Dartblog

Bob Clegg, a New Hampshire state legislator, stood out among the candidates present at the convention for his nuanced (?) approach to public policy issues. Clegg spoke about earmarks (none for hippie museums in New York, but some for naval bases in Portsmouth), healthcare (no free lunches, but keeping promises like Medicare and Medicaid), and government regulation (only good ones).

In the Republican primary for the 1st District, a seat currently held by Democrat Carol Shea-Porter, John Stephen and Jeb Bradley both addressed assembled students.

Stephen, head of NH’s Heath and Human Services Department, offered a folksy, principled platform. He spoke about bringing New Hampshire values to Washington, D.C. rather than the other way around. Sure to hit home with libertarian-minded Granite State Republicans, Stephen was adamantly opposed to pork and earmarks of all sorts and emphasized the freedom that comes with limited government and less regulation.

Jeb Bradley, former Congressman of the 1st district, and a small business owner and former NH state legislator also addressed the state convention. Congressman Bradley spoke about concrete solutions to difficult national problems including energy, immigration, heathcare, the 2nd amendment and fighting the war in Iraq. Bradley emphasized common sense solutions that rely on people and the free market rather than government intrusion. Bradley asked rhetorically in Reaganesque fashion, “When has government ever provided anything better than the free market,” and answering in the manner of P.J. O’Rourke saying, he has never seen things so expensive as when they are provided free by the government.