Raymond Buckley: Vote for fighters, vote for Democrats

In case you missed it, the Union Leader published an op-ed by NHDP Chair Ray Buckley laying out how much is at stake in this election and the disastrous effects of the Republican-led state leadership in New Hampshire.

Read the full op-ed here.

Raymond Buckley: Vote for fighters, vote for Democrats

IN JUST a few short days, Granite Staters from the North Country to the Seacoast have the opportunity to elect strong, responsible leaders who represent our Granite State values. Whether in our federal offices, Executive Council, or state legislature we can elect leaders who will fight for New Hampshire families.

Under our current Republican state leadership, Granite Staters are suffering from skyrocketing energy prices, rising property taxes, a severe housing affordability and availability crisis, and a coordinated attack on health care and reproductive rights. Chris Sununu and our Republican state legislature have failed New Hampshire time and time again in the last two years, and Granite Staters are paying the price for their failures.

Chris Sununu signed into law a state budget, crafted solely by state Republicans, that included New Hampshire’s first modern abortion ban. This ban made no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomaly, but included mandatory invasive ultrasounds and criminal penalties for doctors. The budget also included tax breaks for millionaires and an extremely harmful school voucher scheme.

Since then, Sununu’s hand-picked Executive Council Republicans voted to defund Planned Parenthood four separate times, threatening access to birth control, STD testing and treatment, cancer screenings, and other essential health care services that families all across New Hampshire rely on.

New Hampshire Republicans are willing to go even further. They proposed a six-week abortion ban, which would ban legal abortions before most women even know they’re pregnant. They voted to support a bill allowing any man, even a stranger, to go to court to stop a woman from getting an abortion.

They passed curriculum bans with severe penalties for teachers found in breach of the vaguely worded legislation. When Sununu signed the bill, nearly all of his diversity council resigned in protest. Shortly after, a conservative group closely allied with Sununu appointee and longtime pal Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut began offering bounties on New Hampshire teachers.

Sununu vetoed 11 pieces of legislation that would have diversified New Hampshire’s energy marketplace and mitigated the worst aspects of the energy crisis we’re in today. Instead, he catered to Eversource, a top donor of his re-election campaign, which has more than doubled its rates, now the highest in New England.

New Hampshire Republicans even put forward legislation to have New Hampshire formally leave the United States by seceding from the union.

These failures have resulted in a state where people who want to be here cannot afford to live or work, so they have to leave. Students who go to college here cannot afford to stay. Talented young professionals, especially teachers, cannot afford to risk their careers and livelihood because of the relentless attacks the New Hampshire GOP has made on our educators. It’s a tragedy.

Under Republican leadership, we are becoming a state we don’t want to be.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire Democrats are fighting for the issues that truly affect the lives of Granite Staters. They’re fighting to codify Roe v. Wade into our state law, which Sununu has refused to do. They’re fighting to fund Planned Parenthood and other family care centers to provide New Hampshire women with affordable health care. They’re defending and expanding Medicare, standing up to Big Pharma and Big Oil, and lowering the costs of prescription drugs. They’re fighting for affordable housing to bolster our state economy and keep workers in New Hampshire.

That’s what Granite Staters need — people who are going to fight for us. From the U.S. Senate to county offices, we need to elect fighters. We need leaders who are going to get the job done and who won’t give up on us. We need leaders who aren’t going to back down to the far-right extremists and will stand up for the Granite State values that we hold dear.

On November 8th, vote for the fighters that are bringing us real results. Vote for Democrats all the way down the ballot.