Voters Reject Extremist in New Hampshire Special Election
AFL-CIO National Field Communications Director Jennifer Kauffman reports on some good news out of the states.
Last night, Democrat Jennifer Daler won a special election, 58 percent to 42 precent, in New Hampshire’s House District 4—the 14th most Republican district in the Granite State.
The seat, vacated by Robert Mead who resigned to become Speaker Bill O’Brien’s chief of staff, was not a race about partisan identity as much as it was a referendum on extreme politics. The voters sent a message loud and clear last night—they rejected Speaker O’Brien’s hardline, tea-party driven agenda and voted for restoring priorities and balance.
Today, working families are at the statehouse calling on legislators to stand with the middle class and sensible priorities. More than 100 people are there now—and the number is growing.
Granite State voters—deeply concerned by cuts in basic services—want to return to reasonable politics, where communities and elected leaders work together to create jobs and economic opportunities. It’s time for politicians to stop engaging in extreme partisan politics and focus on the issues that matter to New Hampshire’s middle-class families.
Health Care Reform Opponents Resort to Mob Rule
The extremist fringe of the anti-health care reform movement—with a wink and a nod from more mainstream health care opponents—is using mob rule to disrupt town hall meetings and community forums set for the congressional recess. Mob rule tactics stopped the Florida vote count during the contested 2000 presidential elections, ultimately turning the presidency over to George W. Bush—a strategy now emulated by the anti-health care reform lobby.
As Slinkerwink at DailyKos wrote yesterday:
The crazies are coming out in full force to local town hall and community events being held by Democratic lawmakers—with only one goal—to interrupt the Democratic lawmaker on health care reform, and shout right-wing talking points at him or her to scare the rest of his or her constituents at that event by sowing confusion and fear in the crowd.
