North Dakota, We Have Had It Up To Here With You!

Thank you, Heidi Heitkamp!

WHAT THE HELL, NORTH DAKOTA?!?!? How is Nice Lady Heidi Heitkamp down in the polls to that ignorant sumbitch Kevin Cramer? How has this disgusting misogynist not Akin' ed himself right out of this US Senate race?

Two weeks ago Cramer told a North Dakota television station that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's assault accusations against Brett Kavanaugh were "even more absurd" than Anita Hill's claims about Clarence Thomas. CNN reports,

"My point was that there was no type of intercourse or anything like that," Cramer said. "That was my point, that nothing happened in terms of a sexual event beyond, obviously, the attack." He also again cast doubt on the memory of Kavanaugh's accuser, California professor Christine Blasey Ford.

"Well she admits she was a 15-year-old that had been drinking at a party that -- I mean, how many 15-year-olds handle a lot of alcohol, you know, 36 years ago? When it wasn't that common, by the way. ... Thirty-six years ago it wasn't that common for 15-year-olds to be at booze parties," Cramer said.

Because it would be okay if Kavanaugh did try to rape Blasey Ford, as long as he never achieved penetration and he was so drunk he didn't remember it afterwards? Is that the standard now?

If it's found that he knew -- that he recalls it, and knew it happened and lies about it, that's -- then I think that would disqualify him. Because that's what he's doing today, not 36 years ago.

Well, you know, that ended up being exactly what Brett Kavanaugh did. The lying and such. But whatever!

Now Cramer wants to use Heitkamp's "no" vote on Kavanaugh against her, because you know BITCHES ALWAYS BE LYIN'!

Kevin Cramer, candidate for US Senate in the year 2018, actually said these words to the New York Times. 

"That you're just supposed to believe somebody because they said it happened," Mr. Cramer said, alluding to Christine Blasey Ford — who has accused Justice Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers — and, more broadly, women who have come forward to claim that they were sexually abused or assaulted.

Invoking his wife, daughters, mother and mother-in-law, Mr. Cramer said: "They cannot understand this movement toward victimization. They are pioneers of the prairie. These are tough people whose grandparents were tough and great-grandparents were tough."

Because only weak women get sexually assaulted? REALLY? Is there any more perfect assertion of male privilege than a man who uses the silence of his own female relatives -- because there isn't a woman alive who doesn't have a story -- to attack sexual assault survivors and the "movement toward victimization"?

Heidi Heitkamp was gobsmacked, telling the NYT, 

"I think it's wonderful that his wife has never had an experience, and good for her, and it's wonderful his mom hasn't," she said. "My mom did. And I think it affected my mom her whole life. And it didn't make her less strong."

With tears welling in her eyes, Ms. Heitkamp stared intently at a reporter and continued: "And I want you to put this in there, it did not make my mom less strong that she was a victim. She got stronger and she made us strong. And to suggest that this movement doesn't make women strong and stronger is really unfortunate."

What the hell, North Dakota! One in 20 North Dakota residents is a Native American, and Native women suffer epidemic levels of sexual violence. And you're on the cusp of sending a man to the Senate who thinks only whiny victims report sexual assault?

On the other hand, North Dakota re-elected this asshole to Congress twice, even after he told a Native woman advocating for renewal of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that he'd like to "[w]ring the Tribal council's neck and slam them against the wall." Because how is it even fair that non-Native men have to submit to tribal justice when they abuse Native women on reservations? That's not what Cramer's tough-as-nails foremothers would have done when they were settling the prairie!

Here's the firsthand account by Melissa Merrick, Director for Victim Assistance on the Spirit Lake Nation.

Cramer then stated that he wanted to "ring [sic] the Tribal council's neck and slam them against the wall." This statement was made in front of a room full of people who are working to end violence. Again, he went on and on about how Tribal governments are dysfunctional, and how unconstitutional the Tribal provisions in VAWA are. At this point, the other Directors began to get up and walk out of the room. Cramer focused on how he thought a non-Native man would be treated unfairly in the Tribal Court.

He then said, "As a non-Native man, I do not feel secure stepping onto the reservation now."

I asked, "Why? What are you going to do?"

I know full well VAWA Tribal provisions only give Tribes limited jurisdiction over adult non-Native men who commit violent crimes against our Native women. He said he "just don't feel secure now."

I told him, "Don't beat up our women and you will be fine."

Nothing. We got nothing. Just ...

WHAT THE FUCK, NORTH DAKOTA? DO BETTER!

[ CNN / NYT / Last Real Indians / HuffPo ]

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