Farmers: Heidi’s Political Pawns – NDSen Debate

Heidi Heitkamp has spent the entire election cycle trying to use North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and producers as political pawns.

REMINDER: Heitkamp makes these attacks because a pillar of Heitkamp’s campaign strategy is fanning the flames of farmer’s fears.

Throughout the entire Farm Bill process, Heitkamp has put politics above North Dakota’s farmers.

• Her attacks increased when Kevin Cramer was appointed to the Farm Bill Conference Committee, a major win for North Dakota, but Heitkamp didn’t see it that way, labeling his appointment “politics at its worst.”

• In stark contrast, Rep. Cramer congratulated Sens. Heitkamp and Hoeven when they were also appointed.

Heitkamp has changed her stance on agriculture-related issues just to score political points:

• Heitkamp voted in 2014 to eliminate agriculture subsidies.

  • Heitkamp this year attacked Cramer for being part of a group where some members supported eliminating some subsidies.

• When the House adjourned this year without finishing the Farm Bill, Heidi Heitkamp attacked Kevin Cramer for not demanding the House go back into session.

  • When the Senate adjourned without finishing the Farm Bill, Heitkamp said nothing.

• Heitkamp supported the 2014 Farm Bill that trimmed food stamps, but this year Heitkamp attacked the Trump-Cramer Farm Bill for including food stamp reforms.

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Heitkamp’s Harmful Health Care Agenda – NDSen Debate

While both Kevin Cramer and Heidi Heitkamp want to protect coverage for pre-existing conditions, Heitkamp-backed Obamacare is wrong for North Dakota, and it hurts our small businesses and farmers.

Heitkamp’s lies on health care have been repeatedly fact-checked, but she has not stopped peddling misinformation.

Over the last ten years Heidi Heitkamp has taken more positions on Obamacare than anyone can count:

• As a liberal activist, Heitkamp aggressively pushed for Obamacare to pass, but as a 2012 Senate candidate, Heitkamp instantly became critical of the law.

  • When Politico detailed this flip-flop, Heitkamp could not refute it.

• Throughout her time in the Senate, Heitkamp has staunchly defended Obamacare.

  • Heitkamp voted 8 times against repealing Obamacare (March 2013 [three times], May 2015, July 2015, December 2015, and July 2017 [twice])

  • Heitkamp voted twice in support of the individual mandate, voted against repealing Obamacare tax, and voted in favor of the medical device tax after she took donations from the medical supplies industry.

Heitkamp’s health care law is out-of-touch with what’s best for North Dakota, and it hurts our state.

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Heidi Heitkamp is a National Security Issue – NDSen Debate

While Heidi Heitkamp spent this week campaigning with a man who let North Dakota down, Kevin Cramer has strong support from North Dakota veterans and military members.

Heidi Heitkamp’s out-of-touch national security stances have left North Dakota veterans and military service members worse off.

Heitkamp has a long list of bad votes, harmful positions, and grave errors in judgment on foreign policy, such as:

• Supporting Obama’s Iran nuclear deal.

• Repeatedly voting against VA funding, including for funding for military housing

• Opposing forcing Iran to recognize Israel and release American hostages.

• Rejecting the use of military force to take down Assad in Syria.

• Flip-flopping on withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

• Standing against military officials who called for increased missile defense funding.

• Failing to help arm those fighting ISIS.

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Oldest Attack in the Playbook – NDSen Debate

After Heidi Heitkamp tried and failed to exploit farmers, veterans, and those with pre-existing conditions for her own political gain, she is now trying to use seniors.

But the facts don’t support her argument:

• The Washington Post said Democrat claims that Republicans want to “get rid of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security” are FALSE.

• Kevin Cramer is trying to save Social Security and Medicare as they’re set to go solvent in a just a few years.

• Heidi Heitkamp’s only solution is to raise taxes on North Dakotans.

• Kevin Cramer pledged to not affect the benefits of anyone 55 or over.

Her efforts to exploit North Dakotans haven’t worked before, and this new, last-minute attack won’t work either.

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get her mind out of the gutter…

On the brink of defeat, Heidi Heitkamp’s campaign isn’t holding back from attacking anyone they want, including a WWII veteran who requested that Heitkamp stop using his image without his consent.

Facing backlash, Heitkamp’s Communications Director called that story “wrong and gutter politics at its worst.”

LET’S BE CLEAR: In this campaign, “gutter politics at its worst” is only embodied by Heidi Heitkamp, whose campaign has exploited veterans, sexual assault survivors, and whoever else she can for political gain.

Heitkamp Staffer Accuses WWII Veteran of “Gutter Politics”

Rob Port

10.25.18

Yesterday I wrote a post about Lynn Aas, a WWII veteran who received the Legion of Honor award from France last year, who objected to Senator Heidi Heitkamp bragging about her attendance at that event on her Facebook page.

“Lynn is not happy that Heidi did this. We have posted a comment requesting that it be taken down,” David Aas, Lynn’s son, told me in an email. “Lynn wants to make it clear that no one from the Heitkamp campaign contacted him to ask for permission for this, and he does not want this to be viewed as an endorsement of her campaign.”

I reached out to Heitkamp’s staff for comment yesterday, but as is typical for them they didn’t respond to me. They did respond to Fox News, however, when the news network picked up my story. Their statement characterized Aas’ objection to the use of his image by the Senator as “gutter politics.”

“This story is wrong and is gutter politics at its worst. A link to a local news article was posted on Sen. Heitkamp’s Senate Facebook page about a ceremony she participated in last year for a WWII veteran to highlight a recognition he earned. An individual photo was not posted. The way social media works is that if you post a link to an article, the photo in the article also shows up in the post. Let’s talk about facts rather than distortions or political games. We took the post of the article down after the veteran’s son asked us to via Facebook,” said Abbie McDonough, Heitkamp’s U.S. Senate communications director.

“In fact, at the event, Mr. Aas joked with Sen. Heitkamp that he liked her, but isn’t going to vote for her. They both shared a laugh, and she retold the story at the event. In North Dakota, you can still recognize the service of an honorable man from a different political party without playing politics. Sen. Heitkamp will continue to work to make sure all veterans have the support, resources, and recognition they deserve and earned – despite others playing politics with our nation’s veterans,” she added.

I’m gobsmacked that Senator Heitkamp’s staff would attack Mr. Aas like this. The objection to the use of his image, and his story, in Heitkamp’s post came from him. I didn’t solicit it. I wasn’t even aware of his objection until his family alerted me to it.

And it wasn’t just that Heitkamp (or, more accurately, her staff) posted a link to a local news story which auto-populated with Aas’ image. It’s that they used Aas’ story, and his name, as well as his image in the heat of a campaign and at a moment when Heitkamp has been touring the state touting her record on veterans’ issues.

Aas didn’t want to be a part of that messaging. He should get to say that without being attacked by Heitkamp’s staff.

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