NASHUA TELEGRAPH ENDORSES JENNIFER HORN

 
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Article published Sep 7, 2008

Horn GOP best bet in 2nd District race

In any other election year, a congressional candidate whose primary credentials consist of raising a family, writing a newspaper column and hosting a radio talk show would be the dark horse. But not this year.

In any other year, a longtime state senator, a seasoned political operative or a former Green Beret turned lawyer would seem to have the advantage. But not this year.

Not in a year when a little-known hockey mom turned governor of Alaska has captured the attention of the nation as the GOP vice-presidential nominee.

Not in a year when the party of Lincoln is hoping to recast itself as the party of outsiders, the party of change, the party of mavericks.

They say timing is everything, and former Telegraph columnist Jennifer Horn, of Nashua, could not have better timed her decision to run for Congress in the state's 2nd Congressional District.

The other candidates on the Republican primary ballot Tuesday may have resumes that more closely match the traditional assumptions about qualifications, but Horn's candidacy is perfectly suited to the times and the mood of the nation.

She is a fresh face with an engaging personality and an almost messianic zeal for the core principles of the GOP on both fiscal and social issues.

Every successful salesman knows that selling is an exchange of positive energy, and Horn has plenty to go around as she attempts to sell herself to voters.

She energizes her supporters in a way that her opponents cannot match, and she would be the most effective of the four in taking on incumbent Democrat Paul Hodes.

Horn lacks the legislative experience of state Sen. Robert Clegg. She is not nearly as well briefed as Grant Bosse, former aide to U.S. Rep. John Sununu. She doesn't have the legal or military experience of Concord attorney Jim Steiner. (A fifth candidate, Alfred L'Eplattenier, is on the ballot, but did not actively campaign.)

But she has what it takes to win people to her cause, and more than the other three, she has the potential to rise quickly in Republican ranks, given the direction of the party.

A first-term congressman rarely needs hands-on experience in government or military endeavors. Backbenchers are not called upon to make policy decisions, engage the other branches of government or take leadership roles in Congress.

Their main task is to emerge from the obscurity that the seniority system imposes on them and become a meaningful force for their constituents out of the starting gate.

Horn has that potential, while her three opponents, although well-qualified, are more likely to assume the traditional role, doing what the party leadership tells them to do.

Her credentials cannot be so easily dismissed. There is an emerging consensus that real-world experience in the dynamics and economics of family life has enormous value for a prospective politician. There is a desire for citizen legislators, in the New Hampshire tradition, to replace the professional politician.

Horn will strike a chord with all those who feel the only real way to achieve change is to send a completely different kind of person to Washington.

We disagree with her positions on many issues, but are convinced of her sincerity, the quality of her character and her ability to win.