Sununu rising?
Regular readers here at the 'Grok know that for some time now, we have been wondering if Senator Sununu was ever going to engage both his opponent-- and, more importantly, the people of the Granite State-- ahead of the upcoming national elections. As Skip recently pointed out, a visit to the campaign website at the time certainly left one wanting. With an energized Granite State Democratic Party on the march flush with cash and willing volunteers behind the challenger Jeanne Shaheen, those of us that care about who represents New Hampshire in the US Senate have good reason to worry. To allow Jeanne Shaheen and the Democratic operation to define Senator Sununu with unanswered charge after charge has been cause for concern as the clock ticks and the days bring the election ever closer. Not to worry, the insiders are saying...
"The campaign has a time line and a strategy in place and is following that plan."
Hopefully they know best. The thing is, when it comes to Senator Sununu's record and performance in representing the Granite State down in Washington, he really does have a great story to tell-- all we want him to do is tell it! How many people realize he is considered one of a handful of the most respected fiscal watchdogs in the Senate? While Republicans in general are getting a well-deserved thrashing for their big spending ways in recent years, Sununu can honestly say that he has stuck to the fiscal straight and narrow, refusing to join the rest in the rush to spend.
The same is true when it comes to the environment. On this issue that is (rightfully) important to many Granite Staters, Sununu gets it just right. In New Hampshire, we have achieved a good balance between the needs of people and the protection of our environment-- this is obvious to anyone that pays attention. With such a beautiful place, we'd be crazy to ruin it. Yet, if you listen to the Democrats and their various comrades in certain special-interest groups, you'd think Senator Sununu does little else but rape, plunder, and ravage the countryside. As noted in an op-ed in this past weekend's New Hampshire Sunday News (Union Leader),
As predictably as the sun rises in the East, the Sierra Club last week endorsed the liberal candidate running for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire this year: Jeanne Shaheen. Sen. John Sununu's environmental positions are far too sensible to earn him the extremist Sierra Club's endorsement.
Exactly. Because, when it comes down to it, for these radical groups, the environment is just the grease that lubricates its real agenda: socialism and the abolishment of private property rights-- one of the main pillars of our Nation. Such groups will never endorse a John Sununu, no matter how "green" he might be, because that's not their true cause. The UL piece further noted that
Sen. Sununu's opponents casually label him anti-environment merely because he thinks, as many Granite Staters do, that the benefits of any environmental regulation ought to clearly outweigh the costs. That's not anti-green, that's pro-common sense. Granite Staters ought to be alarmed that Jeanne Shaheen does not share that sentiment.
This is a point that cannot be stressed enough. When you look beyond the hysterical rhetoric dished out by his detractors, one can see that Senator Sununu is for REAL things that have measurable and immediate impacts in the goal of protecting our environment, not just feel-good legislation that does little beyond raising taxes and empowering government.
And I'm happy to be able to report that Senator Sununu has not just left this matter to the Union Leader's editorial board to defend. He has stepped up, front and center, and made his case with an extensive editorial piece that appeared in Wednesday's Union Leader. It is up to us to actually listen to what he is saying. If New Hampshire's citizens do just that, they will undoubtedly agree that his positions match up rather nicely with where most Granite Staters are at when it comes to the environment. Writes the Senator,
LAST WEEK, activists across New Hampshire marked the 38th anniversary of Earth Day. These celebrations remind us of our responsibility to be good environmental stewards, but at the same time we must recognize that protecting our natural heritage is not a one-day event.Few states match New Hampshire's admirable record for protecting our water, air and land for future generations.
Add to that an admirable record in providing common sense and balance to what role government should play, and you have a Senator that we should proudly support to represent us in Washington DC. Make sure you read the Senator's piece in its entirety for his perspective on the environment, which is radically different that what his opponents are saying...
