Sen. Jeanne Shaheen speaks during an April hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about her fear that withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan will endanger women and girls there. Shaheen is shown with portraits of seven Afghan women killed in 2020.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen speaks during an April hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about her fear that withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan will endanger women and girls there. Shaheen is shown with portraits of seven Afghan women killed in 2020.
AFTER A VIRTUAL MEETING about Afghanistan with ambassadors and other officials from NATO countries this week, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said she hoped NATO nations — members of the the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — will stay attentive to women’s issues in Afghanistan, though American troops have left the country.
“Our NATO allies rallied to our side in the aftermath of September 11th and U.S. withdrawal was made possible thanks to close coordination with the transatlantic alliance,” Shaheen said in a statement. “This coordination must endure to protect Afghan women and girls, and prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorism.”
Shaheen has for years advocated for American intervention on behalf of Afghan women and girls. She pressed Donald Trump‘s administration to include Afghan women in talks between the now-fallen Afghan government and the Taliban, and made it clear that she was deeply worried about President Joe Biden‘s exit plan.
New Deal revamp
New Hampshire has been largely spared the natural disasters that have marked this summer for much of the country (knock on wood). But the risk of catastrophic flooding, severe storms and even wildfires could threaten the state — and the tourism industry that exists around New Hampshire’s mountains, forests and beaches.
Rep. Annie Kuster is working with a group of Democratic legislators on a bill to renew the Civilian Conservation Corps, which began as a New Deal jobs program. The corps worked on national parks, building trails and shelters, many of which stand today.
The corps folded in 1942, as the United States entered World War II. But Kuster wants to renew the Civilian Conservation Corps to work on preservation, climate change-protection projects, even farms. The new program would pay $15 per hour, and offer training.
“In order to prevent the worst effects of climate change and preserve the beautiful state of New Hampshire for generations to come, we must empower our communities to advance effective, targeted solutions,” Kuster said in a statement.
Dems tout Bedford win
Turns out, knocking on doors helps win local elections.
Per the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s analysis of Catherine Rombeau‘s narrow special election win for a state rep’s seat in Bedford, face-to-face contact with voters was key.
New Hampshire Democrats abstained from door-to-door campaigning in New Hampshire in 2020, and many said this strategy — meant to be COVID-19 safe and project the appearance of COVID safety — resulted in the party’s Statehouse losses.
The 37-vote margin of victory, out of about 4,600 votes cast, is tiny. But the Democratic faithful hope Bedford, like suburbs around the country, will become more reliably Democratic — especially as a Republican-controlled committee in Concord works to map out new legislative districts.
“New Hampshire Republicans can’t redistrict themselves out of this loss,” former party chair Kathy Sullivan wrote in a tweet.
What are the Republican party’s thoughts on the Democratic win in Bedford? The party’s many, typically hyperactive, social media accounts were silent Wednesday.
Ayotte bolsters Sullivan
With the Sept. 21 preliminary election for Manchester mayor drawing near, Victoria Sullivan is bringing out one of her biggest-name endorsers — former Sen. Kelly Ayotte — for a fundraiser Thursday.
Ayotte has kept her dance card full since reemerging to campaign in 2020, showing up just about anywhere Republicans are campaigning in New Hampshire or bolstering the base. Ayotte is keeping a toe in foreign policy too, with a recent TV appearance to critique the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Academic … for now
Former executive councilor Andru Volinsky has accepted a yearlong post at Franklin Pierce University, as the Rindge college’s first “civic scholar-in-residence.”
“I am very proud to join the Franklin Pierce University faculty as its inaugural Civic Scholar-in-Residence and pleased to have the opportunity to lecture and interact with students on such a critical topic for our times as civic engagement,” Volinsky said in a statement.
As we’ve seen recently, taking a job in academia doesn’t mean you’re out of the game for good. Just look at former Sen. Scott Brown‘s very brief stint as dean of New England Law School of Boston and subsequent reentry into the “political arena.”
