r/TheGraniteState

We were among the first to break from the British Crown, sent thousands to fight for the Union during the Civil War, built a tradition of strong local public schools, and have long ranked among the nation’s most literate and civically engaged states. Our motto, “Live Free or Die,” has historically reflected an independent streak that values individual liberty, local control, and a healthy skepticism of outside influence. Until recently.

For a decade our state government has been out of place. External actors are ramming through bills lifted directly from the culture war playbooks of the Deep South states like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. We have seen legislation restricting transgender health care, abortion access, crippling planned parenthood, libraries closing, schools going bankrupt, etc tax cuts for the rich, cuts to healthcare, tax dollars for religious schooling, tax increases on the poor, increasing censorship and restrictions around classrooms, and proposals targeting library books and diversity initiatives. Many of these ideas are lifted directly from the American Legislative Exchange Council.

It is worth asking why New Hampshire has abandoned the independent character that has always defined us for more than two centuries. This state has always charted its own course instead of importing someone else’s political agenda. We should be debating housing, property taxes, workforce shortages, and strengthening public education, not copying the latest ideological battles from the Confederacy. If “Live Free or Die” still means anything, then we all need to a clean sweep of the state house. Clean out the right-wing provocateurs who do not, and have never served New Hampshire’s values.