This weekend the ‘Defending the American Dream Summit’ was held in Columbus, Ohio and activists from New Hampshire were in attendance. Over 20 activists attended the annual American Dream summit held by Americans for Prosperity (AFP). Granite Staters from the ages of 16 – 62 traveled to Columbus together to attend activist training, hear keynote speakers and participate in various discussions throughout the weekend.
Over 3,600 activists from 36 states were welcomed by the city of Columbus where the event began Friday morning and went through Saturday afternoon, including a ‘Buckeye Bash’ where participants could relax and network at a local hangout to a live band. Discussions over the weekend included policy issues like the Export-Import Bank, Obamacare, Right to Work, Energy and Education.
New Hampshire State Director Greg Moore said it’s great to get AFP activists from across the country into one place to share knowledge and ideas about how to spread to message of economic freedom. According to Moore, AFP is the largest right-of-center grassroots organization in New Hampshire but they are only a smaller part of a much larger organization. Field Directors Ross Connolly and Michael Ciccio coordinated the activists from New Hampshire for the entire trip.
There are over 2.6 million activists in AFP across 36 state chapters. The ‘Defending the American Dream Summit’ is a great chance to bring top leaders together and have breakout training sessions to provide tools for activists to use in their states. There were even two New Hampshire House Representatives on board – Joe Sweeney (Rockingham District 8) and Josh Moore (Hillsborough District 21).
Both Josh and Joe are part of the younger group of representatives in the house. They both believe that a grassroots movement is extremely important and were attending the event to meet with others across the nation to exchange ideas. When interviewed Sweeney stated “ideas don’t work unless you do.” Both representatives believe in smaller government; lower taxes and more individual freedom.
John Spottiswood of Pelham turned the event into a family affair. Both he and his college sophomore son Mitchell attended the event. It was his son’s first political event of this size and he was eager to learn as much as possible. Mitchell says he gets his passion for politics from his Dad and learned a lot from the activist training. Spottiswood said he encouraged his son to research own his own and loves that he is young and involved. He said it’s just like sports, hunting or anything – “you introduce it and they can run with it.”
The New Hampshire Delegation also had the opportunity to have lunch with Ted Cruz on Sunday followed by more keynote speakers such as Senators Marco Rubio and Portman as well as former Governor Rick Perry. Of course Cruz, Rubio and Perry are all 2016 presidential candidates.
During the final keynote address Americans for Prosperity pointed out that the most important people of all the speakers and leaders were the activists. New Hampshire activists have made a huge difference in the state by fighting for smaller government and lower taxes. AFP does not endorse candidates but they do endorse good policies and fight against bad policies. The ‘Defending the American Dream Summit’ gave Granite State activists the chance to meet other activists, exchange ideas and get energized to continue their hard work.
