November Elections Starting to Sizzle

November marks the start of a new term for New Hampshire’s government, and representatives have been hard at work marketing their campaigns.

On Thurs., Sept. 11, Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig visited Plymouth State University, in the first of the three-part Saul O. Sidore Lecture Series, to remind the community of “How New Hampshire saved America.” In his lecture, he aimed to break down the barriers of political parties in order to bring the New Hampshire community together for the sake of government reformation.

“Before you are Democrats, before you are Republicans, or before you are undeclared Independents, you are citizens first,” said Lessig. “Which means in a certain sense you stand outside of the political system. And you need to recognize as citizens that this democracy is broken, and we have to find a way to fix it.”

Lessig is an opponent of large financial lobbies known as Super PACs for the funding of political campaigns, which he blames for skewing the voting system. Often, candidates will receive a large percentage of a demographic vote after pledging their allegiance to a specific industry or corporation. In return, those industries and corporations will offer large sums of money to finance the candidate’s campaign. “We’re going to see no change until we change the way money drives elections,” said Lessig.

Lessig recognizes the power of voting, however, he believes students are capable of making a more substantial impact. “I would encourage students to get involved to make this issue that I’ve been talking about the central issue. Voting is one way to do it, but showing up and asking candidates questions, driving them nuts about it,” that’s what Lessig says really makes a difference. Tackling issues such as generational spending, student debt, healthcare, and climate change, Lessig pointed out that students aware of these issues are the ones that can fix them. “The way this government is, it’s going to be a disaster for every student in America. This is really a generational fight, and your generation ought to be the most committed to this fight because your generation is the one that’s getting screwed. Most dramatically, we, [the ones] running up huge debts that you will pay, will be fine, but you are going to suffer from this,” he said.

On Sat., Sept. 20, Governor Maggie Hassan visited the Democratic Headquarters in Plymouth to reach out to new voters for the midterm election. Her topics covered New Hampshire tuition, natural resources, community involvement, and budget reform. Hassan said her mission in office is to, “bring people together in New Hampshire in what I call ‘the New Hampshire way,’ by following the example of the people in our state, expanding middle-class opportunity, and helping innovate businesses create great jobs.”

Hassan’s list of accomplishments is due in part to recent bipartisan agreements. “We passed the most bipartisan budget in over a decade,” Hassan said. “In that budget, we froze tuition at the university system, and were able to reduce the tuition at community colleges by five percent this year. We ended expensive lawsuits that were threatening our financial outlook and our bond rating, we made sure that we were not only focused on making college affordable and accessible, but were also really focusing on work force preparation,” she said.

Hassan’s party has long been accused of over-spending, as well as raising costs on gas and taxes. Republican nominee Walt Havenstein hasn’t pulled any punches, claiming on his website that “by embracing Barack Obama’s failed agenda of higher spending, higher taxes, and Obamacare, Maggie Hassan has damaged New Hampshire’s economy.” In the senate race, Republican Scott Brown has also called out Democratic nominee Jeanne Shaheen for profiting while New Hampshire taxes were raised and unemployment rose.

Havenstein’s platform includes a plan to create 25,000 new jobs by 2017, which he claims on his website, “is twice the rate of job creation under the current governor.” When contacted for comment, Havenstein was unavailable.

Hassan offered different statistics. “We have the lowest unemployment rate since 2008, and it’s the sixth lowest unemployment rate in the country. The private sector has created 10,000 jobs in the last year.”

Higher taxes may also be the result of Hassan’s plan to renovate New Hampshire’s infrastructure. “We reached a bipartisan agreement to make the most significant investment in our transportation infrastructure in 23 years. We’re out there repairing crumbling roads and bridges, and we’re also going to complete the expansion of I-93, which is so important to our economy, to our workers, to our businesses, and to our tourists.”

However, repairing roads and bridges is only part of the solution. “We need to continue to find ways to make healthcare competition better so we can keep the cost of that coverage down, we need to continue to find ways to lower energy costs while protecting our natural resources, and we need to continue to find ways to come together to support economic development and businesses,” said Hassan.

The governor also understands the importance of getting students to vote. In 2012, only 45 percent of voters ages 18-29 came out to vote at the presidential election, down from 51 percent in 2008. “I think it’s really important for all students to understand the importance of engaging in the democratic process, because when you stand up for yourself you can make sure that the priorities that matter to you are addressed by your elected leaders,” she said.  

Echoing Lessing, Hassan also pointed out the importance of communication between voters and their nominees. “I think it’s really important for voters, in this cycle in particular, to ask good questions of their candidates and find out whether they want to work on behalf of expanding middle class opportunity, helping innovative businesses create good jobs, and keeping the economy moving in the right direction,” she said.

Hassan also opposed the decision to allow Hobby Lobby to restrict certain medical accommodations to female employees, saying employers should not have the right to dictate the extent of health coverage their employees will get. When addressing the corporation’s religious freedom, Hassan pointed to the health care beliefs of other religions. “There are religions [that] refuse blood transfusions, and nobody is suggesting that an employer should be able to deny blood transfusions in terms of the kind of health care coverage they give,” she said. The governor feels that Hobby Lobby was cherry-picking the religious guideline that aligned with their beliefs. 

Hassan appeared to be willing to work with other parties as well. Addressing the hypothetical election of Scott Brown, Hassan stressed the importance of community involvement. “What I think is really important is that people come together to address the priorities we all have and the challenges we all have as a state, regardless of party affiliation. We’ve reached a number of bipartisan agreements. That’s the kind of thing we can do, reaching across the aisle finding common sense solutions. I think it’s really important for all elected leaders to bring that approach to governing.” That being so, Hassan said she believes strongly that many of the Democratic candidates have the right priorities.

“If we can do continue to do things in New Hampshire this way,” Hassan said, “and continue to make great progress, maybe those people who are trying to take the New Hampshire Way to Washington will get a little steam behind them too, and we can continue to make progress as a country. That’s what this election season is about.”

Elections will take place Nov. 4, and unregistered voters are encouraged to register at their local post office. Polling locations are available at www.sos.nh.gov/votenh. Future Sidore lectures are available at https://www.plymouth.edu/events/sidore/156/thestateofdemocracy.