North Dakota U.S. Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp is touting her independence in a new ad.
The Democratic nominee for North Dakota's U.S. Senate seat, Heidi Heitkamp, is saying in a new ad that she "stood up to" President Barack Obama.
Heitkamp, who is in a competitive race with Rep. Rick Berg (R), released the commercial Thursday morning touting that she would not be a party line-voter if elected to the Senate. Heitkamp emphasizes her support for a balanced budget amendment and Keystone Pipeline, and opposes cap and trade and "over regulation" of farmers. She "stood up to" Obama on the budget and pipeline issues, she says in the ad.
"I will put North Dakota's priorities first, and that means standing up for our farmers and ranchers and standing against one size fits all rules from Washington that would put thousands of jobs in our energy industry at risk," Heitkamp, a former state attorney general, said in a statement. "I'll put the politics aside and work with both parties to build the Keystone Pipeline, which will create jobs while also contributing to our energy independence, and I'll support a balanced budget amendment that protects Social Security and Medicare."
Heitkamp announced her support for a balanced budget amendment "with exceptions" in March. She said that she wanted an amendment that exempted times of war, cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and tax cuts for those making over $1 million a year. At the time, the Say Anything Blog, a conservative North Dakota political blog that has long opposed Heitkamp, released a video saying that her plan was "mathematically impossible."
Heitkamp has consistently emphasized during her campaign that she would be independent of Democrats, while Berg votes with Republican leaders. In July, she released an ad saying that she "stood up" to former President Bill Clinton regarding land issues while she was state attorney general in the 1990s. At the same time, Heitkamp has also been a vocal supporter of Obama's health care reform law, for which she has been attacked by Berg and Republicans.
Heitkamp and Berg are in a heated battle for the seat of retiring Sen. Kent Conrad (D). Polls have shown both in the lead and multiple super PACS have become involved in the race. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee invested their first three national ads on Heitkamp's behalf, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee has put more of a focus on helping Berg's campaign in recent weeks.
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The Democratic nominee for North Dakota's U.S. Senate seat, Heidi Heitkamp, is saying in a new ad that she "stood up to" President Barack Obama.
Heitkamp, who is in a competitive race with Rep. Ri...
The Democratic nominee for North Dakota's U.S. Senate seat, Heidi Heitkamp, is saying in a new ad that she "stood up to" President Barack Obama.
Heitkamp, who is in a competitive race with Rep. Ri...
This bl*e dog politician is going d*wn.-------------B*d mouthing the POTUS is not the way to endear herself to Dem voters.-------------------Incredible.
wonderfullone: This bl*e dog politician is going d*wn.-------------B*d mouthing the POTUS
Honey, you belong in Congress as a Representative, then you can stand on your head for ND. The Senate is supposed to do what is best for the country. IF they fit with your blue dog beliefs then you follow them, if not think what the country is doing. Yes, ND is finding some wealth with all the fracking and therefore of course, you want pipelines, guns and what the rest of the states such as yours want. But you are not a democrat..stop posing.
springsm: Honey, you belong in Congress as a Representative, then you
I'm always glad to see a candidate who doesn't vote lockstep with their party. That's the mindless idiocy that has ground everything to a halt over the last few years.
That said... wow, you really picked some winners to draw your line in the sand. As others have said, you look a lot more like a Republican than anything else. Just afraid of the tainted brand name?
The balanced budget amendment, in particular... that's cowardly. It's saying "We can't trust ourselves to govern properly, so we need to enact legislation that keeps us from screwing everything up". Then you want to add (pro-Republican policy) exceptions. You can't even get that much right. How about you have a backbone and actually DO the job you're interviewing for, make some tough decisions?
All a balanced budget amendment is going to do is force us into more "fiscal cliffs" like the one set up (and then repudiated) by Ryan and his cronies. If that fiasco has taught us anything, it's that NO ONE likes the government being run by blind devotion to tally sheets. The government is NOT a business, stop trying to run it like one.
Madmann: I'm always glad to see a candidate who doesn't vote
Don't buy into the pro pipeline propaganda. They are stealing land from people while contaminating what they leave them. Heidi Heitkamp is paid for by TransCanada.
Athe15t: Don't buy into the pro pipeline propaganda. They are stealing
isn't she supposed to be saying that she puts her state before her party loyalties? That's one of the reasons why Scott Brown is so popular in MA to a point.
Kandis_SupaStar_Hill: isn't she supposed to be saying that she puts her
I expect that is true, but the Senate stands a level above the tea party House...and you do have to think about those "others"...but this state is newly wealthy and it seems to be paying her way too.
springsm: I expect that is true, but the Senate stands a
I'd like to see her win, simply because she's a Dem and I'm hoping for a Dem majority in the Senate. But throwing the President under the bus for her own gain is certainly not the way to earn anyone's trust and/or admiration.
Taiyo: I'd like to see her win, simply because she's a
She was just on MSNBC a couple of weeks ago talking about Democratic values! She said nothing of "standing up to the President." SD is a red state, right?
leticeberry: She was just on MSNBC a couple of weeks ago
She is running in ND. The media considered ND a Red State when all of our Senators and Congressmen were Democrats (two years ago). What is up with that?
aldo: She is running in ND. The media considered ND a
it amazes me at the timing of the attacks on our embassies. the video has been out long before these attacks took place. Why now is the question. I am not a conspiracy theorist just an observer. Our election for president seems to coincide with the riots taking place in the middle east and they seem to be taking place in order to affect the outcome.With the two parties at one anothers throats in ways to solve the issues in the middle east it makes our government seem to be at odds with one another thus making us look weak. In Asia one would say we are losing face. perception is name of the game. our politcians sure make it easy for our enemies.
Clifford_Gonsalves: it amazes me at the timing of the attacks on
Like it or not, this country is made up of all religions. You can not impose your own religious beliefs on every citizen when we are made up of many. Unless you think Romney should have a law on his Mormon beliefs. Maybe he might want to go back to his grandparents beliefs of polygamy. Then perhaps we could have a Jewish President and outlaw Christmas?
Follow what you believe and stop shoving it down the throats of all.
carolo: Like it or not, this country is made up of
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The Huffington Post | By John Celock Posted: 09/13/2012 11:17 am