Letter: Time ND senate candidate steps up for debates

Bait for debate lately in North Dakota, where there’s been plenty of back and forth about the reluctance of U.S. Senate candidates to debate.

Even the major newspapers have complained Rep. Rick Berg (R-ND) and former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp have been shy in that regard.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. To date, Heitkamp has repeatedly called for seven (count them, seven) debates. For his part, Berg has agreed to two. By any stretch of political spinning, that’s hardly a mutual reluctance.

There is an angle Heitkamp may have overlooked. In threatening situations, Berg relies on his mother’s support. Witness his Medicare moment. Despite his own party’s scheme to convert Medicare to a system of premium vouchers, he vowed to defend it, and his mom was right there to certify his reliability on the matter. So, there you have it, Heitkamp. Offer to debate Berg five additional times, with a promise that he’s free to bring his mother along. That way, you can have your say, Berg can have his say and his mom can vouch for his reliability.

Kind of all in the family. North Dakotans treasure solidarity of this sort.

Donald Bruce Beard, Banning, Calif., is a Reynolds native and former teacher at Mott and Beach high schools

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