It's official now, I'm running for office. | 15 comments (15 topical, 0 hidden)
Good luck. (none / 0)

I will support any competent (true) Independent, because I am rather sour on both major parties right now.  And I know that New Hampshire is a place where an independent can win.

Some of your positions either lack detail (which might be necessary for a general campaign website--you don't want to bowl people over with 60 pages of your thoughts), or are somewhat pallidly unobjectionable and thus not really the hard choices you will be asked to make (just about everyone is going to support innovation and job creation and oppose frivolous lawsuits).  I think it would be instructive for both us at TYT and (perhaps) you if you let us ask you questions, etc., to flesh out your positions when you are on the campaign trail. 

For example, what do you mean by "unreasonable restrictions" against the rights to bear arms? 

Or, to be more comprehensive, if you support adding funds to Lunch programs, First Responders, Teachers and Job-creating programs, and you are in favor of Pay-Go, and New Hampshire is deeply in recession, and you don't want a sales tax, what would you cut from the budget to afford these priorities? 

You mention that "we should stop playing partisan games," but your example of this is Pay-Go in the Senate.  Ironically, the only way for this legislation to pass would be by the Democrats voting via completely partisan lines (it is an appeal toward bi-partisanship which has derailed most of their agenda).  The people elected the Democrats into a strong majority under the hope that they would pass their (partisan by default) agenda, regardless of whether the minority party decided to support or oppose these initiatives.  Where do you stand on the line between "being partisan because you are part of the elected majority and this gives you a mandate to fulfill your legislative promises" and "forcibly bridging the partisan divide simply for the sake of attempting to govern the entire populace"?

by Milltycoon on 02/03/2010 09:48:54 AM EST

almost forgot (none / 0)
Almost forgot, PLEASE feel free to challenge me on the issues, if nothing else I need to make sure I have articulate explanations of my ideas. :-)

by gentimjs on 02/03/2010 12:42:54 PM EST

[ Parent ]
My original response got lost. (none / 0)
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It seems I accidentily over-wrote my original reply, so re-typing.


First, thanks for the feedback!

You are correct that my positions currently listed are a little short, and I'm working on getting more in-depth position descriptions written up. I wanted to get -something- up sooner, if that makes sense.


I would -strongly- encourage folks to challenge me or give me feedback, I want to make sure my responses/positions are articulate and follow logically.


On the specific issue you mentioned of unreasonable restrictions on the right to bear arms, NH has a pretty effective state-level position at the moment. I list it on my site as it's an important local issue, and people want to hear from someone who's more “on the left” that I don't want to take their guns. In this context, I'd consider an “unreasonable” restriction as something that prevents a law abiding citizen from responsible posession of a firearm in general. I don't have any issues against things such as waiting periods, trigger locks, and the like. They may be unpopular among gun owners, but don't restrict the right to own a firearm in the first place, so I see no conflict.


On the specific issue of healthy lunch, I've read a few case studies which showed healthy menus to cost less for schools then the current junk-food. My main priority is to focus on efficiency rather then cuts. There -are- some areas in the NH budget that are prioritized a little strange (public works going to under-used roads rather then highly-used, etc) but unlike conservatives I'd rather see such priorities sorted out rather then just “cut the spending”. I'm not sure if that really answered your question very well, I guess the main point is “the answer isn't always cuts” in my opinion.


The partisan issue is an -excellent- topic, and I think a good opinion on it might be better served by a stand-alone write up rather then a chunk in a comment. Check my site out in a few days, I think it's an important issue to talk about (speaking as an independent rather then a party member). In general, my “gut instinct” is that I feel personal priorities should trump party-line loyalties. My reason for being upset about the pay-go vote as an example is that some of those republicans who voted against it have been on the record supporting it in the past. Their party loyalty forced them to vote no, which forced all the democrats to vote party-line regardless of individual support, and the problem perpetuates itself.

by gentimjs on 02/03/2010 01:30:38 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Populist Plank Ideas (none / 0)
What does your populist platform look like?

Rail Rail Rail against corporations, lobbyists, and special interests groups.

Campaign on a mandatory 5 week~ paid vacation for all working Americans in companies with over 100 employees. The idea here is family over corporate profits.

Campaign to move state funds from large banks to small banks and credit unions. "Community oriented"

Campaign to increase the minimum wage which has been stagnant for decades. "Appeal to young voters"

Campaign on passing a luxury tax for products like yachts, mansions, 6 figure cars, etc and use that revenue to do something in your community.

by Young Turk 87 on 02/12/2010 08:13:37 PM EST

[ Parent ]
good ideas (none / 0)

Decent ideas, thanks!

I've been working up a list of "local issues" vs "macro issues" and doing brief positions on each, I'll certainly add those in. Most of the issues im actively focusing on are the "local" ones, since it's a state-level office, but showing support for the big picture will probably prove important.

by gentimjs on 02/13/2010 01:12:46 AM EST

[ Parent ]

It's official now, I'm running for office. | 15 comments (15 topical, 0 hidden)