Doors Close & Doors Open

It certainly is not extremely profound to state that people are different – and we each have our own way of processing information and making decisions. For example, my wife is one of those people where things are black & white, right or wrong. She has the ability to stay focused on a goal and block out distractions in order to keep moving forward. I on the other hand tend to see things from a broader perspective and can easily get distracted into what seems to be something totally unconnected to the decision at hand. So keeping that in mind, it shouldn’t seem odd that I’ve spent a great deal of time lately thinking about politics as a way to explain what and why certain things and decisions are made. Basically, I tend to think that opinions cause us to often fall within a political spectrum of beliefs. Again, nothing terribly earth shattering! Wikipedia defines political spectrum “as a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes symbolizing independent political dimensions.” We are all familiar with terms like right (conservative), center (moderate), and left (progressive), however I’m of the opinion that most of us fall into being in the center and thus hopefully able to see parts of both sides of an issue. But there’s more to a spectrum than just these three categories – and I believe that the political spectrum is an oval versus a straight line, where the extremes (right & left) meet and discover they have more in common with the opposing extreme then they had thought. It is like coming full circle where an ultra-extreme libertarian meets up with an ultra-radical anarchist and they find that they are in sync and on the same page. Scary – I know – maybe my wife is right and I do have too much free time on my hands! *** For the most part – I am convinced that NH candidates run for political office with the best of intentions and while they all fit into a political spectrum; their motives are honorable and it’s certainly not for the money. Also, historically those in the center (moderates) reflect the views of most voters and are normally the most successful. Needless to say there are exceptions to this rule, as demonstrated by the present outgoing legislature, however traditionally those elected want to do what they envision as the peoples’ business, which is where it gets tricky. Voters interestingly have the responsibility to identify which candidate best reflect their views (where they fit on the spectrum) and who’ll be the most effective for their community. Unfortunately, in this day of less media focus on statehouse issues, this isn’t as easy as it sounds and can be difficult. FYI – for those candidates who are incumbents or have previously served in the legislature there is a record that is accessible on-line at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/default.htm - the NH Legislature web site. Also there is a new bi-partisan entity called the Live Free Or Die Alliance (www.LiveFreOrDieAlliance.org ) that provides important information about NH issues and promises to provide everything you want to know about NH elected officials and political candidates. This is a non-partisan group of individuals so if you don’t find your candidate has responded, perhaps you should ask why and what don’t they want us to know? Candidates also receive many position questionnaires and, if they are serious they will complete them so as to keep the public informed. The only exceptions are those questionnaires that are un-biased and slanted. However, there are numerous legitimate interest groups that will solicit a candidate’s viewpoint, although some may be narrow and specific in their scope. Hopefully, local and statewide media and community groups will be another tool to better inform us as to where each candidate stands on the issues facing the State. *** So as the door opens relative to the process of picking a new legislature – an old door will be closing. On Wednesday the legislature will meet for the last time, assuming no emergencies or natural disasters arise, to deal with vetoes by the Governor. He has vetoed a total of thirteen bills – eight generated by the Senate and five from the House. The vetoed bills range from HB 149 that would prohibit the federal government from using or maintaining information from NH motor vehicle records, to HB 1607 that would use NH tax dollars to fund private schools and defray the costs of home schooling. Governor Lynch also vetoed SB 289 which requires a person to have a photo ID in order to vote, and SB 372 that establishes an education credit against the Business Profits Tax, which he believes will only down shift more education costs to cities and towns. Also among the vetoed bills to be decided will be SB 409 that legalizes medical marijuana. In total there are 13 bills that were vetoed, which should cause for another full day. But as my very common sense French-Canadian mémère always used to say - when one door closes another opens.