The Kevin Smith Effect.

So I'm reading a copy of the Littleton Courier newspaper. This is an advertising paper with a left wing slant that has been published since 1889.

There's a front page article about Kevin Smith for NH Governor.

It starts out, "With a degree in public relations and marketing in his back pocket gubnatorial hopeful Kevin Smith has his eye on job creation all the way and wants to become the Massachusetts governor's worst nightmare."

Good product differentation there. And be sure to piss off the largest adjacent economic climate in a New Hampshire depression.

I'm sure the campaign of Kevin Smith goes deeper than this so I'm reading on: "My philosophy is that the government doesn't create the jobs, but the government can create the atmosphere that brings the jobs here." Smith said.

More interesting.

Is this the definition of Keynesian economics from a conservative? He didn't say it but statements like this are usually accompanied by supporting public-private partnerships.

Isn't Solandra in California an example of this?

Pulling Down The Roof.

The possible entry of Steve Kenda into the Republican Gubernatorial race I think presents an interesting dynamic of not only who can win but

Who can lose.

Assuming a horse race between Lamontagne, Gatsas and a Kevin Smith grabbing a percentage if not all of the conservative base. So, if Kenda can get something even 2% of a statewide vote; this is enough to pull down the roof on one of the mainstream campaigns.

But which one.

Luck

"For some people lying is like breathing." -Dustin Hoffman

I'm not a television watcher. I don't have the time.

But several nights ago I saw a pilot for a series that I'm intrigued by. It's called Luck and it's on HBO. I'll let you watch the trailer to get an idea of what is going on here.

I see alot of parallels in New Hampshire pollitics. But I also see: Even when the chips are down don't ever give up.

Questioning The Councilor.

So after Congressman Bass responds about foreign trade I continue on the iniative asking Executive Councilor Ray Burton the following:

Q. "Councilor Burton you have told me and other constituents that you support the NH Rail Transit Authority, a quasi state agency that has no oversight and substantial contact and bonding authority to increase state indebtedness and costs to the taxpayers. How can you support this when there has been no evidence that passenger rail service between Concord and Boston would even be viable?"

Burton responds by talking about the Amtrak Downeaster and how Maine advanced this using Federal money. And how effective the Amtrak Downeaster is. I responded to this by offering a clarification that the Amtrak Downeaster was created by public referendum, over 500,000 signatures were collected and it was placed on and approved by vote in a public referendum. This doesn't exist in New Hampshire. So I followed up with another question:

Q. "Councilor how can you support a multi-million dollar proposal that probally isn't even viable, how many people from your district have been appointed to the rail authority and how many citizens of Manchester, Nashua and Concord are saying that they want this rail service?"

Burton responded by explaining that there would likely be a contract before the Governor and Executive Council to "study the feasibility of this rail service." As if this hasn't already been studied umpteenth times by every state Regional Planning Commission, Consultant and even Amtrak itself. Then the long-time Executive Councilor goes on describing the political process and how Governor Lynch makes his appointments including the influential former Sen. Peter Burling. And then he closed out his reponse by stating "New Hampshire has a long history of subsidizing mass transit systems, he cited Concord Trailways, now Concord Coach as an example "I support this." he said.

At this point Congressman Bass offered some comments to this Keynesian, big government, more taxes economic model:

"I remember when Manchester Airport was nothing more than a dilapidated hanger and parking was on the grass adjacent to the building for $1.00 if you choose to pay it." Congressman Bass said.

Then he described how far Manchester Airport has come in terms of development and what this has brought to transportation and economic development across the region. He also suggested that rail service into Manchester would assist in the development and create Manchester as a viable alternative to Logan Airport in Boston.

It was getting late in the evening and I decided against evoking a running debate as to how spending millions of dollars to run half-empty trains into Manchester is going to change the dynamics of an airport where ticket prices and parking are issues that can be resolved by just taking the bus into Boston's Logan airport.

It was good of these two elected officials to even offer this Town Hall meeting I think as time goes by and the next generation of individuals gets elected into offices like this this won't happen anymore.

They'll probably just do it online.

The Town Hall Questions.

So last night I'm headed southbound to the Bath, NH Congressional Church site of the Congressman Bass Town Hall featuring Executive Councilor Ray Burton as special guest. And I'm thinking as to how I'm going to approach this: I'm looking for answers to my policy question(s) but I don't want to cross some invisible line where questions become a nuisance.

Then I starting thinking about the political careers of both the Congressman and the Dean of the Executive Council. Clearly, their careers or even a percentage in the next election won't even register by their attempts to communicate with constituants on a raw January night in small town, or as Councilor Burton terms it rural America.

They don't need to be doing this.

So I'm now in the basement of the Congressional Church they'res some 25-30 people here including Bass staffers and the once Speaker of the NH House, Rep. Gene Chandler. Okay the introductions have been done, we do the Pledge of Allegiance and the Congressman gives a short speech about his career in politics and his concerns about the national debt making him want to run again after being defeated by Paul Hodes.

Then the questions start. They all run in themes of national debt, same sex marriages and what kind of legislation Bass is planning on filing for the next session. "I'm not blaming anyone." Bass said but he stated that he was advancing legislation calling for a reorganization of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the iniatives to increase high-speed bandwidth throughout rural areas of the U.S. including New Hampshire.

Billions of dollars have been spent here. Do you have high speed internet access in your community?

I hope the Bass legislation moves forward.

So I finally get a chance to ask some questions. I start out with the Congressman explaining that the Administration is now proposing a new round of trade enhancements to the Far East and the creation of a a Trans-Pacific Trade Zone comprised of China, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc. I explain that as a long distance truck driver I've spent some time in places like Long Beach, California and Laredo, Texas and I don't see how the U.S. can handle yet more imports and containers onto the already clogged infrastructure including ports, highways and rail.

Bass hadn't heard of this idea. Though he did state he would be get back to me with this information and if he supports what the White House is trying to do with respect to foreign trade.

To Be Continued...

Next Blog: Questions for the Councilor.