Monday was a big day for all of us: President Trump announced his nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Trump’s pick was Judge Brett Kavanaugh, currently a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Judge Kavanaugh is extremely qualified for the position. He is a strong defender of the Constitution, has rendered over 300 well-respected prior court decisions, and upholds the same basic values that you and I hold so dear. And Democrats will do everything they can to prevent his appointment to the Supreme Court.
It was precisely for this reason that Susan B. Anthony List and Kansas Family Voice of North Dakota® stood together Tuesday in front of the Federal Building in Bismarck and held a rally to appeal to Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp to approve Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. As with the nomination process of Judge Gorsuch, we stood there and spoke out for your values to attendees and the media.
https://youtu.be/xCXYCte15uY
To get Judge Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate, and our two senators in Washington are John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp. Given that Senator Hoeven is almost certainly going to vote to confirm, it comes down to how Senator Heitkamp will vote. Last year, in a surprising move, Senator Heitkamp voted to approve conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, and we thanked her for that brave move. But it is 2018 and the election for her senate seat is only months away. How will she vote this time?
A poll conducted by The Tarrance Group and released just days ago showed that 68% of North Dakotans believe Senator Heitkamp should vote to confirm President Trump’s appointment to the Supreme Court. That’s more than two-thirds of North Dakotans! I think it’s pretty clear what we North Dakotans want. So, the question is whether Senator Heitkamp will represent us in Washington as she promised she would. After winning her Senate seat in 2012, the Bismarck Tribune quoted Senator Heitkamp as stating, “I made this promise to every North Dakotan during the campaign and I want to make it again today: I will work as hard as I can to be a senator for each and every one of you.”
Senator Heitkamp, we’re not even asking you to be a senator who represents the views of each and every North Dakotan (an actual impossibility), but simply someone who just represents the majority of us. Please listen to your constituents and stand for what’s right. We are watching and waiting…
Sincerely,
Mark Jorritsma
President and Executive Director