At the risk of losing her Senate seat, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., cast a true and heartfelt “NO” vote on the nomination of Brent Kavanaugh to a lifetime position on the U.S. Supreme Court. She is an attorney, has served as North Dakota attorney general, has dealt with Native American issues and sex trafficking and has broad, solid legal experience. She has applied that skill to her current position as United States senator.

We read and hear about “oligarchs,” but few know what it means. It is a form of power structure in which the power rests with a small number of people distinguished by nobility, “wealth, family ties, education or corporate, religious or political, or corporate religious or political,military control.” (As defined by Wikipedia.)

At the risk of being offensive, I maintain that Russian oligarchs now exist in the guise of our elected federal officials. We have a president who wants to be a dictator (and seems to be making real progress) …  who wants the FBI to be his personal police force … and who wants the attorney general and Justice Department to represent him and not the country they are sworn to protect.

We have a president who has no respect for women or the rule of law — who lies so often that he totally lacks credibility. And even worse, we have a large number of citizens who have no problem with anything he does and says.

This president lost the popular election vote. He won only because of our archaic Electoral College, which should, in my humble opinion, be abolished.

He told the United Nations he has accomplished more in his short term in office than any other president and administration. They laughed at him.

By now, there is no doubt but that the Russians interfered with our election in 2016. Yet the president never criticizes anything Russian while at the same time attacking and demeaning our allies. He loves Kim of North Korea; I think he has been having an affair with Putin.

We elected an uninformed, bigoted clown as president. The normal offset to that mistake would be found in the Congress of the United States! But Congress has not had the courage to step up and shut him down. They allow him to demean our law enforcement agencies and insult their leadership. They have provided no comfort to the thousands of FBI and other legal authorities who devote their entire lives to protecting this country.

When addressing Brett Kavanaugh’s qualifications, he made a mockery of justice and fair play. The entire Republican clown car joined with him, creating a scenario where the FBI would take the heat for a meaningless investigation.

Publicly, the president claimed the FBI could talk to anyone it wished when in fact he and his people knew they’d put strict limitations on their investigation. The FBI either cannot or will not expose it for what it was — a cover-up.

The FBI should have been free to fully investigate the claims of sexual assault to obtain all the facts and then present those facts to Congress before it came to a vote. When over 40 witnesses came forward (in addition to the original complainants) but the FBI was not allowed to interview them, you need not be a rocket scientist to see this as nothing but a Trump hatchet job. His group of old men and women legislators bought into it without hesitation.

Whether you believe Kavanaugh is a saint, it is obvious there were many highly qualified men and women without baggage who could have replaced him without controversy.

That the president of the United States can mock victim of assault, can mock women all the time and is not held to account by Congress shows how far the country has fallen.

Sen. Heitkamp knows what a tramp the president is. She cast a “no” vote that could cost her the election. I have faith, however, in our North Dakota people — that given the circumstances and her courage, they will re-elect Heidi.

How long will it take for citizens to understand that only the large, wealthy corporations and special interests have benefited by his tax plan? If, like me, you have an average income, how much benefit have you received? Has the increased cost of gas and general expenses eaten up any small tax benefit?

Do you really believe, as does Kevin Cramer and his fellow Republican ideologues, that people with pre-existing medical conditions should not receive insurance benefits? Do you really believe that the separation of parents from their children during border enforcement is a good idea, as Kevin Cramer does? When did this country sink so low that we have children’s tent prisons? Did we learn nothing from incarcerating Americans of Japanese descent in World War II?

I never thought I would ever be saying that we must take back our country. We damn well need to Make America Great Again. It “was” great … until Trump’s election. Come November, we can take the first steps in making it great again.

We need more women in elective leadership positions. We need to replace the old guys in the Senate — the old ladies, too. Heidi and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar are women in their prime, and they must be re-elected.

After seeing how long the Republican leadership has been in office — since the dinosaurs roamed the Earth — (and the same holds true for some Democrats), term limits should be established.

Do you say that elections are automatic term limiters? I say B.S. And you know I’m right.

I still maintain that while elections count, in the near time, it is the judicial system that will bring sanity back into the equation. All in all, our federal judicial system has good judges, and the Supreme Court has been open-minded, even if conflicted.

While I wouldn’t have voted for Kavanaugh, and I do think he has anger and credibility issues, I do think he will apply the law. Once in office, he, like the other justices, owes the president who appointed them absolutely nothing.

Many presidents have been ruled against by the very judges they appointed. I don’t expect that to change. There is a satisfaction in being the recipient of a lifetime appointment; the justices have no reason to politicize their office.

This is no time to be a bystander. Education yourself on the issues and where the candidates stand … and be heard! Make this country great again. Amen.