As the Democratic Party appears to be devolving into a pitchfork-wielding
mob, at least one Democrat official is willing to stand against the rising tide
of incivility and violent rhetoric. North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp
yesterday rebuked Hillary Clinton’s statement that Democrats could not be civil
with Republicans as “ridiculous.”
Earlier this week, failed presidential nominee Hillary Clinton
said on CNN,
“You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you
stand for, what you care about. That's why I believe
if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that's when
civility can start again.”
The embattled North Dakota senator responded to Clinton’s
comments on Anderson Cooper’s show, also on CNN,
saying, “That's ridiculous. I mean I can't imagine how you get
anything done if you don't bring civility back into politics, and that goes for
both sides.”
Heitkamp’s newfound ability to speak out against heated
Democrat rhetoric may be related to a bevy
of bad polls in her reelection campaign. Heitkamp was trailing her
Republican challenger even before she announced her opposition to Brett Kavanaugh.
Since September, she has trailed by double-digits. Heitkamp’s seat represents
one of the best chances for Republicans to flip a Senate seat this November.
To be fair, however, Heitkamp, a red state Democrat, is not
a typical liberal. In 2016, Donald
Trump reportedly considered her for a cabinet position as Secretary of
Agriculture. Since then, she has voted
with Trump about half the time and her support for a bill reforming
Dodd-Frank earned her a public thank
you from the Koch brothers. A GovTrack
ranking of senators puts her almost squarely in the middle of the Senate and more
conservative than Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Sen. Heitkamp’s call for civility may not be enough to save
her seat, but it is nonetheless refreshing to hear. If the North Dakota voters
choose to bring her home, the real loser will be the Democratic Party, where
moderate voices are becoming increasingly difficult to find.
Originally published
on The
Resurgent
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