As many are probably aware, 2008 will also see plenty of House and Senate seats up for grabs, along with NH’s governor position. Even though I’m currently a registered Democrat and tend to be pretty liberal, I like to think of myself as a bit of a centrist, and I can’t bring myself to vote party line without considering both sides. Voting is just too important to play party favorites: every now and then I think the Republicans field the better candidate. In particular, I was concerned because conservatives seem to be adamantly opposed to Jeanne Shaheen’s run for Senate. She’s gunning for Sununu’s seat. There are a few Democrats that frankly scare me: there are rumblings about some Democrats trying to implement a sales tax in NH, for example, and some Democrats who really buy the stereotype that Democrats go out of their way to run up taxes and spend out of control. So I looked carefully at both candidates, wondering who the better candidate was.

Suffice it to say, Shaheen’s got my vote. From his page at OnTheIssues, here are some of the reasons I can’t bring myself to give Sununu my vote. The text is copied-and-pasted from that page, but any links are my own doing, as are any bracketed comments. Emphasis is mine: bold to highlight things I think are exceptionally important, italics to highlight things that might be unclear (like ‘double negative’ bills: voting NO on disallowing something).

• Voted NO on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives. (Mar 2005)
• Voted YES on recommending Constitutional ban on flag desecration. (Jun 2006)
• Rated 13% by the ACLU, indicating an anti-civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)
• Rated 33% by the HRC, indicating a mixed record on gay rights. (Dec 2006)
• Voted NO on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. (Mar 2005)
• Voted NO on reinstating $1.15 billion funding for the COPS Program. (Mar 2007)
• Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC. (Oct 1999) [While I don’t understand the opposition to medical marijuana, I’ll let that go. But needle exchanges have been extremely good at preventing the spread of disease.]
• Voted NO on shifting $11B from corporate tax loopholes to education. (Mar 2005)
• Voted YES on allowing school prayer during the War on Terror. (Nov 2001) [I actually don’t know much about this: “allowing school prayer” is a pet peeve of mine, because allowing kids to pray is Constitutionally required, but allowing public schools to hold prayer sessions is Constitutionally prohibited. I’m assuming it was the latter, since there’s no reason to pass a law  to “allow” kids to say a prayer on their own: it’d be like passing a law saying that freedom of speech is allowed.]
• Supports requiring schools to allow prayer. (Jan 2001) [Ibid]
• Rated 27% by the NEA, indicating anti-public education votes. (Dec 2003)
• Voted NO on making oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. (Jun 2007)
• Voted NO on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska’s ANWR. (Nov 2005)
• Voted NO on $3.1B for emergency oil assistance for hurricane-hit areas. (Oct 2005)
• Voted NO on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Mar 2005)
• Voted NO on raising CAFE standards; incentives for alternative fuels. (Aug 2001)
• Rated 100% by the Christian Coalition: a pro-family voting record. (Dec 2003)
• Voted NO on granting the District of Columbia a seat in Congress. (Sep 2007)
• Voted YES on allowing some lobbyist gifts to Congress. (Mar 2006)
• Voted NO on establishing the Senate Office of Public Integrity. (Mar 2006)
• Voted NO on requiring FISA court warrant to monitor US-to-foreign calls. (Feb 2008)
• Voted NO on implementing the 9/11 Commission report. (Mar 2007)
• Voted NO on restricting business with entities linked to terrorism. (Jul 2005)
• Voted NO on restricting employer interference in union organizing. (Jun 2007)
• Rated 0% by the AFL-CIO, indicating an anti-union voting record. (Dec 2003) [I’m not the biggest advocate of unions out there, but Sununu seems a little too anti-union.]
• Voted NO on investigating contract awards in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Nov 2005)

There’s probably more, too, but I thought this was sufficient grounds to cast my vote for Shaheen.