Ann McLane Kuster ran for Congress in 2010 to fill the seat left open by Rep. Paul Hodes (D) who was running for Senate. In a horrible year for Democratic candidates, Kuster came within 3,600 votes of defeating former Rep. Charlie Bass. Now, she is running again. Building on her strong grassroots campaign last year, we believe she can win.
Kuster is a community activist who has spent years tirelessly advocating for public access to healthcare and higher education. She has also worked hard to promote peace and human rights, vocally opposing the Iraq war before it began.
“While I am pleased that the President has decided to set a timetable for drawing down our troops in Afghanistan, I do not agree with the decision to first send 30,000 additional troops. It is not clear that sending more combat troops is the best way to meet the real threat, as Al Qaeda disperses to Pakistan and other countries. This is particularly important as our military has been strained by six years of fighting in Iraq and eight years of fighting in Afghanistan. I believe we need better cooperation and accountability from the Afghani government and we must demand a commitment from them to root out corruption. Instead of more troops, we should be sending more trainers to help the Afghan military provide better security for its citizens.”
Kuster’s opponent, Rep. Charles Bass, represented this district for five terms until Hodes defeated him in 2006. Over his many years in office, Bass earned a 23% on the Council for a Livable World voting record. Though during that period he was generally viewed as a moderate, he recently has joined the far right of his party by voting in favor of the Paul Ryan budget plan that is widely seen as an attack on Medicare, for which he has been heavily criticized.
Polls show that Bass is vulnerable. A poll taken in early summer found 39% of voters disapproved of Bass, while only 28% approved. Kuster and Bass were tied in a head to head match up.
Your contribution is extremely important to this race because the district falls within the expensive Boston media market and get out the vote efforts are difficult in this rural area.
