In a famous commercial from many decades ago, consumers of sugary sweet drinks and junk food felt regretful afterwards and lamented, “Wow, I could’ve had a V-8,” referring to a healthy beverage that would have been much better for them and much more satisfying. Many voters in New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District who recently voted for Maggie Goodlander, the winner of the CD2 race, may eventually have a similar feeling of “buyer’s remorse” and wish that they had voted for her opponent Lily Tang Williams.
It might surprise some of those who voted for Goodlander that 87.5 % of her campaign contributions — almost 3 million dollars — came from donors outside of New Hampshire. In contrast, Lily’s campaign garnered less than $200,000 in out-of-state contributions. Considering that those who win elected office are beholden to their campaign contributors to a certain extent, to whom will Goodlander be beholden? Will she represent the residents of the NH district that elected her or the wealthy contributors who financed the constant barrage of TV commercials that lauded her as the perfect choice for CD2?
We want to thank Arlene for the Op-Ed. Send yours to steve@graanitegrok.com
Lily’s campaign could not afford the sort of superficial TV ad campaign that Goodlander relied upon financed by her wealthy out-of-state contributors. Instead, Lily’s supporters conducted a passionate door-to-door campaign supplemented by personal appearances of their candidate at local meetings and events, some of which could have been debate opportunities if her opponent had accepted that challenge. Lily’s inspiring story of growing up during Mao Tse-tung’s Communist regime and then fleeing the oppressiveness of China as a young adult to seek a new life of freedom in America, was told door to door and many of those who had never heard it before were instantly inspired to support Lily.
But the clock ran out before enough doors could be visited. Lily’s opponent avoided any confrontational appearances in which she would have been held accountable for the policies she supported. Goodlander waited until the last week of the campaign when she could no longer refuse invitations to debate. At their final appearance together at a WMUR debate, just a few days before Election Day, Lily called Goodlander out on her carpetbagging effort to suddenly rent an apartment in the district she sought to represent after spending years in Washington, DC. She exposed Goodlander’s inauthentic attempts to sympathize with constituents with an amazingly authentic and explosive debate performance that inspired Robert Kennedy, Jr. to endorse her at the last minute and to garner shout-outs from Joe Rogan and numerous other media influencers. Had Lily had just a bit more time, her story would have gone viral in a way that would have ensured her victory. Instead, Goodlander’s insidious campaign tactics succeeded as superficiality triumphed over substance. Her victory was just another example of how money can buy elections.
It will become increasingly apparent that Goodlander has been an active member of the Washington, DC “swamp” for most of her career. Lily Tang Williams would have genuinely and effectively represented New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District and would not have been beholden to any outside influences. She would have helped drain the DC swamp that Maggie Goodlander has been a part of for years.
We can only hope that Goodlander’s influence will be subdued by her being a member of the House minority until 2026. By that time, everyone will know about Lily and her efforts to prevent our country from becoming like China, the country that she left so many years ago. In two years, remember that Lily is the “V-8” that our country so desperately needs.
