New Hampshire Becoming More Liberal

According to a Boston Globe article, posted on boston.com, New Hampshire, known for decades as a haven of conservatism, is now exhibiting the signs of a move to liberalism. Democrats now control both houses of the state legislature and among the results have been the legalization of same-sex civil unions, a law that bans smoking in bars and restaurants, a state budget that reflects a 17% increase in state spending, and a near miss on a mandatory seat belt law. New Hampshire, according to the Globe, is the only state in the nation that does not require the use of seat belts.

Governor John Lynch, in response to a question about whether or not New Hampshire was becoming like Massachusetts, responded to the Globe, "New Hampshire is still the best state in the best country in the world. We're still a state without a sales or an income tax, a very low tax environment, where the quality of life is second to none. . . . We don't have the traffic [Massachusetts] has."

Some observers feel that the high percentage of former Massachusetts residents now in the New Hampshire Legislature may be the reason for the leftward shift in the state's politics. More than a quarter of New Hampshire lawmakers were born in Massachusetts, a reflection of the fact that 27% of New Hampshire residents in general are natives of Massachusetts.

Andrew Smith, who conducts surveys for the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, disagrees. According to the Globe, Smith's research shows that people who move to New Hampshire from Massachusetts tend "to be conservatives who want cheaper housing, lower taxes, and less-liberal politics."

It is a different group, says Smith, who are responsible for the new flavor of New Hampshire politics: they are the wealthy and well-educated people from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who have been attracted to New Hampshire by, among other things, the high-tech industries and financial services available in the state.

The Globe reports that politicians are divided on the future of the liberal Legislature and the shift from right to left of the state. Some New Hampshire Republicans contend that the control of the Legislature by the Democrats was an aberration caused by a combination of factors: an anti-tax Democratic governor, no strong Republican challenger, anti-Bush sentiments, and the Iraq war. Republicans feel that the situation will be corrected as voters rebel against the actions of the Democratic majority.

Others, however, point to the fact that many of the new laws were bipartisan productions.

Andrew Smith, according to the Globe, says that the fall of the Republican Party to the Democrats, was not a surprise. He said that it had been on the verge of collapsing for many years, and finally did so in 2003, the year of the Democratic takeover. The Globe quotes him as saying, "The fact that it finally fell down didn't come as a surprise to people who had been watching it closely."

Sources:

www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/02/new_hampshire_bedrock_is_listing_to_the_left/
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1859505/posts