Concord Monitor - February 7, 2020, page A3.

Republican Matt Matern Offers New Hampshire Voters The Chance To Send A Message

The sky was gray and the snow had just begun to fall in the late afternoon as I left Manchester on a Saturday afternoon in late January. The “Walpole Society for Bringing to Justice Horse Thieves and Pilferers of Clothes Lines and Hen Roosts” was convening for their annual meeting as they began their 205th year, and I didn’t want to miss it.

It was already dark by the time I reached the Town of Walpole, a small community nestled in the hills above the Connecticut River in Cheshire County. Walpole is just east of the border with the state whose junior U.S. Senator is apparently leading in the latest Democratic Primary polls here in New Hampshire despite the fact that his socialist platform of high taxes and government regulation are the antithesis of those embodied by the Granite State’s “Live Free or Die” motto.

It was only a quarter past five and there was time to get a quick bite to eat at Spencer’s Place on Westminster Street before the meeting of the “Horse Thieves” Society was scheduled to begin at the Walpole Town Hall a couple of blocks away. The lobster bisque and Reuben potato skins were highly recommended by our waitress, and I’m glad we took her advice.

The election of new officers was ably and efficiently presided over by outgoing Society President (and Selectman) Steve Dalessio. Another gentleman in the audience, explaining that he was a new member and this was his first meeting, asked if the “Horse Thieves” met more frequently throughout the year. No, the annual meeting was the only official meeting, explained newly-elected President Dave Westover. “But if we hear about an increase in horse thievery, or pilfered clotheslines, we might have to call a special meeting.”

Apparently the last time the Riders of the Walpole Society for Bringing to Justice Horse Thieves and Pilferers of Clothes Lines and Hen Roosts actually recovered a stolen horse was nearly 100 years ago. But the group has endured, keeping up the New England tradition and embodying the best of the spirit of community, self-reliance, and self-governance I have seen manifest in countless ways as I’ve been on the campaign trail here New Hampshire since launching my campaign for President at the statehouse in Concord in November.

Another proud tradition that has endured for one hundred years is the Granite State’s preeminent role in choosing American Presidents, as 2020 marks the 100-year anniversary of New Hampshire’s First In the Nation Presidential Primary. Far more worrisome than horse thievery and pilfered clotheslines is the fact that we are allowing our traditions of democracy, national unity, and common decency to be stolen from us by the current occupant of the White House.

In conversations with hundreds of New Hampshire citizens in dozens of diners, community forums, Rotary Club meetings, in Republican committee meetings, and on the street over the past two months, I hear a common theme. Granite Staters are tired of the President’s divisive rhetoric and the drama he constantly creates on Twitter. They are troubled by his lack of character, bothered by his broken promises, and worried about the kind of America they will be leaving for their children and grandchildren. They know, deep down, that the Party of Abraham Lincoln seems to be abandoning the values it once held, and needs to be guided back to its legacy of compassionate conservatism and to its traditions of defending civil rights, protecting the environment, fiscal discipline, and personal responsibility.

After the “Horse Thieves” meeting we stopped in for dessert and coffee at chocolatier L.A. Burdick’s, located on Main Street next to the restaurant owned in part by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, before braving the growing snowstorm to make the 75-mile drive east back to Manchester.

Inspired by what might possibly be the best mocha I’ve ever had in my life, I and members of my campaign team listened to the commencement address that Ken Burns delivered to the graduating class at Stanford in June of 2016 as we drove eastbound through the snow. The filmmaker’s criticism of then-candidate Trump was prescient, as he warned against the potential election of an “infantile, bullying man who, depending on his mood, is willing to discard old and established alliances, treaties and long-standing relationships,” and describing him as someone “who has never demonstrated any interest in anyone or anything other than himself and his own enrichment.”

A President should provide leadership for our nation on the most pressing issues of the day, helping ensure the state of our union remains strong and our traditions of democracy are protected. A President should exemplify the values that reflect the best of what America stands for. And that’s why I decided to run for this office -- to raise my voice in protest against a President who is leading us in the wrong direction. The Republican and Independent voters of the Granite State have not only the opportunity but the obligation to send a message to a divisive and self-centered President that he is failing our country.

Tax breaks have benefited the rich while the working class suffers. Totalitarian leaders have been embraced and allies abandoned. We have failed to address the serious threat of climate change. We were promised great healthcare plans that would insure everyone. And we were promised that federal budget deficits would be reined in, but instead the deficit has increased every single year of the Trump Administration -- last year it was nearly $1 trillion, and this year the deficit is projected to exceed $1.2 trillion. The ability of the Walpole “Horse Thieves” Society to live within its means while assessing only lifetime dues of $2 on its members stands in stark contrast to the federal government’s wasteful spending and massive expansion of the federal debt over the past three years.

I’m Matt Matern. I’m an entrepreneur and attorney from California. I’ve spent my career standing up to bullies, advocating for working families, and supporting efforts in my community that serve the homeless and protect our environment. I believe that American greatness comes from empowering working Americans and the middle class. I’m running for President to give the voters of New Hampshire and the country the chance to send a message and vote for a Republican candidate you can be proud of.

Have we given up on expecting our President to keep his promises and reflect our values? The Party of Lincoln deserves better. The American people deserve better. Join me, and send a message of no confidence to this President with your vote in New Hampshire’s First in The Nation Primary.

Matt Matern is an entrepreneur and attorney from Los Angeles, California. He is challenging Donald Trump in the Republican Primary and championing traditional Republican values and a vision of an America At Her Best. Learn more at www.matern2020.com.

Paid for by Matern 2020