Heidi Heitkamp Calls for Civility While Running Campaign Ads Calling Her Opponent an Extremist

Senator Heidi Heitkamp says she disagrees with erstwhile presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s claim in a CNN interview that, “You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Heitkamp said in her own CNN interview with Anderson Cooper. “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.”

The video:

That’s an ironic thing to say given the tone of Heitkamp’s own campaign. While she’s touting civility in prime time cable news interviews, her campaign messaging is calling her opponent Congressman Kevin Cramer an “extremist.”

Meanwhile, Heitkamp’s political party has been throwing around the term “crooked Cramer.”

Politics is hardball, and Republicans have little room to talk about civility given their top elected official in the country is the always bombastic President Donald J. Trump.

Still, contrast the campaign messaging above with Congressman Cramer’s ads:

Bismarck, North Dakota (CNN) – Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is well-liked in North Dakota.

Her Republican opponent in the state’s US Senate race, Rep. Kevin Cramer, has even run a television ad saying as much.

“I like Heidi. Who doesn’t like Heidi,” said retired Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Patricia Traynor in an ad for Cramer.

But, Traynor adds, “I don’t like the way she votes in Washington.”

Cramer’s message is that Heidi is a nice person but votes the wrong way in Washington.

Heitkamp’s message is that Cramer is a crook and an extremist.

Yet it’s the latter who is on cable news calling for civility.