a recent ad ran under the title “Open Letter to Congressman Cramer” really takes the cake. The Heitkamp campaign took it upon themselves to publish this letter with the names of women they purport to be survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape. There’s just one problem. Multiple women have now come forward to say that their names shouldn’t have been on the list and that some aren’t even Heitkamp supporters. Talk about a political snafu.
It’s a bit perplexing that Heitkamp would even choose to do such a thing. Printing a list like this is risky business for a variety of reasons. But among them is the fact that her campaign is obviously playing off the aftermath of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings— which enraged a variety of the electorate in how the Supreme Court nominee was treated. Yet, despite 36-year old allegations of sexual misconduct and Heitkamp’s “No” vote on confirming him, Kavanaugh ended up on the Supreme Court anyhow, which is what polling showed the majority of North Dakotan’s wanted.
It’s likely that Senator Heitkamp thought she could salvage some of the wreckage from her vote by responding to comments Congressman Cramer recently made about the #metoo movement being a “movement toward victimization”. Only that now seems to have backfired— and rightfully so.
As expected, the Heitkamp campaign has issued a formal apology, but I’m guessing it’s too little, too late. This political tactic is just one more example that Heitkamp and her campaign handlers have a serious problem with the truth. And on top of it all, some people will now view the ad as an attempt to use these women as political fodder in an effort to salvage what some see as a failing campaign. That doesn’t bode well for the embattled U.S. Senator either.
Heidi Heitkamp has long been thought of as likable by people from all areas of the political spectrum. But with her campaign of lies and desperation, we’re left to wonder if even that – like her future in the U.S. Senate – is in jeopardy. As I said just days ago, these things don’t reflect well on a woman who wants six more years in the U.S. Senate.
On November 6th, we’ll find out how the voters feel about it. But for now, things don’t look too good for North Dakota’s lone Democratic senator.
Sources:
- https://theminutemanblog.com/2018/10/11/heitkamp-continues-to-run-ad-proven-to-be-false/
- https://www.wahpetondailynews.com/classifieds/other/ads/letter-to-cramer/pdfdisplayad_30637ad1-1360-5b3c-a01a-18ff134c1e61.html
- http://www.wday.com/opinion/columns/4514411-commentary-women-say-heitkamp-campaign-identified-them-sexual-assault
- http://www.westfargopioneer.com/opinion/columns/4505256-commentary-poll-majority-north-dakota-voters-want-kavanaugh-confirmed
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/10/08/kevin-cramer-metoo-movement-heidi-heitkamp/1566442002/
- https://www.valleynewslive.com/content/news/Heidi-Heitkamp-campaign-apologizes-fro-newspaper-ad-that-identified-sexual-assault-victims-497689561.html
