Numerous Concord Monitor Op-Eds, letters, and articles have focused on abortion as perhaps the top 2022 Democrat campaign issue. The dynamic was underscored recently by mailers that went out to many of our Canterbury and Loudon constituents criticizing our votes on HB2 last term, which simply precluded third-trimester abortions.
New Hampshire earlier claimed the nation’s most liberal abortion statutes, and HB2 aligned Granite State law with those of most other states, including liberal bastions like New York, which similarly restrict third-trimester abortions.
Such horrific procedures are thankfully rare and are clearly opposed by most people. So with our opponents highlighting the abortion issue, it’s fair to ask them if they are in accord with the apparently near-universal Democrat position (embodied by Senators Shaheen and Hassan) that favors unlimited abortion on demand. Hassan has been running ads on this issue, falsely accusing her opponent of seeking to ban all abortions nationwide—which is simply untrue.
The recent reversal of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision properly returned the issue to the states to address. Even many liberal legal scholars acknowledged major problems with “Roe,” as abortion is not mentioned in our federal constitution.
Efforts to make abortion a major issue reflect Dem attempts to energize a sullen base demoralized by the Biden administration’s disastrous performance in seemingly every area. It also reflects the Dem obsession with identity politics as progressives seek to paint conservatives as “anti-woman.” This approach insults the many thoughtful and principled women who do not support unlimited abortion on demand.
Our opponents two years ago similarly and unsuccessfully tried to exploit identity politics in their campaigns. Identity politics only serve to divide us, as proponents seek to cobble together voting coalitions of the angry and disaffected.
We prefer to celebrate and honor individuals on their own merits and seek consensus in trying to advance principles and policies that improve life in New Hampshire for everyone. Granite Staters recoiled at the radical bent exhibited by the Democrat legislature from two terms ago. So New Hampshire flipped both houses from blue to red in 2020—the only state to do such a flip—and New Hampshire has done well. By almost every measure, the Granite State is the freest and most prosperous state in the northeast. It’s no coincidence that the Granite State is also the most Republican. People are fleeing from blue states all over the country. Why would we want to turn New Hampshire blue?
The last Democratic gubernatorial opponent won about 1/3 of the vote and subsequently fled the state. That speaks volumes.
We encourage voters everywhere to engage and learn about all candidates and their positions on not just abortion but on every issue that deserves the attention of Granite Staters.
(Note: The Concord Monitor refused to run this Op-Ed submitted in response to the many pro-abortion pieces published in that newspaper.)
State Representatives Cambrils and Moffett are running for reelection in Merrimack District 4, which includes Canterbury and Loudon.
