Prog Blogs, Orgs & Alumni
Bank Slate
Betsy Devine
birch, finch, beech
Democracy for NH
Live Free or Die
Mike Caulfield
Miscellany Blue
Granite State Progress
Seacoast for Change
Still No Going Back
Susan the Bruce
Tomorrow's Progressives
Politicos & Punditry
The Burt Cohen Show
John Gregg
Krauss
Landrigan
Lawson
Pindell
Primary Monitor
Primary Wire
Scala
Schoenberg
Spiliotes
Welch
Campaigns, Et Alia.
Paul Hodes
Carol Shea-Porter
Ann McLane Kuster
John Lynch
Jennifer Daler
ActBlue Hampshire
NHDP
DCCC
DSCC
DNC
National
Balloon Juice
billmon
Congress Matters
DailyKos
Digby
Hold Fast
Eschaton
FiveThirtyEight
MyDD
The Next Hurrah
Open Left
Senate Guru
Swing State Project
Talking Points Memo
50 State Blog Network
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
This is an op-ed, published in the Sept. 17, 2010 edition of the Conway Daily Sun.
The votes have been counted, the winners declared, and the primary officially over. Now we move into the concentrated madness of election season; the season we love to hate. Robo-calls, lawn sign wars, letters to the editor, ugly accusations, and underhanded deeds will be part of our lives for the next month and a half. It's better than any reality show.
In the NY Times Op-Ed section for today (Sat, 2 January) NH Chief Justice John Broderick - a Democrat who was nominated to the NH Supreme Court by former GOP governor (and law partner) Steve Merrill - has co-written an Op-Ed essay with his counterpart on the California Supreme Court.
I found this op-ed via Bill Siroty's New Hampshire Newslinks.
The author, Virginia Battles-Raffa, is speaking for many Republicans, at least in the state of New Hampshire. She is obviously saddened and a bit flabbergasted by the shift to the right on social issues.
She compares the religious right to the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Taliban once required Afghanistan's male citizens to wear a beard based on religious convictions. Our country fought to free their people of that fanatical regime. We criticize China for placing reproductive restrictions on women and Muslim countries for their oppression of women. How can we support legislation that deprives our female citizens of their right to choose? This is a private decision.
She concludes with this:
We are the party that was once led by Abraham Lincoln in his efforts to abolish slavery and support every individual's right to control his or her destiny, regardless of color, creed or sex. I am a Republican, but a woman and a mother first.
We all must realize the potential ramifications of this election, regardless of party affiliation. If the Republican platform continues to support candidates who rally behind legislation that restricts our private choices, then we must choose a candidate who will protect them. If that means voting for a Democratic nominee, then so be it.
After the orchestrated defeat of Rep. Hager in Concord, and other attempts to unseat moderate Republicans in Amherst, it seems the Republican tent is growing smaller and smaller.
