East of the Merrimack (Gameplay Thread)

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BUCK WILTON: A REPUBLICAN FOR THE PEOPLE

Campaign Launch

May 1, 2005: Local businessman and philanthropist Buck Wilton announces campaign for GOP nomination
Raymond Area News, later carried in Foster's Daily Democrat

In a surprising announcement from his Raymond home, Wilton Surplus CEO Buck Wilton announced his campaign for the congressional seat of retiring incumbent Jeb Bradley. Wilton, 57, is a well-known figure in rural Rockingham County - following his father's death in 1978, he built his family company, Wilton Surplus, into a Southeastern New Hampshire giant, and is renowned for his philanthropic efforts throughout the region. Wilton is also a veteran - serving in Vietnam from 1968 to 1971 before receiving an honorable discharge due to a back injury. Additionally, his son Earnest Wilton is a bench player on the Boston Celtics.

Wilton is a political neophyte - he has not held political office previously. However, in a statement to this newspaper, he believes that that's not an obstacle to his candidacy.

I don't believe that [not having political experience] is a negative. For too long, corrupt lifelong politicians have been robbing working-class Americans blind in smoke-filled Washington DC rooms. I'm running for Congress because I believe New Hampshire needs an outsider voice, a voice for the interests of normal working folks who are tired of being tread on by politics as usual. And if elected, I'll represent the good men and woman of New Hampshire, not Wall Street big money.

Additionally, thanks to his wealth from Wilton Surplus, Mr. Wilton is expected to self-finance his campaign. As the first Republican in the race, it remains to be seen if his unconventional candidacy will succeed - or fizzle out.

June Schedule (early)

Before June 1: File to run for office
June 4: Town hall at Epping High School

I'm disappointed, but not surprised, that our congressional delegation voted to ratify the CAFTA agreement. So-called "free trade" agreements like these are a prime example of globalist Washington bureaucrats selling out the working farmers of America. Opening our economy to a flood of cheap, low-quality products from outside countries is a spit in the face to good New Hampshire farmers who have been helping to feed this country for generations, and many will be forced to downsize or shut down thanks to Congress's ineptitude.  As your Representative, I will support tariffs that encourage buying and hiring American, while also protecting our state's great agricultural workers, and I will fight against the Big Money Politicians who care more for their pocketbooks than the American People.

June 5: Visit former customers in rural Rockingham County to court votes.
June 11: Meet with local farmers from the New Hampshire Farms Network, tout support for the local agricultural economy and promise to do the same in Washington.
June 12: Meet with the Gun Owners of New Hampshire (local NRA affiliate) in Concord, court endorsement

[OBD]

BUCK WILTON: A REPUBLICAN FOR THE PEOPLE

Interview with WGIR Radio

1. Why are you, a successful businessman, running for Congress?
I'm running for Congress because I'm tired of career politicians in Washington ignoring the little man. Most of them are up to their necks in Wall Street special interest funds, and care more about satisfying their corporate overlords than fighting for the good working-class folks that elected them. For once, Southeast New Hampshire needs to have a Representative that will be a fighter, an advocate, for working-class rural voices, and I'm willing to step up to be that candidate. My life was built on conservative values and the American Dream - after my father died, I built up Wilton Surplus from a struggling agricultural supply company in Raymond to one of New England's most prominent rural businesses, and in Congress I will be a staunch protector of the American Dream so others can follow in my footsteps. Enough of liberal trust-fund babies and career politicians managing our country - let's elect a people's man to Congress!
2. You're planning to self-fund, do you believe our campaign finance system is broken?
Oh, absolutely. As I said earlier, a vast majority of Congress is bought and sold by special interests. Whether it's the Wall Street billionaires that create tax loopholes bigger than Wyoming while poor, working-class New Hampshireites can barely pay rent, or megacorporations like Big Pharma that bleed folks with illness dry, corrupt career politicians that live off big business money enable these egregious attacks on the American people. It's absurd, and that's a big part of why I'm self-funding. I will make a pledge to you, the people of New Hampshire, today - I will not take a cent of Wall Street special interest dirty money. I won't be beholden to corporate bigwigs like career politicians - instead, I'll represent YOU, the good working-class people that keep American great.
3. What is your view on the Bush administration?
I believe the Bush administration has generally been a competent voice for a conservative, pro-American agenda, though I'll be the first Republican to say they have made some missteps. If elected to Congress, I'll be proud to support much of Bush's domestic agenda - he cut taxes to spur economic growth, he took on Big Pharma to cut drug prices, and he's opposed efforts by radical liberals to attack our great nation's religious institutions. But I'll admit I'm disappointed by his foreign policy. As a veteran who has a son in Iraq, I'm perplexed and upset that he continues to throw our boys into a forever war in the Middle East - to be frank, it reminds me of my time in Vietnam, where corrupt liberal Democrats tricked us into committing to an endless war, an endless cycle of death. While we needed to teach the Arabs a lesson after 9/11, this has gone way too far. And signing CAFTA was also a huge misstep - we need to put America first, instead of throwing open our doors to hordes of foreign goods and sending our men to die in pointless, bloody wars. The working people of New Hampshire are not helped by the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, so why should we be there?
4. How would you approach the issue of rising prescription drug costs for seniors?
It still hurts me to talk about this, but my eldest son's death from cancer taught me a lot about healthcare from this country, and not a lot positive. While the doctors we worked with both in New Hampshire and Boston were helpful and hardworking - I have no doubt that they did their best to save my boy, and I don't blame them in the slightest for what happened - I was stunned to see how expensive a lot of the treatments were, and if Wilton Surplus wasn't seeing a banner year in profits we probably couldn't have afforded a lot of them. I feel for the working-class New Hampshireites suffering from illness who can't afford treatment because Big Pharma cares more about profits than human life, and I am enraged that career politicians eating out of Big Pharma's hands are enabling their selfish behavior. I support President Bush's tireless efforts to reduce prescription drug costs for the working American, and as your Representative, I will go farther - I will not hesitate to stand up to the shadowy megacorporations that are robbing our nation's sick blind, and I will absolutely be an advocate for lowering drug costs so folks can get the medical treatments they need.