For weeks it had become strongly rumored that John Stephen was going to enter the Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire. It was exciting news to me as John is someone I have really come to respect – a lot.
Two years ago when I thought about running for the state legislature, John Stephen was one of two politically active individuals (Joe Briggs being the other) who showed a great deal of moral support towards my efforts. This is while other candidates I have supported were much more reserved in supporting my ideals and what I was doing.
John offered to put a sign in his yard during the 2008 primary and his campaign manager at the time was looking at ideas on cross promotion of campaigns had we won our respective primaries. We had several great conversations and I could sense a certain authenticity in John Stephen that I didn’t see every day in politics. Perhaps most disheartening to me at the time was not my failure to advance to the general election in 2008, but it was John Stephen’s loss to Jeb Bradley in the Congressional primary. I believed in John and was behind more as much as I have been behind any candidate for public office.
In 2009, John Stephen continued to be supportive of my efforts. Always complimentary of my efforts, it led to my ultimate excitement to support him for Governor.
Don’t get me wrong, just because John Stephen is a “nice guy” and supports what I have done does not automatically equate to an endorsement. John also has the right views on the issues for New Hampshire. He has worked in state government and knows the ins and outs of the process. He wants to return New Hampshire to the state that it once was. A state where there is no threat – ever – of a state sales or income tax. A state where spending is understood as the real problem and that we need to cut spending in order to survive. John deserves everyone’s support today. His campaign web site is up at http://www.johnstephen.com
Yes, I would agree with my friends that Jack Kimball is an outstanding messenger for smaller government. I would agree that either he or John Stephen would make an outstanding governor. However, John Stephen has proven to me personally that he is a person of integrity and is an individual of great principle.
Please join me in wholeheartedly and enthusiastically supporting John Stephen for Governor of New Hampshire in the September primary.
Thank you!
Cameron DeJong
I believe that people can change. I further believe that in order for us to see liberty succeed in our society, some individuals will have to change their mindsets on a variety of issues.
When I was 16 years old and a junior at Northside High School, I discovered liberty in politics for the first time. It was financial guru Harry Browne’s articulate message of liberty that took me from being a Freshman/Sophomore fiscal liberal to fine tuning my message towards one of consistent freedom.
I recall my United States history teacher telling me that I would grow out of my constitutional Republican ideals as I matured and got into the so-called “real world.” Here I am today, as consistent in liberty as ever. I still believe through all the change in the world that the best ideas are founded in individual freedom – socially and economically. I believe that the best vehicle with which to spread the ideas and to reach those means is through working with like-minded individuals in developing plans of action to show voters how liberty is indeed the best answer.
That said, we sometimes get very excited when a new person or idea comes forth. Scott Brown comes immediately to mind. He was an afterthought when polling well behind Martha Coakley. Then he jumped into a pick up truck and said the buzz words “Tea Party.” During this time, his poll numbers increased. As a state political figure in Massachusetts, Mr. Brown supported the government-run health care system that is in place today. He was moderate on a variety of other issues. However, the excitement of his polling increases were minimal in the minds of activists who wanted to see the seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy go to a Republican.
Excitement is a great thing and we should all be forthright in expanding our energy when the causes are right. We must be careful in the meantime. We must take a more diligent approach to ensuring that the candidates we support support the principles of freedom. Scott Brown has already proven that he does not subscribe to the principles of freedom by supporting a billion dollar job bill in Massachusetts. His moderate stance on this and other issues may win him new fans, but we must remember those he was “preaching” to in order to get elected. But still I say, we must take individual responsibility to know our candidates philosophical viewpoints and know if they are or are not consistent before jumping on their bandwagon.
To me, the principles of freedom and individual liberty can and must not be compromised. Sure, we may have a variety of means with which we present our message of liberty. Debra Medina in Texas and Rand Paul in Kentucky are suggesting liberty in a variety of terms that I believe will lead to the same, beneficial end result.
That result, must however, be the same. Maximizing liberty and freedom should be forthright in the minds of anyone who subscribes to the true, original meaning of our founding fathers. We must be philosophically consistent and know those around us and know if they are preaching a bad gospel or are really on our side.
Further, we must continue to work without delay in helping everyone share our belief that a society where individuals are truly free is a society that is most prosperous for all.
Cam DeJong
“Wow!”
That has been my expression since the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts. In a prior post, I stated my reasons for where Brown is not necessarily liberty-friendly. However, the winds of change have blown him into office.
Reflecting on 1994 again, it is essential that in 2010 we elect authentic lovers of liberty to office in New Hampshire, in your state, and to represent us in Washington, DC. I do see many individuals picking up the “tea party” banner who are not necessarily in step with the principles of liberty. The good news is that it is easy for us to pick off those individuals and call them on the spot.
“Wow! Wow!”
Another expression after yesterday’s Texas polling results. This is a key point to being able to tell who is truly a tea party patriot and who is not. Rick Perry tried to appeal to a group of voters last year by saying he would consider secession if the federal government didn’t find its way out of Texas. He has tried to embrace the Tea Party movement and was endorsed by Sarah Palin, who has taken on in the eyes of many the de facto leader of the tea party movement. Kay Bailey Hutchison is clearly seen as the Washington insider and has been dropping in the polls. However, the voters of Texas are showing that they understand the true patriot movement. Debra Medina has gone from 12% a few weeks ago to 16% and then yesterday up to 24%. Hutchison is at 28%. When you consider the margin of error, Medina could be in second place. Perry is far away from the 50% needed to avoid a run off.
So what is being seen here? Voters who are anti-Washington are burying Hutchison’s prospects of getting into the run off. In fact, Medina polls best amongst those who do not trust the politicians in Washington, DC. So Perry’s attempted use of the tea party movement is not fooling anyone. The Texas election is March 2, 2010. If Medina can continue to spread her message, I am confident we’ll see a “Scott Brown-like” result. The difference is that Debra Medina is a TRUE patriot and stands for the principles of liberty and the principles of the Constitution. Please offer your support to her at http://www.medinafortexas.com today.
In New Hampshire, the winds are certainly blowing in the right direction. On February 16th, several New Hampshire liberty lovers will have an opportunity to elect David Boutin to the NH Senate. If you live in Hooksett, Bow, Candia, Dunbarton, and Manchester Wards 1, 2, and 12, make sure you get out and vote on February 16th. David Boutin’s web site can be found at http://www.boutinforstatesenate.com.
Just as exciting, liberty candidate for NH Senate Jim Forsythe is having a kickoff event on February 25th in Laconia, NH. Jim is an outstanding individual and has the right message to win his Republican primary in September. You can find out more about Jim’s campaign at http://www.jimforsythe.com/In addition to Jim, I am confident we’ll see more work in the coming days and weeks from even more liberty friendly candidates for Governor, Senate, and House.
Here in Manchester’s Ward 2, I look forward to working with one or two other candidates to reach the voters in our ward with the best message ever – that of liberty.
While I talk a lot today about other states and the national level, I believe in my heart of hearts that all politics is indeed local. I look forward to the good and strong wind continuing. That, my friends, is the wind of liberty!
Cam
Last night I followed as dozens of my friends on Facebook cheered the victory of Scott Brown in Massachusetts. Many of these friends are what I would consider “Constitutional” Republicans – or in other words – those who share a very similar belief system to mine.
My response was that the best bet out of Brown’s win was that the health care legislation in the Senate would go nowhere. In that, we would at least have a really good chance of keeping control of our health care. However, will Brown help liberty or will he be more of the same? Looking at the issue of health care, it must be stated that Brown supported more government involvement in Massachusetts. One can hope this doesn’t carry over to Washington, DC.
I won’t try to predict what Scott Brown will do as a Senator. I will say that I liked the ideas of Joe Kennedy much more, but even the most unrealistic idealist had to understand that it wasn’t his election to win. Despite the difficult situation he had to attempt victory, this Kennedy understands the principles of liberty and I hope he remains active in the political arena.
So what is liberty and how will Scott Brown improve it as a Senator? Liberty to me means being less involved in the affairs of foreign countries. It means if anything, we need to be taking care of those in our homeland before anywhere else. The ultimate goal here being that individuals are self-sustaining and care is taken of them by their families, friends, and communities. Liberty to me means allowing individuals to have the ultimate decision making power over their own lives. Liberty means not being bought and paid for by the highest bidder (corporate favors come to mind). Based on what I have seen, Scott Brown supports more involvement in foreign affairs. Scott Brown, as I stated, supported a government involvement in healthcare as an elected official in Massachusetts.
I hope and pray that Scott Brown will realize that the tree of liberty goes much deeper than the issue of health care. I hope that he sees that the role of the federal government should never be that which he helped legislate in Massachusetts.
More importantly, I hope that my friends in New Hampshire and beyond realize the same. I dearly hope and pray that Scott Brown becomes a knight in shining armor for liberty and not the beginning of a terrible rerun of the Republican disaster of 1994.
Freedom does bring us all together – if we understand the power of the word.
Cameron
The move towards liberty continues to accelerate. While some of the candidates involved are not quite there on what I would call a “liberty litmus test”, we do have a lot of potential to turn the direction necessary for maximum individual freedom.
Scott Brown in Massachusetts is an example of someone who I don’t agree with on all issues, but I believe to be more of a friend to liberty than would be his Democratic opponent. The main issue in his race is that of health care. He can be elected next Tuesday and help block the government takeover of healthcare – called by many “Obamacare.” While we need a tremendous overhaul of health care in America, I believe a lot has to do with deregulation (i.e. deregulate the use of alternative medications) versus more government intervention – and ultimately higher costs. Sure, I don’t agree with Brown on foreign policy and other issues, but the health care debacle in Washington has us closer to centralized government than any other issue at this time.
In Texas, Debra Medina showed a good streak of liberty in an articulate debate performance against Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Rick Perry. Medina helped demonstrate what is wrong with those currently in power – including how out of touch they are with America today.
In Kentucky, Rand Paul continues to impress the masses with a mostly consistent message of liberty. Just months ago, he was double digits behind Trey Grayson. Today, his message of individual liberty and freedom has resonated well in Kentucky and he has become the person to beat in the GOP primary. Now with Manchester, NH political superstar Andy Demers working on his campaign, I think we will continue to see great things.
More candidates throughout the country should continue to open more eyes to liberty. Peter Schiff in Connecticut hasn’t quite swung the door open in the public opinion polls, but it may be only a matter of time.
The list continues, but the point is that the move towards liberty has been greater than I would have ever imaged a few years ago. The key is that those who are leading the liberty movement need to be checked by every liberty loving voter to ensure that they are true to the principles of freedom and liberty. In New Hampshire, I hope we see more and more individuals come forth for the liberty movement. I generally support Frank Guinta and also think highly of Bob Giuda and Jennifer Horn in their races for US House. In the state races, Jim Forsythe will be an outstanding candidate for State Senate. There are countless others I am sure.
On the state representative level, when the filing time comes, I hope I am just one of dozens – if not hundreds – of liberty candidates looking to serve the citizens of New Hampshire.
For me, it all starts in Manchester NH. I hope you see the potential for liberty as I do and that you work for it wherever it is you may be in 2010.
Let’s work harder than ever to make liberty happen!
Cam
My first election as a selectman has come and gone. I had an enjoyable time working with other election officials and with the voters in Manchester Ward 2.
I am also glad to congratulate Dave Boutin on his primary victory. I will work hard to ensure his victory in Senate district 16. The election is on February 16th.
That said, I am dismayed that there was a lot of misinformation brought up in the primary about his opponent Terry Pfaff. The Terry Pfaff I met was a person who was opposed to an income tax, opposed to a sales tax, was pro-life, and was pro-2nd amendment. Unfortunately this was not portrayed accurately by opponents. I hope that clean and honest campaigning will be the centerpiece going forward.
Again, I had a great time today and look forward to success for liberty in February and beyond.
Cam
On Tuesday January 12th, we have a primary in Ward 2 and other areas of State Senate District 16. In the Republican primary are two good candidates – Dave Boutin and Terry Pfaff.
Convention wisdom would suggest that I support Boutin over Pfaff. Afterall, he’s endorsed by three groups I support – The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, the NH Republican Liberty PAC, and the Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers.
With all due respect to those groups, I believe that Terry Pfaff will be a much more liberty-friendly Senator. I appreciate the fact that he has run a clean campaign (from what I’ve seen), while I’ve seen some pretty ugly mailers from Boutin. While I’ll never realize my dream that all politics will be run cleanly, I can wish for it in this race and it does affect my vote.
A couple of points and counterpoints.
1. I hear that people oppose Pfaff because of his firefighter/union connections. How can we paint all people in a group as being the same? My mother is a teacher, but I can assure you she is not pro-union and she is very conservative.
2. In Boutin’s campaign literature, he states that Terry Pfaff refuses to take ‘THE taxpayer protection pledge opposing a sales and income tax.” Terry has been very clear in saying he supports no income tax and no sales tax. Can we not take the candidate at his word? Sure, trusting politicians is difficult, but I’m ready to give Terry the chance. Plus, signing a pledge is just as easily broken as one’s word.
I have talked with Terry, mostly via e-mail. He is very supportive of the 2nd Amendment (a gun owner himself). He proclaims to be very pro-liberty and when he worked in Concord he was only paid on days he worked. He says that the assertions that he is pro choice are a lie.
Terry Pfaff has a good list of endorsements. He is supported by Ted Gatsas and he received a contribution from former governor Craig Benson.
In the end, I’ll be voting for Terry on Tuesday. I was glad he reached out to me and asked for my help. I am glad to have gotten very upfront answers to any questions I’ve had.
When the dust settles Tuesday, I’ll surely support whichever candidate wins the Republican primary. I hope that clean campaigning prevails and that Terry Pfaff is that individual.
Please feel free to share your thoughts on this important election.
Cam
Everyone is saying it. “Time flies!”
It is amazing how fast 2009 went by. In fact, I remember 2000 and the Y2K scare like it was yesterday. With the time flying by, what has happened?
I’m fortunate to have been able to get a great education at Elon University and work for a great company today. I am fortunate and thankful for the great friends and family I have. When I moved to New Hampshire several years ago, the fear ran through my veins. I didn’t know if I’d make the new bonds necessary to excel. I am thankful for the fact that I have been able to do so.
We have a lot of work to do in 2010 – as a nation, as a state, and me as an individual. We all set our great new year resolutions. Whether it be to “stop eating out all the time” or to “exercise five times per week”, it is usually commendable come the end of the year when you can say “I did it!”
But on the national and state level, there is “fat” and “too much eating” that must be trimmed through a program that does not include eating out on the taxpayer’s dime and includes exercise in the form of cutting spending in unnecessary places.
A workout program would include focusing on the areas in the Constitution. We should remain within the bounds of the Constitution. Let’s equate that to working on the six pack of abs. Not only do we have to work hard to cut the spending, but we have to keep our eyes on the spending that we keep going and ensure that the shape remains intact. Six pack abs are not easy to obtain and keeping them can be as challenging with the numerous outside interest groups. In New Hampshire government, I plan to stand up for the “six pack abs” and will never give in to any outside forces trying to influence me otherwise.
A proper diet means that we may not go out to eat for fast food every day of the week. In state government that could be correlated with coming up with a new law to “fatten the books” every day. Do we really need to legislate every aspect of the lives of individuals? I would argue that we need to legislate much less. That could mean that we put a hard stop on eating out and cook at home. “At home” in this instance means leaving the decisions up to individuals and families in their own homes. I’d take a home cooked meal (individual/family freedom) any day over the influences/decisions of the masses (eating out).
Crazy analogies? Sure. But the point is the same. We can always set our resolutions, but we must also plan to stick with them throughout the year. If we get to December 31, 2010 and can say that we met our resolutions to the highest degree, we’ll feel great as individuals – not only for our six pack abs and our great healthy diet – but also for the state and federal governments running within the means of liberty and the Constitution.
Here’s to a happy and prosperous new year!
Cam
I was communicating with a friend this morning about spending in New Hampshire and in Manchester.
The point was well made that much of the problem with local spending comes from the out of control spending in Washington DC.
From billions in foreign spending and misguided crime fighting under the alias of a “war on drugs” (former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson will certainly address this when he speaks in Concord on January’s 23rd), there is deep concern.
Lets imagine this wasteful spending is ended. Would it be eliminated from the budget or passed along to another department? Should we spend billions more on education and health care? Those are questions our elected officials in DC must answer.
When it comes to NH, we are very much affected by money in DC. The proposed seatbelt law comes to mind immediately. We are told that if we follow the wishes of the federal government, money is sure to follow. DC also does a job of hanging fruit in the mask of money if states adopt ideas in way of education, social policy, and so forth. Even more outlandish is the idea of the federal government offering a matching fund to states and municipalities, something many elected officials at all levels have trouble saying “no” to.
So answer me this. Does the money in DC grow on a tree? Or does it come from you and me? Certainly it comes from us. So the consequences of such legislation are found in more debt and less freedom. Do we really want more centralized government or would you join me in respecting the decisions of the state, outlined by strong belief in constitutional principles.
Back to the initial conversation. What do we do domestically if we were to stop unconstitional spending? The fear from outside the circles of liberty is that we would stop spending overnight on everything found to be unconstitutional. That to me is not realistic. I would encourage a process of weening off of government programs domestically and in the process show what a true free market can help provide in a true free society. If we do not open our minds and hearts to liberty, the unintended consequences as we perceive them will bankrupt our freedoms and finances.
Below is an editorial written by John H. Sununu and John Stephen. I supported John for Congress in 2008 and he has been very supportive of my efforts as well. The key here is corruption – whether it be in health care, national defense, or any other bill that comes before Washington DC or Concord NH. Downsize DC has been promoting the “Read the Bills Act”, which would require legislators to read bills before voting on them. All too often, bills are loaded with pork (corruption) that leads to increased spending. In some cases, this spending initially leads to increased borrowing. Others in politics are not afraid to simply spend more. The problem in DC is that spending when you’re account balance is in the negative trillions is detrimental to our society. In Concord, there is no money to be spent either. The scare here is that some in Concord believe this to be an opportune time to bring forth the prospect of an income and/or sales tax as the only thing that can “save” New Hampshire. It is my belief that getting spending under control and understanding the principles of liberty are key to success for all in our great state.
The editorial initially blames Democrats for the problems with this bill. While I would agree with this, we must also remember to never blindly look at Republicans when it comes to other bills that have passed in recent years.
Without further delay is a paragraph of and link to the editorial. Thank you to Mr. Sununu and Mr. Stephen for putting this one together.
John H. Sununu and John Stephen: A bad bill born from Washington corruption
THOSE FOLLOWING the recent passage of the health-care reform legislation in the U.S. Senate have been treated to a perfect example of why congressional approval ratings are rapidly approaching historical lows. The events of the past two weeks have shown that power politics and corruption continue to run this Democrat-controlled Congress.
Read more by clicking here.
Credit: UnionLeader.com – Published Sunday December 27, 2009