Last Updated on 05/09/2024 by Arun jain
NORTH HAMPTON, New Hampshire — Kamala Harris toured the “Live Free or Die” state yesterday, the perfect place to deliver her message of freedom … and tax cuts for small businesses.
The New Hampshire event at the women-owned Throwback Brewery in North Hampton was pulled together quickly and scheduled for mid-afternoon Wednesday. Nevertheless, more than a thousand supporters turned up for the presidential candidate, including a large number of young people.
“I love Gen Z. I just love Gen Z,” Harris said later in his speech.
There were boomers, too, including Catherine Johnson, 65, a self-described “campaign junkie” who claims she’s traveled more than 15,000 miles to the small state to attend more than 200 political events in her lifetime. She recalled that in 2020, she saw then-Senator Harris speak “in a lot of apple orchards and fields.”
Boomer’s men also featured what looked like variations on Ed Bagley, Jr. I stopped a Bagley impersonator who wore a cap with the name of his country club on it. I asked if he was there to support Harris.
“Yes,” he said firmly.
I mentioned a recent poll that showed that when Harris replaced Biden, women voters flocked to him while men drifted away. I asked what he thought might explain the shift.
“Well,” he said with a perfect New England drawl, “I don’t believe in voting from the get go.”
A few minutes later, a woman (his wife?) joined him and he used the distraction to avoid further questioning.
Maine State Representative Tiffany Roberts was enjoying some shaved ice when I approached. As chairman of the Maine Legislature’s Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business Committee, Roberts was eager to hear Harris present his policy.
“Trump doesn’t realize that New England has a strong tradition of small businesses: farmers, fishermen, local breweries,” she said. “It’s not like New York City. These businesses are really for the people who live here.”
Roberts spoke of a new agreement between the New England states that allowed workers with credentials to be recognized by other states with similar requirements. “If you’re a social worker or an electrician in Massachusetts, you can be a social worker or an electrician in Maine (snaps her fingers),” she said.
New Hampshire’s congressional delegation kicked off the show at a rally Wednesday. The US Rap. Chris Pappas spoke first, opening with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” a song that suited the venue.
Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanie Shaheen followed. Hasan referred to Trump’s proposals to raise tariffs as a “sales tax” and the “backward thinking of a backward candidate.” Then she added, “We’re not going back!” Knowing that the crowd would be chanting from a state with no sales tax.
Shaheen said Trump has “the worst job record since Herbert Hoover.” (She didn’t explain that Hoover was president during the Depression so her point may not have struck the right chord with the younger crowd.)
Shaheen then paused in the speakers. Temperatures flirted with 80 degrees and campaign workers handed out Gatorade while the brewery sold drinks with cute names like “Kamala Phenomenon” (lemonade) and “Koch” (unsweetened ice tea).
“Hydrate,” Dover-based DJ Mem told the crowd. “And then plan to vote.”
Right on schedule, Harris took the stage for Beyoncé’s song “Freedom.” The Vice President greeted the crowd with a wide smile. Someone in the crowd must have mentioned her husband, prompting her to announce, “Dog sends his love to everyone, too.”
Then the tone changed. Harris came to talk about freedom, but a morning after the tragedy, he was forced to stand outside a throwback brewery owned by women in North Hampton and talk about gun laws.
Earlier in the day, a 14-year-old student in Georgia killed two students and two teachers while dozens more were injured. So before Harris could talk about small businesses, she had to address the dead elephant in the room.
Harris spoke of a “senseless tragedy”. She recalled that as a child in California, her school had earthquake drills and fire drills and how wrong it is that today’s K to 12 students are subjected to active shooter drills.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” she repeated several times.
Later in the speech, Harris made his position clear to the firearm-friendly New Hampshire crowd. “It’s a false choice to say you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take away everyone’s guns,” Harris said. “I’m in favor of the Second Amendment and I know we need fair gun safety laws in our country.”
turning to the economy, Harris listed the proposalsThese include a tax deduction of up to $50,000 for startups, low-interest or no-interest loans, and reducing red tape to make it easier for small businesses to pay taxes. She boasted how the Biden administration had seen more than 17 million applications for new businesses since taking office. She then set a goal of seeing 25 million new applications by the end of her first term. She admitted it was “ambitious,” but, “I think we should appreciate ambition in each other.”
The crowd cheered loudly. He also cheered loudly when Harris called for a “fair tax” on billionaires. (According to Forbes Magazine(New Hampshire has only one billionaire: Rick Cohen.)
Still, there wasn’t much approval from the group when Harris raised the issue of protecting a woman’s right to determine her own health care. The Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe is clearly a move to catch Harris’ political fire. And it doesn’t just affect women.
“I think people are underestimating the male vote on the issue of choice,” Johnson, 65, told The Daily Beast. “They don’t want their sisters, wives and daughters to be told what to do with their bodies.”
Johnson plans to vote for Harris for president and Republican Kelly Ayotte for governor. She suspects it will mainly follow the same path and keep New Hampshire purple.
On the drive along Exeter Road, houses seemed to alternate between Trump and Harris signs. A block consisted of two small houses connected by a long driveway leading to the mansion. Two of the smaller houses had Harris/Wolz signs. People living on long driveways were going with Trump.
A group of Trump supporters — seven people and a dog — gathered on the driveway that led to the brewery at noon as people filed in for Harris’ speech. The group waved Trump flags and “Take America Back” banners. One held a sign that read: “Crazy Commie Kamala. Another woman kept shouting into the megaphone, “Kamala, go home!”
By the time people filed in at four o’clock, the Trump contingent was gone. I think they went home.
Post Sorry, Boomers, Harris is in love with the second generation appeared first The Daily Beast.