To The Editor

To the Editor:

Many PSU students know me as the curly-haired guy at the Library Reference Desk. This letter is from me as a private citizen.

PSU STUDENTS: If you care about what is happening in your world and the wider world, you need to VOTE on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8. Don’t sit this out and let someone else choose your President.

First, I think it is important that the American people on Nov. 8 show up and vote to reject Donald Trump and his campaign of bigotry, fear-mongering, racism, misinformation, and insults (the New York Times has listed 282 people, places, and things that Trump has insulted on Twitter). Trump clearly does not possess either the knowledge or the temperament to be President of the United States.

However, in my view, Trump is not an aberration; he is the natural product of years of obstructionism and failure to participate in governing by the Republican Party.

Name any of things you say you care about – the environment, climate change, peace, civil liberties and civil rights, protecting a woman’s right to choose, marriage equality, funding for education – and the Republicans are just aching to increase their numbers of elected officials so they can try to block progressive change and undo the progress that Democrats have made, in NH and nationally.

It is very important that all PSU students register and vote in NH while you are students here. Here are a few of the reasons:

1. It’s easy. NH has same-day voter registration, so you can register at the polls on Election Day, Tues. Nov. 8. Bring a photo ID (PSU ID or driver’s license). You may be asked to sign a card swearing that you are residing in Plymouth (or other local town) and not voting elsewhere. In years past, PSU provided election officials with a list of those living in PSU residence halls. (There will be free rides to the Plymouth polls, the Plymouth Elementary School, leaving from next to the HUB.)

2. Your vote has more “weight” in a small state like NH than in a large state. The votes of PSU students could be the deciding factor in many local and state-wide races, such as the NH House, NH Senate, County Commissioner, and Governor. In close races, PSU votes might decide which person goes to represent you in the U.S. House or Senate. NH can be crucial in determining who becomes President; if Al Gore had won NH in 2000, he would have won the Presidency.

3. Decisions made by state and federal elected officials directly affect you. For example, the cost of tuition is directly related to how much money the state legislature gives to the University System of NH.

I supported Bernie Sanders in the NH Democratic Presidential Primary – but I wholeheartedly support Hillary Clinton now. I hope many of you were able to see and hear Bernie at PSU this past Tuesday, Nov. 1 – and that you’ll do as he urges – vote for Hillary Clinton and all the Democratic candidates on the ballot.

In the Plymouth area, there is a fine slate of experienced and principled Democratic candidates that people can support on Nov. 8. You can see their names and pictures at http://www.plymouthareademocrats. org .

As President Obama has put it, if you want to go backward, you put your car in “R”. If you want to move forward, you put it in “D”.

Please join me in voting for all the “D” candidates on Nov. 8 – from the top of the ballot to the bottom.

Sincerely
Gary McCool

Lamson Library