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Erstwhile Governor of New Hampshire, John "Rip Van" Sununu recently kicked off his "I hate New Hampshire" tour by publicly campaigning against our state. Like his son John E. Sununu, who lost his Senate seat last fall, "Rip Van" Sununu hasn't been in the halls of power in some time and he's not happy about it. Unhappy that his family is out of power and New Hampshire is thriving under Governor Lynch's leadership, "Rip Van" Sununu has been taking his anger out on the Granite State.
CONCORD - On one of the many stops of his "I hate New Hampshire" tour, John "Rip Van" Sununu sat down to an editorial board with the Concord Monitor and reportedly spent his time railing against the Granite State. Sununu claimed that the quality of life in New Hampshire had been diminished in recent years but didn't offer any empirical evidence to back up his assessment. Then, just days after Sununu's tirade against New Hampshire at the Monitor, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released its ranking of the best places to raise children and for the fourth time in five years our state was ranked number one. So, why is the former Governor so set on tearing down New Hampshire?
Since Sununu's time in the corner office, our state has flourished. Here are just a few examples of why it's great to live in the Granite State today:
* Personal income has more than doubled, from an average of $20,512 in 1990 to $41,512 in 2007
* Our state still has one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation
* Our population has grown significantly in the last decade, spurring tens of thousands of new home sales
* Our population is better educated, with nearly ten percent more Granite Staters holding bachelors degrees than they did in 1990
* Our environment has become a priority for our elected leaders, with a commitment to increase the use of renewable energy sources to 25 percent by 2025
* Our state has finally lived up to its "live free or die" motto, with the passage of marriage equality, strong anti-discrimination laws, and the repeal of anti-choice statutes
* Our state has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation
* Our state was once again named the best place to raise children
"Over the last two decades, New Hampshire has grown into a place where individual liberty and prosperity thrive. Just because his family is no longer running the show doesn't mean Mr. Sununu should spend his time tearing down our state. New Hampshire has changed in the last twenty years and its time that Mr. Sununu stop romanticizing the past and start appreciating all our state has to offer," said Victoria Bonney, Communications Director at the New Hampshire Democratic Party.
(Posted by Victoria Bonney, Communications Director at the New Hampshire Democratic Party)
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