Who Are The Fat Cats?

If you have been driving around Senate District 11 (Amherst, Merrimack, Milford, and Wilton) recently, you may have noticed some signs with the message “Stop the Fat Cats." Like most messages, about 80 percent of the recipients get what it's trying to say and the other 20 percent have their own interpretations. Some people think the signs are advocating the “Occupy Wall Street Movement”, others think it's referencing my opponent for the District 11 senate seat, Sen. Peter Bragdon and I’m sure there are other people who have  even different thoughts on the meaning of the signs. Well, in the interest of communication and the hopes of getting 20 percent more of the voting population to get my message, I’m here to tell everyone who the Fats Cats are and why we need to stop them.

The Fat Cats are the influence peddlers, pure and simple. They may be paid lawyers and lobbyists or they may be representatives of companies, unions or organizations, but they all have one thing in common. They have special interests that they want taken care of by legislators and they’re prepared to write big checks to make sure that if push comes to shove, their interests get higher priority than the wants and needs  of the taxpayers. It’s that simple, they pay for favors. Normally it would be illegal  but since the ones who get the money are the ones who write and pass our laws, when it comes to politics it’s not illegal, its just business as usual. It’s wrong, it doesn’t serve the citizens and it needs to be stopped

Most people would agree that paying legislators (via campaign donations) to do the Fat Cats bidding is wrong, but how do we stop it? Simple. We start electing legislators who won’t take the money (You can start with a candidate named Dwyer who is running for State Senator. Just saying.) That’s it. No smoke and no mirrors. As our old friend Nancy Reagan used to say “Just say no.”

In my next blog I will spotlight the money grabbing by the New Hampshire Senate, which  I feel as an institution is bought and paid for by special interest  groups, but this week I will focus on my opponent Senator Bragdon. Since Senator Bragdon first ran for re-election in 2006, he has cashed campaign checks from special interest groups totaling approximately $129,000.00. The groups include health care organizations, the insurance industry, public sector unions, utilities and tobacco companies.

Sen. Bragdon becomes obligated to his special interest donors the minute he cashes their checks. There is nothing for nothing in this world and when people give you money, you better deliver. Since many of the same lobbyists and industries write checks to Sen. Bragdon every year, it’s fair to say they are happy with his performance. Some examples pf his performance include him refusing to put “Right to Work” legislation to a vote while  taking money from public  unions, his voting to kill bills which would allow small business to purchase healthcare insurance across state lines while  accepting money from healthcare groups and the insurance lobby and his refusal to  to vote to repeal Cap and Trade Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (R.G.GI.) which is costing rate payers tens of millions of dollars, while he  deposits campaign checks from Public Service Of New Hampshire. Only Sen. Bragdon knows why he does what he does in the Senate, but as long as he's taking  $129,000 in special interest money the citizens of New Hampshire have 129,000 reasons to question  every vote he makes. It must not bother him because he keeps on cashing the checks.

If we eliminate the special interest money, then legislators will be voting soley based on what is best for their constituents as opposed to what is best for their campaign war chest. What a great concept – "Serve The Citizens."

The bottom line is that we can “Stop The Fat Cats” by electing legislators who won’t take the tainted money. I sent back my first special interest campaign check a few weeks ago. I put it in a stamped envelope and returned it to the sender. It was that easy. By returning the check I stuck to my principles and ensured that if elected I won’t owe the influence peddlers anything. I’m the only candidate on the District 11 Senate Ballot that can make that statement. On Sept. 11, “Stop The Fat Cats” by voting for someone whose only special interests are the citizens who I will represent.