By Sara Young-Knox
BARTLETT – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas fired up the party faithful at the Carroll County Republican Committee’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday evening at the Grand Summit Hotel in Bartlett. With nearly 200 tickets sold, Cruz’s security was tight, with stern-faced men in suits limiting the media’s access to the dining section of the ballroom.
Cruz, the junior senator from the Longhorn state, has only been in office since 2012, but has already grabbed center stage as one of the key figures in last year’s effort to defund the Affordable Healthcare Act, better known as Obamacare.
On Saturday, the former solicitor general of Texas again railed against Obamacare, saying it is hugely unpopular, has caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs and healthcare insurance, and is a massive transfer of wealth from young to old.
Most in the audience responded enthusiastically to his remarks, including a woman who shouted out, “Obama doesn’t care!” when Cruz pointed out those negatives.
“The voters have a way of remembering,” he replied, adding further in his remarks that New Hampshire is ground zero in the effort to retake the Senate and increase the number of Republicans in the House in the November Congressional elections.
Cruz got the loudest applause when he spoke of retiring Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), and got a standing ovation when he talked of the right to bear arms. He highlighted the need to make a principled stand, arguing against those in his own party who urge standing down in Congressional battles just to preserve the ability to surrender tomorrow.
The audience was quietest when Cruz recounted speaking on the Senate floor for hours during the attempt to defund Obamacare, as he stood side by side with his dear friend, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. He said they had gotten support from all over the country, with many people imploring him to “defend our liberty.”
Prior to Cruz’s remarks, state GOP chair Jennifer Horn asked the crowd, “Are you ready to win some elections?”
“We cannot govern if we don’t win,” she pointed out, calling for a return to fiscally responsible Republican leadership in the state house and in the corner office.
Those aspiring to unseat Democrat officeholders in November sat among the local Republican committee members, with declared and undeclared candidates, office holders and former office holders, recognized by state Senator Jeb Bradley.
The District 1 executive councilor, elected in March, did not need much of an introduction. After announcing, “Wakefield’s own, Joe Kenney!” Bradley said, “Joe, you’re filling those big shoes very well.”
Former U.S. Senator Bob Smith sat with a table of Mount Washington Valley Republican Committee members. Former congressman Frank Guinta of Manchester made the rounds. Both men are trying to regain their seats, both have primary challengers. Dan Innis of Portsmouth, also running for the Republican nomination for New Hampshire’s first congressional district, was at the event, as was gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Hemingway.
The evening was noteworthy for those who were not there. Senator Kelly Ayotte was represented by her North Country staffer Mike Scala. Former Massachusetts U.S. Senator Scott Brown was not in attendance either, though he, too, sent representatives. Brown is running for the party’s nomination for the seat now held by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat.
Missing, too, was the late District 1 executive councilor Ray Burton, who died late last fall. And though his name was not mentioned, there was a table college students from his alma mater, Plymouth State University. Burton had stayed very much involved in the university over the years, and a scholarship has been created in his name.
Minority House leader Rep. Gene Chandler of Bartlett said afterwards it was great to see the young people from the Plymouth State University College Republicans. Chandler was the caller for the now-traditional painted moose antler auction and was able to get a bidding war going.
Claudio Morfe, of Sudbury, Mass. and Sandwich, won the antler for $2,000, a record amount according to Chandler.
Tickets were $60 each, and for an extra $40 attendees got entrance to the pre-dinner personal meet-and-greet session with the senator from Texas. In between the personal meet and great and the dinner, Cruz met with the media for several minutes.
The verbal participation from members in the audience during Cruz’s remarks was uncharacteristic of Carroll County Republicans at past dinners, perhaps a sign that the party faithful are, indeed, fired up.
