New Hampshire’s two U.S. Senators Shaheen and Hassan are maintain very busy schedules. Fortunately, they both spared a moment after the event announcing the pension protection of the American Rescue Plan to take a few questions from INK LINK NEWS
Here is our quick Q and A.
INK LINK NEWS: Senator Shaheen with the change at the top of the ticket to Vice President Kamal Harris what do think the effect will be on the down-ticket races in New Hampshire?
Senator Shaheen: I think people are very excited! When you look at the number of people who signed up to volunteer both in New Hampshire and across the country. 100,000 people have volunteered since she got in the race. The small-dollar donors and the record amount of money raised and events like the event with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. To have that kind of turnout in the middle of July with people coming from all over the state shows a level of excitement and enthusiasm that is going to be important.
INK LINK NEWS: What do you want to say about the Vice President from your point of view?
Senator Shaheen: I think she is a great candidate, she is focused. She has her experience as a prosecutor and as a Senator and Vice President. She is taking on Donald Trump in ways that are critical for voters to hear.
INK LINK NEWS: Senator Hassan, now that Vice President Harris is on the top of the ticket what effect will that have down-ticket in the NH state races?
Senator Hassan: The Biden – Harris administration has really delivered for the American people but they also know there is a whole lot of work left to do. What you see with Vice President Harris is she is really committed to moving the country forward by building consensus and delivering results, and she is also an incredibly effective messenger in drawing the contrast between herself and Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. What we saw over the weekend was a kind of renewed enthusiasm. I did a couple of campaign kick-off events, one in Exeter, one in Manchester and people are excited are very determined to get out and talk to their friends and neighbors, talking to them about what is at stake in this election.
INK LINK NEWS: What do you think of President Biden’s Supreme Court Op-Ed this morning and proposed modifications for the court?
Senator Hassan: I think a lot of Americans are very concerned about a Supreme Court that seems to be completely unfettered by any kind of ethics rules. They Ignore legal precedent. The three most recently appointed judges who were nominated by President Trump told Congress, told the American people that they would support precedent and then they did’nt. They lied to the American people and we have real concerns about the impact of some of their decisions, in particular the decision in July to give the President of the United States pretty much carte blanche. They ruled he had immunity against criminal prosecution for crimes regardless of what he did as President.
That has given the President a get-out-of-jail-free card and so I think President Bidens’s approach here is making sure the Supreme Court judges have to live by a code of ethics that is enforceable just the way all other federal judges do, making sure that we get a constitutional amendment to overturn the immunity decision and make sure it’s clear that in America no one, not even the President is above the law. I am very interested in learning more about his proposal for term limits and predictable appointments for Supreme Court justices. It is something I have heard a lot about and I am open to. What we want to do is make sure we have judges in an independent branch of government who believe that they are accountable.”
A few minutes of conversation and insights from New Hampshire’s Senators.