New Leadership for New Hampshire's GOP

I’m an independent voter in the state of New Hampshire. Originally I chose this stance separate myself from my parents, and offer myself as more than a voting member of the Democratic Party. I was still on a democrat slant, but that slant has disappeared over the years, not because I have found the Democratic Party wanting, or the republican party to be offering more opinions and goals that were in-line with mine, but because neither offered anything of substance. It was more the lack of weighted argument on either side of the fence that gravitated me towards the middle.

I am now truly an independent, for lack of a better position. Yet, this is the best position that I could hope for. It is the position that all members of government should hold 90-percent of the time. Political parties have led to divisiveness, waste, and stagnation. I have been involved as a volunteer in a number of local campaigns. In 2004 I worked as a volunteer for the Kerry campaign, after voting for John McCain in the primary. My goal was more to increase the voter turnout than to support any particular candidate, though I really did not want to see President Bush maintain his position. I found it incredible the number of people who planned to vote a straight ticket, Republican or Democrat. Now, I was happy that people planned to vote, but it concerned me that in party politics that I found anything from stable, how people were making decisions based on a party agenda that was cast decades ago.

It sounds like Fergus Cullen has a sense of the need to concentrate more on getting strong individuals involved in the political process, and work on getting a more credible response from the public. That’s good, whether I believe what Mr. Cullen believes in beyond that or not. After all, it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about moving the state and its’ citizens forward into the twenty-first century, and making every year better than the last. We ALL have varying viewpoints, even within the same political party, group, affiliation, or family. But, once the election is over, and the choices of representation have been made, it is the responsibility for all citizens to support and interact with their representatives, while their representatives work amongst themselves to produce the best, most comprehensive plans and agendas to secure an environment where all are free to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.

We need to understand that political campaigns only lend themselves to outlining the viewpoints of certain candidates. We need to understand that voting results are an indication by the voters that they prefer certain traits and ideas over others. Then, we need to realize that nobody won, and nobody lost. Competition is great in sports, within an arena. Outside of the arena, there should be admiration for talent and strengths, investigations of tactics and strategy that are triumphant, cohesion between players among the same team in support of the venue as a whole. Every citizen of New Hampshire is part of the same venue even while we have different viewpoints and agendas. We all want to do well and succeed in our goals, but we must remember that in order to “Win” someone must “Lose”, and when the losers are out neighbors, that doesn’t help New Hampshire. Campaigns are about competition, noble, civil, and true. After the competition comes time to work together and find solutions that work for everyone. I hope Mr. Cullen looks beyond the campaigns to the real work of working successfully and diligently for the New Hampshire people.

Today's interview with Fergus Cullen left me furious.

After waxing poetic about how he was concerned with elevating the level of civil discourse in NH politics, FC then proceeded to misrepresent - indeed - to outright lie about the position of Carol Shea-Porter concerning funding for the continuing military operations in Iraq. Mr. Cullen misquoted Rep. Shea-Porter, mischaracterizing her comments made on the floor of the House of Representatives. (These comments are available for all NH residents to review, should they care to hear what she actually said, rather than what Mr. Cullen 'misremembered' and I strongly suggest that NH patriots go to the C-span web site, look up her speech and hear what she REALLY stands for. It's quite different than the bile Mr. Cullen spewed forth.)

Fifty years ago, our country withstood the scourge of Joseph McCarthy and the disgraceful tactics of selecting three words from a speech; smearing one's opponent with mischaracterizations and slurs; and using the gutter politics of inuendo and twisting the truth.

This is what is known as HATE SPEECH.

It's certainly revealing to see that, instead of elevating the level of 'civil discourse' in NH politics, Mr. Cullen has returned to McCarthy-esque tactics in an attempt to rise above his perceived competition.

Nice going, Chairman Cullen. You're a true asset to your party. Keep up the good work.