New Hampshire Rebellion to March from Portsmouth to Concord

On Sunday, Jan. 18, dozens of rugged “Granny D walkers” will set out from downtown Portsmouth to commence a four-day, 50-mile walk through the ice and snow to Concord, to join hundreds more of their ilk who have traversed the four corners of the state in order to raise awareness of the corrupting influence big money has in our political system.

From Jan. 11 to 21, hundreds of reform-minded citizens will brave the elements and walk across New Hampshire in a frigid “New Hampshire Rebellion” against big money in politics. Walkers from across New Hampshire and across the country will start at Dixville Notch in the north, Nashua in the south, Keene in the west, and Portsmouth in the east. They will converge together at the State House in Concord on January 21st, the fifth anniversary of the infamous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which opened the floodgates for outside political spending on both the left and the right, and allowed the existence of so-called “super PACs”.

The Portsmouth route will kick off from South Church in Portsmouth at 8:00 am on January 18th, and District 21 State Senator Martha Fuller Clark, as well as her Republican opponent in the recent election Newmarket Town Councillor Phil Nazzaro will both speak at the Kickoff event in support of the cause.

The Portsmouth leg of the massive walk will traverse the towns of Portsmouth, Newington, Dover, Durham, Lee, Barrington, Nottingham, Northwood, Epsom, Chichester, Pembroke, and Concord.

Wearing orange vests and carrying “Rebellion” signs, the walkers will log between 8 and 20 miles per day through winter weather that is projected to stay below freezing for much of the march. They are relying on local churches, volunteers, and non-profits for housing and food, and will hold an event free and open to the public every night.

On the evening of Jan. 18, the walkers will gather at the Community Church of Durham to enjoy a community dinner and hear guest speaker UNH Campus Chaplain Larry Brickner-Wood as well as view the play Granny D: The Power of One by Dixie and John Tymitz.

There will be an MLK Day Celebration at the Northwood Congregational Church the following evening of January 19, which will include a potluck dinner, church service, speaking and music by Blues & Jazz musician TJ Wheeler, and a presentation of the play Go, Granny D! by Barbara Bates-Smith and Jeff Sebens.

A presentation by Hedrick Smith, author of Who Stole The American Dream? and an activist training session will be features at the evening event at Epsom Public Library in Epsom on January 20th.

Details about these local events can be found on the New Hampshire Rebellion website, at nhrebellion.org.

On Jan. 21, the marches will converge on the State House in Concord for a major rally declaring to the 2016 presidential candidates that New Hampshire voters are “Not for Sale.” Plans for the day-long event in Concord include a wide range of presentations, interactive activities, education, a celebration of Granny D’s birthday, and guest speakers--including Ben Cohen, founder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, and Larry Lessig, Harvard Law professor and noted expert and author on the issue of money in politics.

“We are deeply concerned that elections are being bought and paid for by a handful of private interests looking out for themselves--not the American people,” said Daniel Weeks, Executive Director of Open Democracy in Concord. “As the first-in-the-nation primary state, we are putting the presidential candidates on notice that NH voters are sick and tired of outside interests spending millions to influence our elections. We’re walking across NH to demand the next president commit to reforming this corrupt system on day one.”

“The growth of this movement in New Hampshire shows that people across the state from every political background are taking a stand to stop systemic corruption in politics,” said Jeff McLean, Director of the NH Rebellion. “The demand on candidates to spend the majority of their time raising money from narrow interests increases polarization and leads to the dysfunction of Congress and its historically low level of public approval. It is time we take on this root issue.”

Founded by scholar-activist Lawrence Lessig, the NH Rebellion march is inspired by the “rebellion clause” of the New Hampshire Constitution, which calls on citizens “to reform the old or establish a new government” when laws serve a privileged few rather than “the common benefit, protection, and security of the whole community.”

Professor Lessig and other marchers are seeking to continue the work of the late New Hampshire reformer Doris “Granny D” Haddock, whose historic cross-country walk for campaign finance reform at the age of 90 helped spark a citizens movement to pass the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.

“The New Hampshire Rebellion cuts across party lines to champion fundamental reforms that are needed to save our state and our country,” added former Republican gubernatorial candidate Andrew Hemingway, a member of the NH Rebellion. “It is time for New Hampshire citizens to rise up with one voice and demand clean elections, ethical fundraising, and a reversal of what big money and partisan politics have wrought on our Democracy.”

NH Rebellion is part of Open Democracy, the Concord-based nonpartisan reform organization founded by legendary NH hero Granny D.

To learn more about the NH Rebellion, please visit: nhrebellion.org.

To register for the walk please visit: walk.nhrebellion.org. To see details about the planned events, visit You can also follow us on Twitter @nhrebellion and on Facebook at: facebook.com/nhrebellion.

Submitted text and courtesy photo.