Washburn: As I Was Saying

When I heard DJT say “I was just saying” I couldn’t help but smile because I was around when Jack Parr uttered the original words.

Hard as it is to imagine, Parr was kicked off the air for telling a joke about a WC (water closet) a British term (look up the meaning). Parr was a comedic genius whose wit is unsurpassed by the pretenders who failingly attempt to be late night hosts today. All of this got me interested in political anomalies past and present.

A few election cycles back Bernie Sanders’s son ran for the first congressional seat while he resided is the second congressional district. Then, when the current vice president was sworn in, she resigned her senate seat and her replacement appointed by the Governor of California was a resident of Maryland. I didn’t see that one coming.

Normally when you elect someone to congress, they go there with modest beginnings and after a period on time the become multimillionaires as with the case of Chris Pappas. Maggie Goodlander is a different matter. After living elsewhere for 15 years, this multimillionaire quickly rents an apartment in Nashua and opts to run for congress. Could it be the possible retirement of our senior senator has proven to be too tempting to sit at home clipping coupons? Claiming a residency is not a partisan issue. George H. W. Bush’s residency when he was a congressman was a hotel room.

And then there is the current contest I am involved in. My opponent, a long time Bow resident who has been elected to the house two terms from Bow has been recently been described as a long time Concord resident. You can’t have it both ways, or can you if you are a member of the controlling party? Currently the is a 40-member problem solving committee in the house with equal numbers of both parties in which my opponent is a member. Ironically, his voting record is voting 97% of the time with his party. This causes me to question what problems this committee is solving, obviously it’s not partisan gridlock.

As with most election cycles, I join the overwhelming majority with the relief coming with the end this cycle next Tuesday. I am also had it with negative political ads. Unfortunately, they appear to work. I guess it is far too easy to throw mud than it is to explain what you will be doing if elected. It seems with each new cycle the bar keeps getting lower and lower.