Monday, October 18, 2010

Leaf peeping and mid-term election politics

Politics were definitely in the crisp fall air in New Hampshire this past weekend (in case anyone needs a Brooklyn-based writer to remind them the mid-term elections are only 15 days away.) “Fire Pelosi” bumper stickers, signs touting former Manchester mayor and congressional candidate Frank Giunta as a “real conservative” and a barrage of negative campaign ads—a National Rifle Association-funded spot I heard on the radio while driving through Concord on Interstate 93 strongly suggested incumbent Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter would strip Americans of their constitutionally-guaranteed right to bear arms—were as common as the mums, pumpkins and corn stalks that adorned homes in suburban southern New Hampshire’s sub-divisions.

The Citizens United case is the obvious impetus behind this orgy of advertising, but the stunning foliage for which New Hampshire is world famous provided a very welcome respite from the partisan noise in this battleground state.





Maple tree in front of my parents' house in Manchester, N.H.



Pumpkins for sale at Mack's Apples in Londonderry, N.H.



Along Peaked Hill Road in Bristol, N.H.



Along Newfound Lake in Alexandria, N.H.



A passing shower produced this rainbow over Newfound Lake.



Newfound Lake from Wellington State Park in Alexandria, N.H.



Along Commerce Street in Hill, N.H.



U.S. Senate politics play themselves out in Hill, N.H.




A slice of the American electorate parked outside the Hill Village Store in Hill, N.H.

3 comments:

Carina (UNH) said...

Mike, Stop by my house next time and take pics of the Shea-Porter and (Amanda) Merrill signs! (and, my bumper stickers aren't offensive, either!)

Thorne Cassidy said...

Wow. This is absolutely stunning. Make me want to pack up everything and move up there.--though I fear there's not much of a punk scene. Haha.

Boy in Bushwick said...

I took these political snapshots in Hill, N.H., which is a town of less than 2,000 people off the beaten path in the Lakes Region. I would certainly argue other New Hampshire towns would have different expressions.