Camas resident Cori Gonzalez discusses the race in the Third Congressional District
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com
Washington’s 3rd District needs a fearless candidate to replace the establishment representative, Jaime Herrera Beutler. This race is unprecedented with primary challenger Joe Kent leading in individual donations and support among Republicans despite Jaime’s financial backing from corporate PACs and Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
This is a rare opportunity to oust a swamp-dwelling incumbent politician. Joe Kent is the candidate that Republicans need to rally behind. Unfortunately, Heidi St. John is a barrier to this mission.
St. John made a vow to drop out of the race if she did not receive President Trump’s endorsement. She broke her promise to the voters of Southwest Washington. Refusing to drop out, Heidi has spent her time running deceptive ads that castigate Joe Kent as a Bernie Sanders supporting socialist.
As Joe previously stated, he voted for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary so Trump would have a weak opponent to go against in the general. This is a strategy known as Operation Chaos, which was coined by Rush Limbaugh.
Heidi asserts that Joe Kent supports Marxism, a fundamentally un-American ideology. This slanderous accusation ignores that Joe Kent spent two decades serving his country in the Special Forces. He is a true patriot who put his life on the line to defend America and the Constitution. Heidi St. John’s accusations are delusional, ignorant, and a betrayal of the Christian and American values she claims to champion.
Heidi will still insist Joe is a socialist because he agreed with Bernie Sanders on Twitter. Heidi’s ad features Joe Kent agreeing with Bernie that America is a nation, not an economy, and our leaders should care about the American people. Joe Kent is willing to reach across the aisle to serve his district – a trait Heidi does not share.
She seemingly believes that anyone who claims the prosperity of a nation cannot simply be measured in terms of GDP is a commune-dwelling hipster. This demonstrates her economic illiteracy and historical ignorance. If Joe Kent is a “socialist” for supporting economic nationalism and preventing billionaires from controlling all of the farmland, then President Trump, Tucker Carlson, and many of the founding fathers are also “socialists.”
If Heidi genuinely believes the accusations she has levied against Joe, then she should not be afraid to debate him. Yet, she told the Skamania County Republican party she would not participate in a debate if he attended.
When pressed by Lars Larson on his radio show, Heidi stated she would not debate over the phone. She claimed she would debate Joe in person, yet at every previous opportunity she has backed out. Heidi continues to make excuses because she does not possess the intellectual capacity necessary to competently debate the issues.
Joe Kent has twenty years of military experience and is far more knowledgeable about geopolitical issues. In contrast, Heidi St. John stated in her podcast that Tucker Carlson – who opposes war over Ukraine – is seemingly “pro-Russia.” She has embraced pro-war establishment talking points because she is clueless about international politics.
Heidi St. John needs to resort to slander because her candidacy is weak. Joe Kent has President Trump’s support and consistently polls in first place among Republican voters in Southwest Washington. She should set her inflated ego aside and drop out. She is only helping Jamie Herrera Beutler and the Democratic candidate – not Washington’s 3rd District.
Cori Gonzalez
Camas
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