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Ann McLane Kuster has been endorsed (as she was in 2010) by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. This from their email announcement.
We saw over the last couple years that just electing "Democrats" is not enough.
Even with full Democratic control of government -- including 60 seats in the Senate -- corporate Democrats killed the public option and watered down Wall Street reform.
In 2012, we can't just focus on electing Democrats. We need to focus on electing bold progressive fighters.
The endoresement will help put feet on the street and provide financial support for bring NH-02 back in to the D column.
If you would like to see that happen you should consider a small end of quarter gift to show your support! PCCC is suggesting $3.
Over at the Great Orange Satan (Daily Kos) David Nir (nee DavidNYC, BH User #5) [comments on PPP polls on NH Congressional Races.
Public Policy Polling (PDF) (6/30-7/2, 7/5, New Hampshire voters, no trendlines):
Carol Shea-Porter (D): 41
Frank Guinta (R-inc): 48
Undecided: 10
(MoE: ±5.7%)
Ann McLane Kuster (D): 42
Charlie Bass (R-inc): 43
Undecided: 15
(MoE: ±5.1%)
While somewhat optimistic about NH-02, David expresses some concern regarding Dem chances in NH-01, even postulating
I wouldn't be surprised if other Democrats decided to get in here, especially since Guinta has weaknesses of his own that are ready to be exploited by a well-equipped challenger.
My take? We are going to have to give and work hard if we want to flip these seats. I know NH Dems are up for it.
This private mandate and voucher system sets up an unstable, hurtful and discriminatory system for seniors. In essence, the only element it keeps from our current successful program is the name "Medicare."
At town hall meetings across New Hampshire in the days after the vote, Bass defended his vote by attempting to argue that his plan relied on "premium support systems," not "vouchers." It was Washington-speak from his partisan leadership's talking points - and we flinty constituents in New Hampshire are not buying it.
-snip
But ending Medicare as we know it in order to make room for corporate tax breaks?
No way. That's not the America I want to pass on to my sons. It's not the country that Nanny worked hard for her whole life, nor the country that is looking out for her now. We can do better.
This stuff gets me charged up. I'm stoked to go to the 2011 McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner.
_
I just got an email from the Kuster campaign, indicating Annie is taking the first steps to run in 2012.
Her website has been updated:
http://www.kusterforcongress.com/
To fight for good jobs, to protect the fragile economic recovery, and to invest in strengthening our country's future, this week I am taking the first steps to begin a campaign for U.S. Congress in 2012.
I've been hoping she would run again, and was fairly certain she would. This time around, I plan on getting far more involved in her campaign.
I am planning to vote on Tuesday, November 2nd. I always vote. This year, more than usual, I am thinking about the women who made it possible for me to exercise such a basic right. Less than a century ago, suffragettes were imprisoned, abused and beaten in their campaign to make sure women were considered autonomous individuals capable of self determination.
Given that legacy, the only possibility is that I vote for a Senate candidate like Paul Hodes, who unlike his opponent, is pro-choice. It is only possible that I vote for a candidate for Representative to Congress like Ann Kuster whose long history of support for women, children and working families in New Hampshire clearly distinguishes her from her opponent, a long time Bush ally. The only candidate I could possibly support for State Senate is Deb Reynolds, who has demonstrated her commitment to the people of New Hampshire and has worked for equal rights for all of us. I can only vote for State Representatives Jim Aguiar and Carol Friedrich who have taken the same positions on choice, privacy and civil rights.
Our previous roster of local NH congresspersons held many of these same positions on choice and privacy, but such Republicans are no longer welcome in their party. Now a slate of tea party endorsed or, by their own admission, tea party loving candidates for our state and national legislatures want New Hampshire voters to believe that they have our best interests in mind. I am not fooled. They are beholden to big business and corporate interests. They are not concerned with my civil rights, those of my daughter, or those of any of us. For all their complaining about big government, it is the Republicans who want to legislate personal, private matters while allowing multi-million dollar business interests to do as they please at our expense.
It is in honor of the legacy of those women who gained for American women the right to vote, through years of hard work and grave bodily hardship, that I vote. And when I do, I will only vote for those candidates who respect me as an individual. I will only support the Democratic candidates who, in this day and age, are the only ones who have shown a commitment to my personal right to make decisions about my life and body and my daughter's right to make decisions about hers.
I was very excited when I first heard about the mailer below, sent last week along with another.(Part 1, Part 2) As a veteran and a Democrat, I am proud to support Annie Kuster, as she asks Granite Staters for their vote on November 2nd.
Annie's commitment to the veteran and military family community is sincere. Some here may recall, Annie met in April 2009 with local activists to listen, tapping into their collective wisdom. Prior to that meeting, Annie sent me this biographical note, so I could help introduce her connection to the issues they care so much about.
Thank you for your very thoughtful invitation to gather a group of folks to discuss veteran's issues. As you may know, my father, Malcolm McLane was a decorated fighter pilot in WWII who was shot down in the Battle of the Bulge and held for six months in a German prison camp. My father in law, Bob Kuster, served in the infantry on communications and was on the beaches of Normandy and among the first to liberate the concentration camps. Our family was blessed by the compassionate care my father in law received in the last several years of his life in the new Alzheimer's wing of the Veterans' Home in Tilton. Brad and I have raised our two sons on stories of courage and valor from their two distinguished grandfathers. I would be honored to meet with vets and learn more about the important issues of the day. I appreciate your efforts.
(Moved the fact sheet after the jump, but be sure to check it out - promoted by Laura Clawson)
In response to the story Kevin Landrigan broke in this AM's Telegraph and Dean wrote up here early today, Kuster Campaign Manager Colin Van Ostern released the following statement about Congressman Bass' growing ethics issues:
"Even by Congressman Bass's own questionable account, he used his office to promote his nephew's company - then got rewarded with over $500,000 worth of his company's stock just days after leaving office, in a private deal not available to the public.
No matter how loudly Congressman Bass denies it, the fact is that the company's own press clippings in 2006 credited him personally with setting up a one-on-one meeting between the company president and the U.S. Secretary of Energy, specifically to promote the company and urge funding for tax credits to help it.
That is what is wrong with Washington, and Bass's doubtful denials leave a lot of questions unanswered."
The campaign also released a fact sheet documenting the issues.
Full Disclosure: The author is the Kuster campaign's Communications Director
James Galbraith, son of that wise economist (and there sure aren't many of those around, or in history for that matter) John Kenneth Galbraith, and my favorite economist along with Krugman, has a good article up. I think the money quote is:
The clear and pressing priorities are energy and climate change. To address these challenges is a grand task, requiring decades of research, careful planning and many investments, if we are to pass on a livable planet and a decent living standard. Institutionally it will require new lending agencies to assure that the funds needed are available over the long term. And the work can provide jobs for millions, for many years.
Heard Charlie's "Scary" Kuster=Obama=Pelosi ad on the radio this A.M.
I guess since he is admitting that he is going to just "pick up where he left off" his only hope at beating Anne Kuster is to air a 100% negative ad in the enclaves hoping to depress turnout.
Nice to see this ad From Kuster today that not only reminds voters of what "picking up where he left off" means, but also spends time talking about Anne will do for the people of NH.
We have less than 5 weeks to go. Have you volunteered for your candiate this week?
There is less than one week to go before the September 14th Democratic primary, and one candidate has proven herself as the only choice. Katrina Swett is the candidate who can win in November. She is our choice for the 2nd Congressional District, and we hope she will be yours as well.
Here is why Katrina Swett should be your candidate.
Over the past twenty-years Katrina has stood with Democrats in New Hampshire during the good times and during the lean times. She has never wavered in her commitment to progressive ideals, never ceased to fight for expanding health insurance as a right not a privilege, and never backed down from corporate lobbyists and big-moneyed special interests.
It's a relief to learn that Katrina Swett has reversed her position on requiring parental notification for teens seeking abortion. While Ann McLane Kuster clearly has a stronger record on protecting women's health and reproductive rights, it's important to acknowledge that many NH voters who consider themselves pro-choice feel conflicted about upholding the legal right of minors to receive confidential medical treatment.
As usual, hard-core social conservatives and anti-choice politicians have blown the issue of parental notification wildly out of proportion to what happens in the real world.
Kids in Keene are off to school today. My youngest is starts to Kindergarten, joining his sisters who are entering 3rd and 5th grade at Symonds School.
I've been thinking a lot about our Democratic Majority and why it matters. With back-to-school on my mind, let's try to run down some of the things we have accomplished over the past 4 years with our Democratic Majority:
House Bill 1523 will help protect kids from bullying on social networks and the like.
SB180 The final piece of a three-year legislative effort to define, determine the cost and ensure accountability for delivering an adequate education
SB 18 which ensures that all students either graduate from high school or otherwise continue their education until they are 18. This legislation has resulted in a 30% decline in the drop out rate in just one year!
Bolstered by Senate Concurrent Resolution 4, sponsored by Democrat Molly Kelly, Paul Hodes co-sponsored H.R 526 to fully fund the federal portion of Special Education costs a major driver of the cost of education. (Unfortunately it looks like this has died in committee, perhaps Congresswoman Kuster or Swett will take up this cause for us in DC.)
Remember when we were the only state in the nation to not have public kindergarten available for all? How embarrassing was that! Kindergarten is now available to every 5 year old in the state!
These are the things I could remember and find online.
What other improvements to Education are our kids enjoying because of our Democratic Majority?
(Senate President Larsen sent a fundraising email out today looking for help in supporting the Democratic Majority in the Senate Chamber. You can donate via their Act Blue Page.)
Just a word to counsel a little moderation on the Google Adwords strategy (for any candidate, really). Several dyed-in-the-wool NH Dems I know have expressed some annoyance at the blanketing of Annie ads that seem to be wherever they surf. One even remarked that they felt like they were being stalked. It may be a case of demographics, but just the same...visibility is good, but too much can backfire.
It's been almost a year since I posted a diary although I comment occasionally and lurk often. Politics has had to take a back seat to paying the bills and other energy draining activities that I never anticipated having to struggle with as I approached my 60th year. However, as the primary and the election approach the intensity of the fund raising has increased from the usual constant drone to a deafening cacophony. I hate it!
We kicked off our "30 house parties in 30 days" tour with a whirlwind this past week, visiting six living rooms, one retirement center, and one beautiful spring BBQ. I thought I'd take a minute to share what I've been seeing and hearing with you, to give you a sense of what kind of campaign we are running and what kind of a Congresswoman I will be if the voters of our district give me the honor of representing them in Congress.
With the Primary (September 14th) now 9 months away I thought we should do another round with the known candidates. (We will do this more often in the months ahead.)
The one week filing period does not even open till June 2 so there are plenty of time for others to enter the race.
That said, among our intentional candidates, if the primary was held today for whom would you vote?
Of course outcomes of this poll are not scientific as they only reflect the views of Blue Hampshire readers who choose to participate. Participation is free and easy (kinda like Sunday Morning) but you do need to be a registered user to play. Operators are standing by, get your account today.
(Still time contribute to Cheshire Dems Inauguration Anniversary Celebration. Looking forward to seeing Hamsters and Candidates tonight in Keene. - promoted by Mike Hoefer)
During election cycles Cheshire County voters elect the highest percentage of Democrats of any county in New Hampshire. To keep that distinction, the Democratic Committee organizes events, conducts Get Out The Vote canvasses, and provides logistical support to Democratic candidates. Our political community spends time and money to ensure voters are exposed to Democratic candidates and their message.
