Nice night for Jeanne Shaheen

[NHDEMFORLIFE]

First, a Granite State Poll (pre-debate) had Sen. Shaheen up 50-42 (4.2 MOE).
Second, Brown made a jackass of himself by failing to know some basic NH geography. I'd give details, but they would be meaningless to anyone who doesn't live here. The bottom line is, I believe the carpetbagger label is now nailed to his forehead for good.

[CentralMass]

1. That's good to know. We have seen some good

Shaheen ads on the Boston new stations. I hope that she wins easily.

[msongs]

2. was this tonight? nt

[Agschmid]

4. Yes final debate I think?

[Agschmid]

3. Context.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/30/scott-brown-new-hampshire_n_6079418.html

[Jim Lane]

5. That article leaves me thinking that Brown did NOT make a jackass of himself.

The questioner who'd upbraided him later tweeted a correction. (Questioner said Sullivan County is west of Concord. Brown said it was north of Concord. Turns out it's both.) Also, Brown talked about the ski industry, and it turns out there is a ski resort in Sullivan County.

The real question is how many voters will buy his argument that the ski industry is suffering because of... Obamacare.

[karynnj]

6. Look at the map --

Last edited Fri Oct 31, 2014, 09:33 PM - Edit history (1)

Concord is in the southern 4th of NM - I think less than a half hour from the MA border and it is in the middle as far as east/west goes. Essentially, 3/4th of the state is "northern" by his definition! Sullivan is also in the southern half of the state and borders Massachusetts.

Here is the map -- http://www.sitesatlas.com/Flash/USCan/static/NHFH.htm



Here is an AP article that also makes the point - Mt Sunapee is in Merimack! http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/10/31/5280721/brown-visits-sullivan-county-after.html#.VFQyYTTF-So

I think is this is wrong, but it is near the border, so it might be that facilities are on both sides. The key thing is that this is western NH and skiing/tourism may not be the biggest thing here.


Any NH people?

[Jim Lane]

7. I looked at a map that shows the county borders.

The map you linked to doesn't show the county lines. According to the map in the Wikipedia article about Sullivan County, it does not border Massachusetts.

I'm sure you're right that skiing isn't a big deal in Sullivan County, but I still feel some sympathy for Brown because the question put to him was kind of stupid. New Hampshire's not a big state. I doubt there's really much difference between the economic conditions in Sullivan County and those east of Concord. The whole fracas seems to be on a level with the famous Did John Edwards Pay Too Much For A Haircut issue in 2008.

[karynnj]

8. It does not border MA, but is immediately above a county that does

The point is that it definitely is on the west - on the border with VT.

The Boston Globe summed it up by saying the damage was in the phrase "beyond Concord". Having followed MA politics - especially with Kerry, this rings a bell. Every area of the state wants some assurance that he at least understands their unique issues. Brown is lumping together - as north - about 80% of the state - and is unable to say anything, good or bad, about the economy in that county.

Suggesting more skiing as good and Obamacare as bad likely seem to many as the the BS they might have written on an essay question in high school where they really had not learned the material. What comes across is that he KNOWS they are not speaking of the east coast (from the question) or the MA border - which essentially is beyond Concord.

This is actually the OPPOSITE of John Edwards' dealing with the hair cut issue. That issue said nothing about what he would do for the country. It was totally personal and, though it did seem ironic for the man who spoke of 2 Americas, it was really not worth much comment other than to say that a random bad haircut could have hurt. (The only similarity is that the hair cut issue really was a "is he phony" issue -- and there was plenty of reason - like his Senate career, his 2004 platform and his 2008 platform being incredibly different. In 2004, he was near the right of the field -- in 2008, he ran on something closer to John Kerry's positions, without Kerry's decades of being a liberal and environmentalist. )

This on the other hand was a policy related question. If you don't understand an area's needs, how do you work to help the area? There are only 10 counties in NH. I suspect that he had no idea where the county was. The honest thing to do was to ask the moderator what the main cities were saying that though he had been all over the state, he didn't know the county lines. That would have shown honesty and seriousness. Alternatively, he could have spoken of programs that the entire state needed. (Diverting in fact to what could have been a practiced answer.)