In New Hampshire’s Second Congressional district, Conservatives lost their primary to an established, six-termed, self-described moderate Republican – in an unfortunate split. In 2010, with the Obama-Reid-Pelosi-induced conservative awakening, taking place wildly around the country, this was a bit of a setback. The alternative, however, is a freakishly left-leaning Progressive Statist, who believes that government should be included in every aspect of our lives, make all of our decisions, and wipe our noses, et al.
Not the best set of choices for Conservatives.
Some feel that we should vote for Charlie Bass, simply because he won the Party primary; some will hold their nose as they vote for him, but are not likely to provide any campaign support; some are considering a protest write-in; others prefer to do nothing.
Charlie saw the situation before him, and wisely decided to confront it head-on. A couple weeks ago, he approached his primary challenger, Jennifer Horn, asking for help. Jennifer received only 6% fewer votes, and maintains a very strong, loyal, conservative base, of which most have openly expressed their electoral consternation.
And so, a meeting was arranged for late Sunday afternoon, October 3rd. Over 100 of Jennifer’s closest supporters, from all over New Hampshire, received an invitation to her Nashua home, with the mission of listening to Charlie’s points of view, and expressing their own.
Unfortunately, Jennifer’s mother had just experienced a small stroke in up-state New York, one day before the meeting. Instead of cancelling, or just not coming, she decided to return to Nashua, for the benefit of her supporters, and for Charlie. “Charlie is a good man,” she said, and that “her affection and respect for him are real.” She added that she decided to come back, “as a favor to Charlie and for the benefit of her supporters.” Fortunately, her mother’s condition had sufficiently stabilized, and there were other family members remaining behind.
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Jennifer opened the meeting of 85 supporters, relaying the message that “This is not about one election. It’s an on-going effort, a consistent message, and about restoring honor and integrity to the political process.” She added, “I’m not asking you to vote for Charlie Bass, I’m only asking you to listen, ask questions, and to give him a chance to respond. Hopefully, you will leave united in purpose, to achieve the goals that we all share.”
Charlie addressed the crowd, appealing to their loss, explaining that he has “lost a few elections as well.” He proceeded to explain that he decided to enter the race when he learned that Ann Kuster was running. His aversion to her victory was clear.
Charlie then took questions from the crowd. About 10 hands went up immediately and the inquisition began. As it went on, the questions became more direct, demanding, challenging, and personal. As expected, Charlie tried to defend most of his positions, and even indicated that he “follows his convictions” and that some of us “may be disappointed with his choices.” I got the sense that people have never challenged Charlie so directly, from within his own party, and I’m sure it was a bit surreal for him. The hope of most in the room was that, although nobody expected to change Charlie’s mind on many issues, he heard the concerns, and the tone of desperation from this large group of Conservatives, who care very deeply about their country and are sufficiently frustrated with the lack of response and responsibility by those in Washington, DC.
The passion and emotion were quite palpable in the room. One guest notably said, “You are the only thing standing between us and an out of control Federal government; you are supposed to be our shield”, trying to convey their seriousness of the situation. Another guest told Charlie, “you do right by us, and we will stand by you, but only if you do what is right.”
Only time will tell how this plays out, and Charlie needs to win the general election first.
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I will give Charlie some credit here. Agreeing to attend a meeting with nearly 100 people, who are not happy with your victory and are disillusioned (to say the least) to the point where they aren’t sure if they can support you, answering their questions for two hours (in the home of your challenger, their candidate), is a demanding and hazardous situation to put yourself into. Yet, he needed to do this, and he did. I’m not sure how many people he convinced, but I suspect there were some who felt that they were, at least, able to air their grievances, and that perhaps, maybe…possibly…he heard them.
Jennifer closed the meeting, saying that “she believes in the system,” and that we should “create more opportunities to make our voices heard.” “I will be voting for Charlie Bass”, she declared, “Because Ann Kuster has made her living protecting the special interests.” She added, “Charlie Bass didn’t ask me to have my supporters vote for him, he asked for an opportunity to have a discussion with them, which I honored.” In conclusion, Jennifer invited Charlie to “come back in a year, to revisit the discussion, because the Conservative movement is expanding, and this is becoming a more conservative district”. She also warned “if we are not happy with our representation, we will run again” (emphasis on ‘we’) and will “put a true conservative in this seat.”
I suspect, unlike years past, that Charlie has his work cut out for him. This was a good start.