2010 Election Week In Review: Biden visit, more attacks

Vice President Joe Biden visited New Hampshire last week to tout the federal stimulus and bolster the campaigns of Democrats Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes.

Biden was in Manchester to talk specifically about the weatherization of homes under the stimulus program, supported by Shea-Porter, who is running for reelection in the 1st Congressional District, and Hodes, who is giving up his seat in the 2nd District to run for the U.S. Senate.

Biden used a home on Gray Street -- the 200,000th home to be weatherized -- as the backdrop for the event that was less of a campaign rally and more of rally in support of controversial stimulus efforts.

Republicans have criticized the stimulus as being a waste of federal tax dollars and that it failed to put an end to job loss and economic decline.

On the attack
A Washington-based conservative group backing New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte for the U.S. Senate has launched a new television ad that accuses her Democratic opponent, Paul Hodes, of voting for trillions of dollars in wasteful spending.

The American Action Network cited Hodes' votes for the stimulus program, and to support American automaker bailouts and health care care reform. The ad says the Democratic congressman broke his promise to "stop wasteful spending" and claims that Hodes voted for government-run health care and trillions in new spending.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also gone after Hodes in a new television ad criticizing his "taxing, borrowing and spending." The organization is the country's largest business lobby and has pledged to spend $75 million in this year's elections nationwide.

Speaking of going negative
New Hampshire Republican Party chair John H. Sununu issued a second plea to GOP Senate candidates that they tone down their rhetoric toward each other.

He wrote in an op-ed piece this week in state newspapers that they may not win in November if they attack each other before the Sept. 14 primary.

“It may seem to be advantageous to go negative to win the primary, but almost certainly going negative will make it more difficult to win the general election,” wrote Sununu.But the party boss seemed to go negative against Republican Senate candidate Bill Binnie.

Binnie said an earlier plea from Sununu to go easy on each other had come "too late" because Ayotte had already begun the attacks.

But Sununu in a Union Leader op-ed piece said: "... I was truly surprised to hear that my latest letter urging our Republican candidates not to go negative was described as coming “too late.” The message was the same one I had been delivering all year. If anyone says he didn’t get the message loud and clear over the past 12 months, he would have to be either clueless or disingenuous."

The attacks on Ayotte and Binnie have been so severe that Foster's Daily Democrat said in an editorial: "... the campaigns of Ayotte and Binnie have reached a disturbing level of name calling and backbiting ..."

Come the September primary, it suggested GOP voters narrow their choices for Senate to either Ovide Lamontagne or Jim Bender.

Party crashers
A forum sponsored by the Derry Republican Committee featured Rich Ashooh, Bob Bestani, Frank Guinta and Sean Mahoney -- GOP candidates in the 1st Congressional District. The forum did not include candidates Peter Bearse and Rick Parent, but they showed up anyway.

Just after the featured candidates gave their opening statements, Bearse and Parent stood up in the audience and asked to be included.

"There are two of us here, two of the most active candidates," Bearse said, according to an Associated Press report of the forum. "Wouldn't you like to hear from us? ... This is not a private event."

Swett, Kuster debate
In Rindge at Franklin Pierce College, 2nd Congressional District Democratic candidates Katrina Swett and Ann McLane Kuster talked about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, jobs, clean energy and health care reform.

According to media coverage of the event, they tried to make some distinctions on the issues, but they went back to arguing over their respective lobbying backgrounds. The two have traded barbs over the last several weeks about each other's lobbying past.

Click here to watch the entire debate.

Endorsements
Two newspapers made endorsements for GOP primary races:

The Union Leader endorsed Jennifer Horn, Republican candidates for the U.S. House in the 2nd District;

Foster's Daily Democrat endorsed John Stephen, Republican candidate for governor.

Jim Bender touted endorsements from former supporters for Ayotte and Binnie: Glynis Citarelli, active in Amherst and owner of Sweet Shot Photography, is a former Binnie supporter, and Paul Johnson, former Nashua Alderman at Large, switched support from Ayotte.

New Hampshire Carpenters Local 118 cited her focus on job creation in its endorsement of Kuster in the 2nd Congressional District.

Ayotte was endorsed by two pro-life groups: the National Right to Life PAC and its New Hampshire affiliate, the Citizens for Life PAC.