The words “We the people” and the short prologue that introduces our founding document should haunt us now. So many of us claim distrust in our government. So many point to the greed and selfishness of politicians and their cronies. So many blame the powerful and connected for the corruption that has brought us to the state we’re in today— a state of paralysis on climate change, a state of wanton killing of innocents, a state of intractable systemic racism, a state of growing poverty and profiteering through health care and housing. But as long as we continue to cast votes for those who fail to address these problems that threaten the future of our republic we have only ourselves to blame.
Right here in New Hampshire, voters continue to ignore the larger problems that confound us, choosing instead to vote for the empty promise of “small government” and “lower taxes.” Look at the mess that is our state Legislature. The radical Republican sideshow that has turned Concord into a right-wing carnival is no accident. It’s a result of “we the people” greedy for lower taxes and selfish in some quasi-libertarianism that benefits from all the good public works and infrastructure built by past generations but refuses to invest (or regulate itself) for those coming. Instead we get laws that infringe on a woman’s privacy, laws that promote lies of election fraud and laws that weaken public education.
We need to look no further than the tip of our own noses to understand why the words “insure domestic tranquility” and “promote the general welfare” ring hollow against the backdrop of our current civic life. That we should reward Gov. Sununu and the Republicans this fall with continued power would only be a shameful reflection of our own corruption.
Jan. 6 has removed the veil. The only sane choice is to vote for Democrats and force a reckoning within the Republican party. Are they Trump or are they of their own sound mind?
James Graham
Lyme
Gray is ready
for Washington
Vermonters have an opportunity to elect an uniquely qualified individual to represent us in Congress, a person with a broad set of skills and experiences well matched to the requirements of Washington D.C. That person is Lt. Gov. Molly Gray. Molly grew up on a farm on the banks of the Connecticut River. After graduating from UVM, she went to work helping to elect our current Congressman Peter Welch, helped start his congressional office, then worked for 3½ years as the Congressional Affairs Adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in their DC office. There she worked with Congress to promote US compliance with the Geneva Conventions and support humanitarian assistance.
Molly has worked internationally as well and will be a champion for smart foreign policy and human rights. While working in the ICRC in Washington DC, she led field missions of congressional staff to Haiti, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Western Balkans and Georgia. She launched a human rights monitoring program and led its first missions into East Africa, Iraq and Nigeria. Later in her career, she completed a specialized legal masters degree in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. She worked to train local and national human rights organizations, worked with foreign leaders and U.S. Embassies abroad. She has navigated complex environments, challenging security and human rights issues.
Along the way, Molly earned her JD at Vermont Law School in South Royalton and was an assistant attorney general before being elected lieutenant governor. Molly Gray knows Vermont and knows how Washington works. She will be ready to hit the ground running from day one and will represent us well from the moment she takes office. Molly gets things done! Please join me in voting for Molly Gray in the upcoming Democratic primary and in the general election in November.
Jim Masland
Thetford Center
State Rep. Jim Masland, a Democrat, represents Norwich, Sharon, Strafford and Thetford in the Vermont House.
Support repair
of Lebanon’s track
The track at Lebanon High School is a community resource utilized by a wide range of Upper Valley residents, athletes of all ages, and other groups. The depredations of weather exacerbated by a poor drainage system have left it unsafe to use.
We have organized a group of residents, public officials, business leaders and runners to raise the funds necessary to complete one-time infrastructure repairs and install a state-of-the-art running surface. The “Bring Back the Track” committee has partnered with the Friends of Lebanon Recreation and Parks, a 501(c)(3) organization, to receive contributions from our neighbors who would like to help support this project. Several sponsorships at the leadership level remain, and we welcome gifts in any amount. For more information or to make an online gift, please visit friendsoflebrec.org/projects. Please help us in this important work!
Brooke Herndon
chair, Bring Back the Track Committee