Brown Jokes, Come Up and Vote, Shaheen Agrees to 3 Debates

Here’s the latest roundup of political notes from Campaign 2014 in the Granite State.

Paul, Ayotte speak at GOP unity breakfast

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, is coming back to New Hampshire to co-host the 2014 NHGOP unity breakfast, to be held at 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 12.

“We are thrilled to welcome Rand Paul to join keynote speaker Kelly Ayotte at our upcoming Unity Breakfast,” said Horn. “Senator Paul is a leader in the fight for fiscal responsibility and smaller government in Washington. He understands that the only way to preserve our constitutional liberties and personal freedoms is to elect responsible Republicans that will hold Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi responsible for their disastrous agenda of failed policies. We are honored to have him join us at our unity breakfast.”

Paul will speak first and then Ayotte will give the keynote address.

The event will be held at the Executive Court Banquet Facility in Manchester. Tickets are $35.

Patch will take that as a No

After receiving the notice from the NHGOP, Patch emailed contacts at the New Hampshire Democratic Party to see if their org had any post-primary unity or rallies planned. NHDP Chairman Ray Buckley stated in an email, “While the divided Republicans focus on hobbling together a ticket of out of staters controlled by billionaire Wall St and big oil barons with a guy from Kentucky that John McCain called a wackobird, the united Democratic team will remain focused on talking to the voters of New Hampshire.”

Teachers go with Hassan

On Sept. 2, the National Education Association-New Hampshire (NEA-NH), the state’s largest educator and public employee union, endorsed Gov. Maggie Hassan for re-election, asking its more than 16,000 members and their families to support Governor Hassan during the campaign and on Election Day.

“Governor Maggie Hassan has been a tireless advocate for public education and we must re-elect her this November to preserve the dream of a quality public education for every child in New Hampshire,” said Scott McGilvray, NEA-NH President. “Walt Havenstein or Andrew Hemingway would be a disaster for public education in this state, taking us back to the devastating cuts of the Bill O’Brien era. For the sake of our children’s future, we cannot afford to put either one of them in the Governor’s office. From freezing in-state tuition to protecting K-12 funding to modernizing STEM education, Governor Hassan has proven time and again that she will fight to ensure the success of every child and champion the interests of our students and their parents.”

Hassan said she was “honored” to get the endorsement again.

“New Hampshire’s public schools are often ranked among the nation’s best, but we must continue working to ensure that all of our young people can develop the skills and innovative thinking they will need to compete in today’s global economy,” she said. “Since entering office, I’ve fought to invest in public K-12 and higher education, and I will keep working to strengthen our public education system in order to expand opportunity for all of our children.”

Shaheen agrees to three debates

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, announced today that she has accepted three televised general election debates, writing to each debate organizer, “The people of New Hampshire deserve the opportunity to learn who will best represent their interests and really put New Hampshire first,” Shaheen’s wrote in a letter to WMUR, NH1, and NECN. “I believe locally televised debates are especially important because they are easily accessible and reach the largest New Hampshire audiences, so I accept your invitation and assume we can reach agreement on format and other details.”

Just in case you want to mark your calendars: NH1’s debate, slated for Oct. 20, is co-hosted with the University of New Hampshire’s Rudman Center, Nashua Telegraph, and other media partners; NECN’s debate is co-hosted with the Concord Monitor on Oct. 21. WMUR’s debate is co-hosted with the New Hampshire Union Leader, and Saint Anselm College, and will be held on Oct. 30.

Brown’s vote fraud joke makes national headlines

Memo to former Sen. Scott Brown: Yeah, the opposition researchers do listen to The Howie Carr Show … and they are recording, too … and then they’ll hand the audio to the “bowtied bumkissers” down on Morrissey Boulevard …

Seriously though, Brown was on 680 WRKO in Boston last week (click for audio) and suggested that voters come up to New Hampshire to vote for him.

“Well they can come over and do same-day registration and say they want to come down and vote,” Brown said. “So if they feel compelled to do so, come on down.”

Carr then laughed and said he thought the caller was from Connecticut.

Brown then added, “Yeah well whatever it is, they can come up.”

Brown’s spokeswoman Elizabeth Guyton told the Globe in an email, “He was clearly joking.”

Literally within minutes of posting, a number of national media outlets and bloggers aggregated the Globe’s link, and Democrats pounced.

“Encouraging his out-of-state supporters to vote in New Hampshire is no joking matter,” said NHDP Communications Director Julie McClain. “Brown must not believe he can win this election with just New Hampshire voters, because he is now telling radio listeners to travel to New Hampshire explicitly to vote for him--and that’s wrong.”

Brown talks foreign policy

In Hudson, Brown held his latest town focusing on foreign policy and the rising threat of the Islamic State. Brown stated that the Obama Administration had an “incoherent foreign policy, and President Obama must work with Congress to define a strategy to stop ISIS and keep our country safe. With their heinous actions, ISIS has shown they are pure evil, and their aggression cannot go unanswered a moment longer. We need a plan to stop them and restore American leadership in the world.”

The campaign also released a web ad juxtaposing Vice President Joe Biden’s comments during the 2012 campaign and the chaos occurring overseas today. The end of the ad fades with a video clip of Shaheen hugging President Barack Obama on a large stage.

The Monitor goes with Rubens

While the Union Leader and Nashua Telegraph endorsed Brown, the Concord Monitor has endorsed Jim Rubens in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, noting that he was the candidate “who offers New Hampshire Republicans the clearest view of where he stands and where the party should be going.”

The campaign also released two new radio ads highlighting Ruben’s “desire to end career politics and recognizing voters’ demands that Republicans have a plan to grow jobs, cut spending, get government out of our personal lives and not get dragged into another ground war. In another spot, Jim repeats his pledge to serve only two terms, not serve as a lobbyist after his term in office and to return his Senate pension to taxpayers.

Smith gets A+ on guns

The New Hampshire Firearms Coalition recently announced its primary grades on 2nd Amendment issues and granted former U.S. Sen. Bob Smith an A+, a rating that that the campaign heralded as showing that he was the only candidate in the race that gun owners could trust.

The campaign noted that Brown received an F and Rubens received an “RS” rating for refusing to accept or respond to the survey.

Lambert launches second TV ad

2nd Congressional District Republican candidate Gary Lambert has a second television ad on the air, criticizing state Rep. Marilinda Garcia, R-Salem, for being too liberal, and also sharing a bit of his biography.

In a statement, Lambert said, “My experience as a small business owner makes it clear to me that Obamacare must be repealed. It is increasing costs on working families, preventing businesses from creating jobs, and putting government between doctors and patients. My opponent, Representative Garcia told an editorial board recently that she opposes repeal because it’s not a ‘viable option.’ I disagree – I think repealing Obamacare is imperative to job growth. If you send me to Congress, I will not stop fighting until Obamacare is repealed. I’ve fought all my life – to put myself through college and law school, to start a business, for our country in Iraq – and I’ve haven’t given up on anything yet. I’ll bring the same fight to repealing Obamacare in Congress.”

Lambert also recently received the endorsement of the Concord Monitor.

The UL comes to Garcia’s defense

The state’s largest newspaper came out swinging for Garcia in a recent editorial saying that Lambert had been “hiding his own lack of substance by misrepresenting Marilinda Garcia’s positions” especially when it comes to the issue of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

“Lambert now charges that Garcia is for amnesty for illegal aliens,” the editorial stated. “He does not know what that means, either. Garcia advocates securing the border and apprehending and deporting those who are streaming over it.”

The UL also re-affirmed it previous endorsement of Garcia.

Innis piles up newspaper support

Following up on the Union Leader endorsement, 1st Congressional District candidate Dan Innis has been racking up the endorsements, landing the nod from the Portsmouth Herald and Conway Daily Sun.

“Republicans have a golden opportunity to offload some baggage and get on a train the could derail incumbent U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter by supporting Dan Innis over Frank Guinta in the Sept. 9 primary,” noted the Conway paper while the Herald stated, “New Hampshire’s Congressional District 1 deserves top quality representation that reflects the dynamism and diversity of the citizens who live here. For that reason we support Dan Innis in the Republican primary.”

Dueling email subject headers

• NHGOP: SHAHEEN STANDS WITH AVOWED SOCIALIST SANDERS AT BIG LABOR BREAKFAST
• NHDP: LABOR DAY ICYMI: Brown Opposes Minimum Wage But Keeps Cashing in From Company That Outsourced Jobs