Heidi Heitkamp Launches TV Ad: “Land Grab”
Heitkamp Will Work With Both Parties to Stand Up For North Dakota, and Fight Unfair Environmental Regulations
MANDAN, N.D. – Former North Dakota attorney general and U.S. Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp released her sixth TV ad of the campaign — “Land Grab” — where she highlights her record of standing up to the federal government and against unfair environmental regulations.
“As attorney general, I took on Washington when it wanted to impose itself on North Dakota farmers and ranchers,” said Heitkamp. “As Senator, I’ll put the politics aside and put North Dakota first.”
The ad refers to a court case that dates back to the 1990s, when two brothers were charged with draining wetlands on their farm after the federal government refused to take action when government land was flooded and the water spilled over onto the brothers’ farmland.
According to the Associated Press, “The federal government contended the easements allowed it to assert jurisdiction over the new water-covered areas and charged the brothers with illegally draining wetlands.” [Associated Press, 8/20/96]
Heidi saw a power grab: “The state of North Dakota weighed in on the side of the farmers, arguing the federal government’s interpretation could give it jurisdiction over 3 million acres of land in the state.” [Associated Press, 8/20/96]
National reporters have begun to take note of Heitkamp’s willingness to break the gridlock in Washington and stand up for North Dakota. The Financial Times reported:
“Ms Heitkamp is another Democrat who is bucking the party line. In contrast to Barack Obama and the vast majority of her party, the former North Dakota attorney-general supports the building of the Keystone pipeline to transport oil from Canada through her state to the Gulf of Mexico. Energy is one area of potential compromise, Ms Heitkamp says. ‘Those on the left have a knee-jerk reaction against clean coal and fracking,’ she says, adding that others on the right are hostile to the idea of wind and solar power. ‘This is why we don’t move forward, this is why we don’t have an energy policy that includes renewables and fossil fuels.’ [Financial Times, 7/5/12]
And earlier this year, E&E News reviewed Heitkamp’s plan to bring North Dakota common sense to Washington and noted, “Heidi Heitkamp (D) attempted to split the partisan difference on energy policy in a new plan she unveiled today, favoring both Democratic calls to rein in oil market speculators and Republican demands to increase domestic drilling.”
View the ad here.
Heitkamp: It was a government land grab and it happened when I was Attorney General.
Visual: Former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp
Heitkamp: The federal government tried to misuse environmental easements to take over North Dakota
farm land and put farmers in prison.
Heitkamp: It wasn’t right and I beat the government in court.
Visual: Tentative deal reached in draining of wetlands
Heitkamp: I’m Heidi Heitkamp and I approve this message because we need a Senator who will put partisan politics aside and do what’s right for North Dakota.
Visual: Heidi for North Dakota
About Heidi:
Today, as a director of the Dakota Gasification synfuels plant, she’s a champion for North Dakota’s energy industry. Heidi believes we need to use all of North Dakota’s rich energy resources wisely, creating and keeping high-paying jobs right here. Heidi says it’s time to put country first, put politics aside and work together to cut government spending, balance the budget, create jobs and get our economy back on track—while protecting North Dakotans.
Heidi lives in Mandan with her husband, Dr. Darwin Lange, a family practitioner. They have two grown children, Ali and Nathan.
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