A Morristowner’s experience at the New Hampshire primary

Councilwoman Alison Deeb
Councilwoman Alison Deeb
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Jeb Bush, right, at town hall meeting in New Hampshire right before the 2016 primary. Photo by Alison Deeb
Jeb Bush, right, at town hall meeting in New Hampshire right before the 2016 primary. Photo by Alison Deeb

Morristown Councilwoman Alison Deeb ventured to the Granite State on Feb. 6-8, the last weekend before the first primary of the presidential season.

By Alison Deeb

My husband and I were “political tourists” last weekend in New Hampshire to experience the weekend before the nation’s first primary. My husband lived in New Hampshire for several years before moving to New Jersey nearly 20 years ago, so he wanted to show me the experience firsthand.

Councilwoman Alison Deeb
Councilwoman Alison Deeb

We wanted to stay in Manchester, the epicenter of the political action, but hotels were all booked (or “hugely” priced). We settled for The Exeter Inn, an old, quaint New England town between Portsmouth and Manchester. It worked well for us with the schedule we had planned.

The internet makes it easy to plan a trip because there is candidate schedule tracker that tells you where the candidates are going to be each day. You still need eTickets to attend campaign events (most are free). I was able to register for events from my smartphone while Stan did the driving.

On Saturday, we opted to attend Jeb Bush’s Town Hall in Bedford, NH. I had already attended dozens of Governor Christie’s Town Halls and even volunteered on two deployments.

So, I wanted to experience a few of the other candidates in the field.

We left Morristown at 5 am and arrived in Bedford at around 9:15 am, nearly an hour before the Town Hall was set to begin. It was a good thing we arrived early because we got the last two seats in the house! It was a standing room crowd and our seats were right near the candidate’s entrance so I got to shake Jeb’s hand and snap a picture. What a great start to the weekend!

Sen. Lindsay Graham and Tom Ridge, the governor of Pennsylvania and first secretary of Homeland Security introduced Jeb.

Meanwhile, I watched Jeb prepare while he was being introduced. I was about three feet away and could study and admire his demeanor, behavior, presentation, etc.

The checklist was going off in my head. Confident, check. Serious, check. Calm, check. Approachable, check. (He was taking selfies before his talk). Presidential, check. I was immediately impressed. You don’t see this on TV!

There was time before the talk began so I walked around the room, picked up a few campaign flyers, even grabbed a few “Munchkins.” They were playing Country music and it was a relaxing, upbeat and exciting moment.

I heard the crowd was around 750 with 200 people waiting outside to get in. I felt guilty hearing a New Englander say, “I live 20 minutes away and I can’t get in?” Political tourism at its best and worst I suppose.

Jeb talked for nearly two hours despite the fact that there was a debate that evening. He listened more than he talked. I was impressed because driving up I had preconceived notions about Jeb as “just another Bush” and “part of the establishment” and “do we really want a Bush vs. Clinton race?”

However, Jeb struck me as nothing like his brother. He was well spoken and articulate and has been married to the same woman for 43 years (a Mexican woman who he met when he was 19). He has three beautiful children, four grandchildren. His wife and two sons were there helping him.

He struck me as knowledgeable, resourceful, experienced, strong, resolute yet compassionate, mild mannered, approachable and personable. I picked up his 47-page policy brief and said to Stan, “You don’t hear this – only the negative. He is very smart, substantive, and solid.”

A local heard me talking on the way out and agreed with me.

We left Bedford for lunch in Manchester before checking in to the hotel. In the evening we were going to see the “Capital Steps,” a political satire a cappella-type group from Washington, DC.

They were performing at The Music Hall in Portsmouth on Saturday night at 5 pm, before the debate. We thought it would be a fun thing to do – to see them perform in New Hampshire, the weekend before the Primary. We have seen them several times.

We thought we might run into a few candidates (great place to campaign and shake a few hands) but they were probably all preparing for the debate.

After the show, we ate a fantastic pizza at Flatbread Pizza in Portsmouth, and then left to go back and watch the debate from our comfy and cozy hotel room in Exeter. Tickets for the debates are usually reserved for large donors. I didn’t even try to get tickets.

On Sunday, we walked around the town of Exeter. We saw two of Hillary’s vans from Arkansas so we knew the canvassers were close by.

At 9 am, we left Exeter for the 90-minute drive to Plymouth State University for a Trump rally at 1 pm. On our way, the bus for John Kasich, the governor from Ohio, was driving by on Route 93 in the southbound lane.

I was feeling optimistic and enthusiastic about going to see the GOP front-runner. After all, it’s Donald J. Trump. I read his book, The America We Deserve, and my curiosity was piqued by all the media coverage.

We arrived early. There were security officers, hundreds of people, dozens of American and foreign journalists. I met a group of journalists traveling from Copenhagen, Denmark, to experience the United States political “vetting” process.

There were 30 of them. They were going to several campaign events throughout the week. I talked with a resident from Laconia, NH, who said she was deciding among Christie, Rubio and Trump.

On our way out, we saw a Chinese journalist talking to three American students. The crowd was definitely diverse and lively.

My husband and I left the Trump rally early. We were bored. Trump didn’t take any questions, and it was the same old platitude, “I Am Going To Make America Great Again,” etc.

On our way back, we toured the state capital and shopped at the LL Bean outlet in Concord. Ironically, we ate an excellent meal at the Mexican restaurant “Hermanos” in Concord.

Monday morning we woke up to snow so we opted to go to the first Town Hall at 10 am for John Kasich at a public library in Plaistown, NH. The room seated no more than 50- to 75 people, maybe 100 standing room.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich campaigning on the last weekend of the 2016 NH primary race. Photo by Alison Deeb.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich campaigning on the last weekend of the 2016 NH primary race. Photo by Alison Deeb.

We were in the front row until they put in another row in front of us. Talk about up close and personal! I was very impressed with Gov. Kasich (pronounced KA-SIK, long “A”) from Ohio. He seemed to have all the right stuff.

His “rags to riches” story is impressive (both his parents were Democrats, his father a postmaster, his parents both were killed by a drunk driver when they pulled out of a Burger King when he was 30).

The man was compassionate, humble and the “real deal.” He has the complete package – Congressional experience of 20 years, gubernatorial experience, mid-western values, and a record of accomplishment in Ohio.

I sat next to his staffer, a 25-year old young woman from Cleveland. His wife Karen spoke about her husband and John spoke about how his wife has done a lot for drug addiction, the arts, and mental health and wellness. We walked away feeling good about his candidacy, and good about our country.

This spectator experience is a “Must Do” for families with children and/or grownups interested in electoral politics, history and government, marketing, campaign management.

It’s an easy five-hour drive (barring any major snow event) and you get to shake the hands of presidential candidates and look them in the eyes.

It is a living and learning institution, and most of the campaign events (town halls, etc.) are free. Of course we know real politics is not a spectator sport though. If you want change, you have to get involved. But this is one way to take part in the political process, and it only comes every four years.

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