Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) on Tuesday ripped Hillary Clinton for saying that Democrats couldn’t be civil with Republicans.
“That’s ridiculous,” Heitkamp said on “Anderson Cooper 360.” “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.”
{mosads}Heitkamp went on to add that she hopes “we can find common ground in this country — that sexual assault is more prevalent than what people thought it was.”
The comments came just days after Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the high court after a highly contentious process in which he was accused of sexual misconduct by several women. Kavanaugh fiercely denied all of the accusation.
Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee for president, said on Tuesday that Republicans such as President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) “demeaned the confirmation process.”
She also added that civility could only start again if Democrats retook control of Congress.
“That’s why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that’s when civility can start again. But until then, the only thing that the Republicans seem to recognize and respect is strength,” Clinton said.
National Rifle Association (NRA) spokeswoman Dana Loesch applauded Heitkamp’s rebuke of Clinton’s comments, saying that she’s “glad someone within the party is saying this.”
Heitkamp, who is facing a tough reelection bid this November in a state Trump won, last week said that she would vote against Kavanaugh despite polls showing support for the judge’s confirmation.
She said on Monday that she was prepared to vote in Kavanaugh’s favor until watching him testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding a claim he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford at a high school party in the 1980s.
“I saw somebody who was very angry, who was very nervous, and I saw rage that a lot of people said, ‘Well of course you’re going to see rage he’s being falsely accused,’ but it is at all times you’re to acquit yourself with a demeanor that’s becoming of the court,” Heitkamp said.
A poll released by Fox News earlier this month shows Heitkamp is trailing Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) by 12 points.