The Dumbest Political Attack You’ll Read About All Day
Republicans have been pressuring liberal Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp, who has been posing as a fossil fuel-friendly candidate this election cyle, to return contributions from the Weitz & Luxenberg law firm (her #2 source of campaign funds) because that firm’s anti-fracking environmental activism runs so counter to the narrative Heitkamp has created for herself on the campaign trail.
Heitkamp, unfortunately, has confused and instead sicced her party on Berg with a supposed “scandal” that is obviously intended to muddy the waters around Heitkamp’s fracking problem. The Democrats are demanding that Berg return money – funds that were never actually paid to him or his campaign – over a legal dispute between Goldmark and the North Dakota Department of Veterans.
The full press release below, but the story goes like this: The NDDV felt like they were being overcharged for office space by Goldmark. Goldmark disagreed. The NDDV decided to terminate their lease on the office space early. Goldmark agreed. Rick Berg’s involvement? It was his campaign treasurer, Kelly Zander, who handled the matter for Goldmark.
The amount the NDDV alleges they were over billed amounts to $6,543. According to the emails the Democrats include in their press release, the matter appears to have been settled entirely in August of last year. A quick search of civil filings in the state indicates that the NDDV hasn’t filed any legal proceedings against Goldmark, yet Democrats want Berg’s campaign to refund the money that was paid to Goldmark.
That…doesn’t even make any sense. But then, it doesn’t have to make sense. This is all about distraction and muddying the waters. The Democrats are flinging whatever they can find at Berg, and it’s coming off more than a little desperate.
