For political junkies, one of the most exciting elements of attending Dartmouth is living in a state where politics are truly local. Between New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary and its enduring status as a swing state, Dartmouth students have access to a swath of candidate interactions and political organizing opportunities. New Hampshire’s engaging and fiercely independent political environment has proven too tempting for former Republican Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, who has decided to challenge incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., despite lacking legitimate ties to the state.
Born in Maine and raised in Massachusetts, Brown first won his U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts in a 2010 special election against a flawed opponent and amidst a national political climate moving quickly toward the right. After failing to defend his seat in 2012 from progressive favorite Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Brown has worked tirelessly to keep his name in the media and remain politically relevant. Following in the footsteps of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Brown took a job at Fox News and floated the possibility of running for a variety of political offices, including President in 2016.
After months of refusing to give a clear answer, Brown finally announced in March that he would form “an exploratory committee” to run for Senate in New Hampshire by touring the state and meeting with local business and political leaders. A mere three weeks later, Brown decided he had learned enough about the state to represent it and officially declared his candidacy.
However Brown frames his credentials, he remains completely ignorant to the needs of New Hampshire voters and has no ties to the state beyond occasionally frequenting a fancy summer residence in Rye. In fact, an embarrassing incident occurred recently in which Brown labeled the Affordable Care Act a “monstrosity” while speaking at the home of Republican State Representative Herb Richardson, only to be subsequently ridiculed by Richardson. The representative explained his Obamacare success story, and his wife remarked, “Thank God for Obamacare.” Brown has even admitted that he is poorly qualified, residentially speaking, to represent New Hampshire: “Do I have the best credentials? Probably not. ‘Cause, you know, whatever,” he told the Associated Press. “But I have long and strong ties to this state.” This hilariously inarticulate, politically devastating and painfully accurate response reveals a man who should not be running for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire.
Beyond his flagrant carpetbagging, New Hampshire voters should reject Brown’s candidacy for myriad other reasons, all rooted in the fundamental theme that Brown does not care about New Hampshire voters. For example, Brown refuses to sign the same People’s Pledge to keep dark money out of the race that he asked Warren to sign in 2012, despite repeated requests from the Shaheen campaign. Brown felt that Massachusetts voters deserved better than a race driven by special interests but will rely on these out-of-state, third party groups in his campaign.
While Shaheen has brought many growth projects to New Hampshire and expanded the state’s political, economic and social capital during her time as senator as well as her six years as governor, Brown’s allegiances lie with the Koch brothers and big oil. Shaheen devotes nearly all her free time to meeting with constituents around the state, including Dartmouth students. Meanwhile, Brown’s campaign Twitter reveals a candidate who spends most of his time exercising, playing guitar, pandering to the media and misspelling prominent New Hampshire towns and businesses. These missteps may seem trivial, but they demonstrate Brown’s lack of effort in understanding the state and the “service” he would provide.
Prominent political leaders have rallied to Shaheen’s defense and echoed the nearly endless criticism of Brown. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., joked that, “the Constitution guarantees every state two senators, but the Constitution does not guarantee every senator two states.” New Hampshire Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter has characterized the race as one between a workhorse and a show horse. New Hampshire voters, including Dartmouth students, should reject Brown’s self-serving candidacy and keep New Hampshire politics local.
