What’s in a name? Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, refers to Scott Brown’s opponent as “Janine Shaheen” three times in the above video.
MANCHESTER, NH – Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, arrived at Scott Brown’s Elm Street headquarters in Manchester shortly after 9 a.m., greeted by fans, supporters a little rain and a small throng of media.
Also waiting was a handful of protestors outside, one group from NextGen Climate, with a green pickup truck similar to Scott Brown’s, toting mock drums of “big oil,” and a smaller group of women with anti-Brown signs.
Paul was there to kick off a Republican Party of New Hampshire Get Out The Vote day of events, and took a few minutes to talk about why Scott Brown is the right choice for New Hampshire, and what bothers him most about Brown’s opponent, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.
Unfortunately, Paul had a little trouble remembering his fellow senator’s name, calling her “Janine Shaheen” three times during his two-minutes in front of the crowd.
After spending more than three years together in Washington, D.C., it seems Paul and Shaheen are still not on a first-name basis.
“As a physician and a senator I’m bothered by the fact that Janine Shaheen doesn’t think you’re smart enough to choose your own doctor,” Paul said. “My question to you is, do you think you’re smart enough to choose your own doctor? Do you think you’re smart enough to choose a new senator?”
Paul finished his remarks, then joined NH GOP chair Jennifer Horn, and Scott Brown’s wife, Gail Huff, at the phone bank, to call some undecided voters.
At 9:30 a.m. on a Thursday, that’s a tough assignment.
And in the midst of it, after several calls went unanswered, Paul suggested a software upgrade to automatically redirect calls so it doesn’t have to be done manually when nobody answers.
Horn told Paul they do like to leave a voice mail when they can’t get a live person on the phone.
Paul persisted with the calls, and after several tries, finally hit the phone bank jackpot when he got someone on the phone. He asked the undecided voter named Carol if she had any questions about Brown.
She did.
She wanted to know why Brown relocated to New Hampshire from Massachusetts.
“I don’t know exactly what went into his decision to relocate here,” Paul said, doing his best to reinforce that Scott Brown has deep New Hampshire roots “going back to his grandfather,” and that he’s an honest man with strong beliefs. Paul redirected the question to Brown’s policy stance on jobs. You can watch the phone bank video below:
After that call, Paul headed out for his next stop. But Manchester Ink Link took advantage of the chance to ask Brown’s wife about what continues to be a sticking point for some New Hampshire folks, notorious for their disdain over people who “aren’t from here,” whether they’re running for office or asking for directions.
Huff explained that when Brown was born at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard hospital on Sept. 12, 1959, the hospital was definitely in Portsmouth, based on undisputed boundaries that became an issue for New Hampshire in the 1970s, when lobstermen had tax issues with Maine.
It was in fact Gov. Sheheen who in 1997 went to bat and tried to prove that shipyard territory is New Hampshire territory, citing a 1761 trade map. However, she was overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2001, who sided with Maine.
Still, when Brown entered the world, he entered by way of New Hampshire, no question, Huff said.
“Scott’s from the Mathes family of Dover Point, nine generations strong. They settled here in 1623. He’s a son of the American Revolution out of Newington, going back to the founding fathers of New Hampshire,” Huff said. Brown only left New Hampshire because his parents divorced when he was about 1 year old.
“People who really care about the direction the country is going care about where Scott Brown is going, not where he lived his whole life,” Huff said.
