For someone who learned the craft of politics at his daddy's knee, Chris Sununu kinda blew it. The Republican New Hampshire governor signed a bill last week that restricts teachers and some state employees from talking about racism. That's pretty typical for a GOP governor, and if New Hampshire were a pretty typical GOP state, it might be the end of the story.
It wasn't. Ten members of the 17-member "diversity council" that Sununu set up in 2017 resigned in protest. In their resignation letter, they said that "...nearly every member of the Council that is not part of your administration is resigning today, as we collectively see no path forward with this legislation in place."
It's hard to know how the nimble John Sununu, late New Hampshire Governor and George H.W. Bush's chief of staff, would have threaded the needle on the dilemma that faced his second child (of eight). It's also hard to know how John E. Sununu, Chris's brother and former U.S. Senator, would have handled it, because brother John isn't talking -- yet.
Governor Sununu, however, responded in part by criticizing the ACLU for inserting “politics into an otherwise fruitful mission in addressing many issues of race and discrimination in our state.” This bizarre statement sounds like a Trumpist "back-atcha," but it isn't, quite: One resigning council member is the ACLU's state executive director.
The racism-talk contretemps follows closely on another Sununu belly-flop that started when he signed a trailer to the state's budget bill last Friday -- a trailer that restricts abortion. Historically, New Hampshire voters, including Republicans, don't like that. Not at all. The GOP there tends to be Libertarian, and they hate rules and bans. The state motto is literally “Live free or die!”
Never mind that the ban was on abortions at the 24th week and later, except for medical emergencies. Doctors could go to jail for seven years and be fined up to $100,000. It also requires an ultrasound before abortion.
While Sununu keeps saying that the trailer wasn't his idea, he (tellingly) signed the bill without benefit of a photo op. And now the state's Democrats have responded by talking up Sununu as a potential senatorial candidate.
Sununu should be so lucky.
Is Sununu overstepping the will of the voters? If so, he could be voted out of office.
Why on earth would he choose to be adamant about these particular issues?
So how DO you tell teachers not to talk about racism without ticking off a diversity panel?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/nhs-sununu-the-gops-top-senate-recruit-for-2022-may-have-just-created-a-big-political-problem-over-abortion/ar-AALAi6L?fbclid=IwAR2WLggH5_xI7-Avq1KOnLjW9f4kcEuercvj_CEzA2G_uoGCSWZufL-eIMM
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-hampshire-governor-chris-sununu-diversity-council-protest-resign_n_60db5e93e4b0b9e497df733d?fbclid=IwAR1Iy3J0J2Nrp3eWjZm5otFpK2YtfNG4UNR4ewBtiaHQwIrtrekWvCuPP40
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