News and Views

I could not resist chuckling when I read the August 14 letter, “For Smart Energy Solutions, We Need a Democratic Senate”. Judging from what we have already endured from the Democratic House, voting for more of the same in our Senate would rapidly make us a third world country.

For starters, in a textbook example of “fiddling while Rome burns”, our Congressional representatives decided that staying in session during August to resolve a national energy crisis was just not as much fun as vacationing. As a consequence, the nation is still in an energy quagmire, literally paralyzed until the congressional prima donnas decide to start doing their jobs again.

Then, there’s the inexplicable energy bill that the Democratic Congress passed last December which allowed wind and solar energy investment tax credits to expire, resulting in an economic blow to the alternative fuel industry. If developing alternative energy sources is such a high priority, the Democratic majority must be keeping it a major secret. One has to question the wisdom and honesty of a political stance which deliberately sabatoges a key policy.

Despite decrying the evils of fossil fuels, but with a nod to their corn-producing constituents, the Democratic “thoughtful leadership” in Congress enacted incentives for corn ethanol whose production requires large quantities of fossil fuel, water and land resources. The race for corn ethanol has resulted in a steep increase in world food prices and a near zero impact on energy prices. The same Washington Worthies then voted to tax imported cane sugar ethanol, which is cheaper than corn and uses significantly less fossil fuel, water and land to produce. Could they be more interested in protecting the interests of Big Corn than in reducing fuel or food prices?

And let’s not forget about the refusal of the current Congress to allow debate on offshore drilling, effectively muzzling even their own party members who may want to explore this option. Regardless of one’s position on offshore drilling, we send people to Congress so they will at least discuss and debate issues and thereby distill a course of action. Is preventing debate on an urgent issue an example of the “honest and thoughtful leadership in Washington” that a Democratic Senate would bring?

Finally, there’s the issue of off-shore drilling itself, where our friends in Congress claim that drilling won’t have any positive impact on oil market prices. Despite the fact that nearly every notable economist, members of their own party and most of the public advocates drilling as part of a comprehensive policy, the Democratic majority chooses to stick their fingers in their ears. They seem to ignore the fact that nearly 18 billion gallons of available oil sits off our coast and that the exploration, platform construction, drilling, production, refining and distribution of petroleum products would bring high-paying jobs to Americans. Meanwhile, the Chinese (who apparently didn’t get the word that offshore drilling is economically useless) are busy erecting oil platforms and drilling out the oil off the Florida coast. Too bad that oil and those jobs can’t go to Americans.

Yes, we certainly do need some honest, thoughtful leadership in Washington.

Julia Schappals is a member of the Bedford Republican Committee.

Senator John Sununu has spent his first term in the U.S. Senate staying true to New Hampshire “live free” principles. Challenger Jeanne Shaheen seeks to tie him to the Bush administration, but the truth is that John Sununu has always shown his independence and commitment to represent New Hampshire citizens. Senator Sununu joined a filibuster aimed to make the the Patriot Act more protective of civil liberties. He has clashed with the Bush administration on its policy of amnesty for illegal immigrations and was the first Republican to call for the resignation of attorney general Alberto Gonzales.

In addition, Senator Sununu has fought tirelessly for small-government solutions. He was successful in passing legislation blocking taxes on internet access. The senator supports allowing health insurance to be obtained across state lines and backs tax credits for those lacking health insurance. His goal is to increase health insurance options and make insurance more accessible to those without it.

On the other hand, his opponent Jeanne Shaheen supports government-run socialized health care that reduced or eliminates choice and puts the citizens’ health in the hands of government bureaucrats. (The Amtrak of health care.)

Senator Sununu supports responsible development of domestic energy resources, including more oil drilling, to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce energy prices. Jeanne Shaheen is only interested in carping about “big oil gouging” and offers no effective, market-driven energy solutions. Just like when she was governor, Jeanne Shaheen’s agenda is to increase taxes and grow government. These are not Granite State values.

Senator Sununu fights for New Hampshire values. Let’s fight to keep him in the U.S. Senate!

Stephen A Poschmann is a member of the Bedford Republican Commitee.

I have several questions for Democratic candidates Jeanne Shaheen, Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes. I believe New Hampshire voters deserve straightforward answers to these questions.

- Where do you stand on the upcoming Supreme Court DC gun ruling? Do Washington DC citizens have a right to bear arms?

- Would you take any action to try to prevent the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts from expiring?

- What is your position on the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978?

- Is the surge in Iraq working or not?

- The federal Justice Department is forcing the small town of Mattawa, Washington to hire interpreters to translate all city documents into Spanish and hire Spanish-speaking staff to service the Spanish-speaking citizens. Do you agree with this mandate?

- Do you support U.S. corporations drilling for oil in new locations? If so, where?

- Do you support the notion of the U.S. government taking over and nationalizing refineries?

A response to all of the above from each of the Democratic candidates would be appreciated.

Stephen A Poschmann is a member of the Bedford Republican Commitee.