Published: Friday, August 15, 2008
Vote '08 U.S. House
Republicans look to find a bit of separation
By ALBERT McKEON Staff Writer
amckeon@nashuatelegraph.com
NASHUA – With only one Republican able to challenge Democrat Paul Hodes this fall for his 2nd District Congressional seat, those running in a crowded GOP primary field are trying their best to stand out.

Four of those Republicans tried just that from seated positions Thursday evening at a forum in which the candidates articulated not just clear differences but also the nuances of their agreements.

They mostly agreed on the general principle that government must cut spending, look for ways to improve the health-care system and curb illegal immigration. But they sometimes diverged on how to approach those concerns.

For instance, the candidates – former congressional staffer Grant Bosse, state Sen. Robert Clegg, former radio talk show host Jennifer Horn and lawyer Jim Steiner – concurred the government should penalize employers who hire illegal immigrants.

But while Bosse, Horn and Stenier advocated a strong defense that would include a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, Clegg criticized the measure. He pointed to how other points of entry in the U.S. would be unguarded and that illegal immigrants would still find a way into the country.

And while Clegg promoted a state law he sponsored that requires health insurance companies to cover gastric bypass surgery, the other candidates hammered the plan, labeling it as an unnecessary mandate that constrains the system. Clegg, a Hudson resident, defended the law as just one of the many ways to have preventative health programs substitute catastrophic treatment as a means to improve health care.



Correspondent photo by Jodie Andruskevich

Republican candidates for the 2nd Congressional District answer questions at a forum held at Nashua City Hall on Thursday evening. From left are Grant Bosse, state Sen. Bob Clegg, moderator Gene Chandler, Jennifer Horn and Jim Steiner.



Bosse, who lives in Hillsboro, said he backs a free-market approach with people able to choose plans from anywhere. Horn, a Nashua resident, said all ideas should be brought to the table to better the system. Steiner, who lives in Concord, said he approves the awarding of a "health credit" to those who maintain healthy lifestyles.

The forum, hosted by the Nashua Republican City Committee, drew as many as 60 people to a muggy City Hall Auditorium. A sizable portion of those attending were family or volunteers of the candidates. Engineer Alfred L'Eplattenier, the fifth Republican on the ballot for the Sept. 9 primary, did not attend.

On the issue of federal spending, Bosse said he has 50 programs he'd like to cut, including subsidies for milk and public television. Steiner said he wouldn't accept any donations from political action committees, thus not obligating him to spend for special interest groups.

Horn used the issue to criticize Hodes and voice her support for cutting spending. While Clegg said it's "simple" to advocate only trimming spending when needs for programs such as the military have to be considered.

Bosse, Horn and Steiner said they oppose the process known as earmarks, in which lawmakers tuck projects for their home states into spending programs. Clegg said he doesn't oppose earmarks, but rather wants to make any individual spending requests open to a floor vote to create transparency.

Clegg's stance on earmarks was one of the many times in which one of the four panelists used an opponent's remark to score a zinger. Horn said Clegg "doesn't understand the problem. The system is the problem. Earmarks have to be eliminated."

Later, Clegg told the audience that before voters send someone to Congress, they need to "show they can handle the pressure . . . It's not something gained being on a radio show."

Horn, a former talk show host on a local AM radio station who also wrote columns for The Sunday Telegraph, said she was "shocked" by Clegg's "elitist attitude" and that a representative doesn't need to have experience to understand the needs of the district.

Bosse said he didn't have any qualms with his opponents' experience, but still took a shot at Horn by saying he doesn't know how she will vote in Congress because her campaign is "talking points and platitudes" and lacks specifics.

Albert McKeon can be reached at 594-5832 or amckeon@nashuatelegraph.com.



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