Last night WBIN hosted the first of its series of debates this week with the gubernatorial candidates for New Hampshire – Maggie Hassan (Democrat) and Ovide Lamontagne(Republican). With a great moderator and panel, it offered more insight as to what the candidates see as their view for the future of New Hampshire. Much different than just going to the candidates’ websites, the debate offered a stark contrast between how Hassan and Lamontagne differ on their vision. It was clear that Maggie Hassan has the same vision for New Hampshire that she did while she was a State Senator – to grow government and raise taxes.

Maggie Hassan doesn’t seem to understand that you cannot continue to raise taxes and fees on New Hampshire residents who are still hurting from the effects of Obama’s economy, yet that is her vision. When most states are trying to get their fiscal houses in order, Hassan continues to talk about growing the size of government, which will necessarily cause an increase in fees or taxes or the state debt. No matter how Hassan decides to pay for her growth in the size of New Hampshire’s state government, it is the taxpayers who will suffer the consequences. At a time when residents can barely afford the outrageous gas prices and continually rising food prices, Maggie Hassan will hit them with even more rising fees and taxes.

Since Hassan has a record of hiking taxes and fees, it’s clear that she will continue in her quest to extract as much money as possible out of New Hampshire to pay for her big government vision (her taxes and fees affect the poor, working and middle classes the most). Not only is this the opposite of what the majority of people in the Granite State believe (Live Free or Die isn’t just a motto, it’s a way of life), but it just doesn’t make sense. Below are just a few of the things from Hassan’s record as a state legislature (she was voted out in 2010):

She voted for Cap & Trade or RGGI which is a Wall Street scam that cost residents more and does absolutely nothing for the environment.

Voted to raise taxes and fees by hundreds of millions of dollars (she hasn’t met a fee or tax increase she doesn’t love but will continually claim to be against raising sales tax and income tax).

She voted against New Hampshire residents’ protecting themselves.

Hassan is against worker freedom and is for forced unionism. She believes that workers should be forced to pay union fees even if they don’t want anything to do with the union. She is adamantly against Right-to-Work. She even lied about Right-to-Work states in the debate last night. Forced union states have higher overall taxes, more debt and less spending power per worker. Of course, since Hassan’s election is being bought by unions, it’s no surprise she feels this way.

It was quite clear from the debate that Hassan’s vision for New Hampshire is not what the majority of residents see as the ‘New Hampshire Way’. In a time when the state legislature has reigned in the debt that Hassan helped to ring up under Democratic Governor John Lynch, Hassan would come into office and turn back the clock to the big government, higher fees and taxes ways that have hurt New Hampshire. The Granite State can’t afford another Democratic free-for-all with their tax dollars. It just doesn’t make sense. Hassan appears to be yet another Massachusetts Liberal who wants to change New Hampshire into Mini-Massachusetts, to hell with ‘Live Free or Die’.