Randy Hilman: Rep. McConkey's backers use smear campaign tactics

To The Daily Sun, 

Political losers often go low when they have reason to fear.

And Leonard Witt's recently published letter offers the best example this campaign season: state Senate candidate Mark McConkey (R-Carroll) and his GOP backers have revived their tried-and-true tactics to blunt a formidable Democratic challenger who's closing in on him.

In Republican McConkey's 2024 senatorial campaign, his GOP backers twisted an opponent's earlier legislative record to suggest not so subtly that the opponent — a doctor — was soft on sexual predators. McConkey went on to win.

Now the same crowd is calling Democratic challenger Bobbi Boudman a racist and sexist over old posts written under a pseudonym. It's rich, phony outrage from a GOP candidate whose party has plenty of its own recent history on race and gender to answer for.

Call it what it is: hypocrisy — like throwing stones from a glass house, or labeling with words — socialism, communism, racism, sexism: words chosen because they scare, not because they express truth.

Having the temerity to play the racist/sexist cards against a white female with political chops is rich indeed, but not surprising. McConkey's scared.

Why? Boudman's beaten McConkey's pick once, flipping Ossipee, Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro in a special election. The press has noticed. Her upset victory is being called a blue wave "bellwether".

As state Rep. Anita Burroughs put it, Republicans have weakened public schools and favored corporate interests over communities.

McConkey knows Boudman's message on fair taxes and property tax relief is landing. So instead of defending his record, he's throwing mud.

I made the mistake once of voting for a presidential mudslinger. I won't make that mistake with McConkey, whose gutter politics betray an upright reputation. Senate District 3 folks deserve better than fear and smear. They rightly deserve Bobbi Boudman.

Randy Hilman

Moultonborough