I will start by saying that I was saving this statement as a draft for filing time in 2 weeks, but I was really annoyed by the deceptive and disingenuous NH Journal article promoting Kelly Ayotte and thought “why not NOW?”
Some readers might already be asking who cares what I think because I’m just an ordinary commoner like most of us and it’s a very reasonable question. To that, I will point out that I am Chuck’s biggest critic because he voted the wrong way on 11/19/21 while many of us watched in appalling disbelief. However, believers and secular people alike do point out the merits of forgiveness and I am unfit to dispute them. This election cycle, I’ve been demanding that he make a PROPER amends to ALL of NH in the public square. As time has marched on, more and more people have resigned themselves to “suck it up” and vote for him as the lesser of two evils while I was stubbornly digging in my heels. I would regularly recall a politically astute person lecturing me, as a then-private citizen who “knows stuff,” that voting for the lesser of two evils is how we all got into this hot mess that we’re in. That was said to me over 2 years ago and this person’s tune has changed this year.
Chuck knew that I knew he was stumping locally on May 8 and was presumably expecting to be asked about 11/19/21. The NRCC forbids recording, so I can only give you my word of mouth and who the multitude of local witnesses were. In his speech, he said he has made mistakes. I immediately sat up straight in my seat and looked him in the eye from an unobstructed view. Whether or not he said that just for me is unknown and when it was time for questions, he took mine first and it wasn’t about the money. HB 1002 was/is a NASHUA issue and I’m more disgusted at the whole senate today for that than I am with Chuck for that one vote over 2 years ago.
So back to what I said earlier about a proper amends, I will share a few thoughts. I always knew right along that it’s not for me to decide for all of NH what counts as a proper amends. It’s in the eye of the beholder, that being each and every voter and plenty of like minded people have indicated that they’ve moved on from 11/19/21 in their minds. Another thought is about the institution of the apology, something that can easily turn into a separate essay. Some people just plain never apologize for anything, ever. We all know such people and that’s just the way they are and we accept it(meaning RECOGNIZE it rather than approving of it) and adapt accordingly. Such people include subsets of them who try to obtain a pardon from the harmed person/people with what I call the “substitute apology.” Much could be said about the substitute apology, also enough to make for a separate essay, but a few examples would be acting as though the transgression had never occurred, pretending to forget, or downplaying its magnitude. When Chuck said that he’s made mistakes, I won’t be so harsh as to call it a “faux apology,” but I can count it as a substitute apology. Let it be known that it’s unknown to me if Chuck is one of those people who never apologizes or not. I would point all ardent fact checkers to the people closest to him, but enough said with that. Let’s get back to the vote, particularly MY vote.
When Chuck was running for statewide federal office 2 years ago, most of my like minded brethren supported General Bolduc, but there was that stubborn holdout voting block supporting Bruce Fenton. I won’t get into rehashing out who’s who in that cycle of candidates, their transgressions before and after the primary, and their supporters. It’s all history and can be discussed separately, if desired, but one presently embattled Bruce Fenton supporter did write an editorial about his view of that primary race and how each voter’s vote varies in what it’s all about. Some people vote FOR a candidate. Some people vote AGAINST a candidate by choosing the strongest opponent. Some people’s votes are about a specific issue.(pot, bitcoin, foreign policy, endless wars, for example) What resonated with me about that particular editorial was the comment that said something like “my vote is all about ME.” Suffice it to say that YOUR vote is all about YOU, your values and what’s important to you.
When I look at my impending primary ballot and consider all the viable candidates appearing on it for all offices, Lily Tang Williams is the only viable candidate that is worthy of the office being sought. To put it another way, there are certainly decent people who run for office and I don’t know the whole slate for every community, but in the spirit of being realistic, I fancy myself as more of the “I don’t want to waste my vote” kind of voter. No disrespect against any decent people out there that are in a primary in their district. There are offices on my ballot that have incumbents unworthy of reelection or an incumbent that has no challenger, or both. However, I’m discussing the primary and the Corner Office, in particular.
In the governor’s race, I will acknowledge, just to go on record, that Councilor Warmington and Joyce Craig are both totally unacceptable and beating them is the highest priority, hence the importance of advancing a VIABLE candidate to the November ballot. That leaves Kelly Ayotte(packaged with her money, ties to the State Royal Family, and baggage) and I think others have come up with plenty of plausible reasons not to choose her, most of which I happen to agree with. So by using the process of elimination, I will be voting for Chuck.
