At country club, Sununu Talks Business

April 29--If Abraham Lincoln had survived an additional century and a half, perhaps he would have preferred the beef over the chicken.

Nobody made that terrible jest, but the Cheshire County Republicans were in good spirits Friday night at their annual Lincoln Day Dinner fundraiser. It all happened at the Keene Country Club, and N.H. Gov. Chris Sununu was the headline speaker.

A few of the approximately 85 attendees noted several issues that they cared about, or which drew them out to the event. One of them was a woman who identified herself only by her first name, Georgia. She said she's a private detective who lives, at least part-time, in New York City.

She said that she's concerned about "the absence of parenting" in American society and that "solutions are people like Donald Trump, who's an excellent parent, to promote parenting."

To Dublin resident Karl Eckilson, 58, it was all about school vouchers. He explained that he thinks parents should be able to choose to send their children to any type of school they like -- including, for instance, parochial schools. Such legislation would help poorer families, according to Eckilson, who said the wealthy already send their children to private schools or live in areas that support good public schools.

But when the Sununu took the floor, he ran the gamut of political issues.

Among other points, he expressed support for U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, school choice and action on what he called "almost inhumane" wait times for New Hampshire residents seeking mental health care. But he spent the most time discussing business.

Sununu said he recognizes that economic conditions are disparate within the state; for example, the Seacoast is booming, he said, but the North Country's not. He added that high speed Internet and aggressive marketing are important for growth in New Hampshire and the Monadnock Region, and that both have many positive traits that need to be highlighted.

"We've got to go out and sell this stuff," Sununu said.

In response to a follow-up question from a reporter on whether Keene is too dependent on a few large employers, Sununu said, "I'm not sure I buy that argument."

The governor also described meeting with representatives from Canadian companies, with the objective of encouraging them to move to New Hampshire, saying he's focused on Canada because it's the New Hampshire's largest trading partner.

That part of the talk engaged Keene State College sophomore Samantha Bryant, 19, who spoke fondly of the governor's efforts to "keep the dollars flowing."

After the event, Bryant, of Cape Cod, Mass., who is also the president of the Keene State College Republicans, described what she sees as the political climate on campus.

She said she feels that there's an on-campus "stigma against conservatism" that doesn't represent what the ideology stands for, explaining that some associate the word with racism or homophobia. She added that she identifies as both conservative and pro-abortion rights.

Bryant also said she's enthusiastic about a campus-wide "Teach-in" at Keene State last month, in which various student groups held panel discussions, and guest speakers were invited. The college Republicans' event, Bryant said, was "Breaking the Stigma."

Lincoln Day fundraisers are held by GOP groups throughout the United States.

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